Lessons From The Ride: Leadership

I led a ride today. Apparently “leading a ride” is the equivalent of showing up, making sure everyone gets to the end point and occasionally deciding to stop, regroup and make sure everyone is still together. Actually “knowing what to do” is clearly not a requirement. In fact, all of the actual “doing stuff” was handled by the group. Even the name is misleading...leaders aren’t always in the front (especially if it’s me) and they aren’t in the back. Leaders are everywhere - making sure there is someone in the front who actually KNOWS the route and someone in the back, making sure no one gets left behind. Leaders aren’t necessarily the most experienced, or the most knowledgeable - they are just willing to be accountable to the goal and to the group. (Leaders also get pushed, encouraged and challenged by more experienced leaders, but that’s a whole different story…)

Fun fact - did y’all know that “peloton” is an actual word...not just a fancy talking bike? Right??! A peloton is a group of cyclists riding closely together to reduce resistance and conserve their energy. Being with other people never, ever conserved my energy and always seemed full of resistance...until biking. Groups are actually ok sometimes... Who knew?

#peloton #groupsarepeopletoo #leadfromtheback #ortheside #orwherever #lessonsfromtheride