Ride Leader for Canal Update

Mitch O, the remaining ride leader of the original group of 4 and now "dean" of ride leaders with tenure, put me in charge of recruiting new ride leaders.  Naturally, I volunteered as a RL, thinking that my many years of showing up for rides, taking maps and complain about the routes should be replaced with at least one season of giving of maps, listening to Grand Poobah provide constructive criticism of the routes and bark out instructions about which direction we can leave the parking lot.  I will try not to let the power go to my head but I intend to set a record for cyclist suspensions.  I'm also talking to Mitch about setting up a system of fines, the end result of which is to enrich both of us but more on that later.  

Anyway, the first person I approached was Kevin Hollingshead.  Kevin, I thought, was uniquely qualified because....well....he's the strongest cyclist of Polish descent at the Tuesday rides.....Amanda thinks he smells good....and he was the first person I ran into on Saturday. Kevin was enthusiastic with his strong agreement to become ride leader #3.  Then on Sunday, I found myself riding along side Steve Oxley and put the strong arm on him and he too readily agreed to be ride leader #4.  Although Mitch is the dean of our group, because I have served in the position of ride leader a couple of days longer than Kevin and Steve, they will be subservient to me.  I will refer to them as Vassal #1 and Vassal #2 and will enjoy lording over them next year.  

Things change and perhaps by the time next season rolls around, one of us will be forced to withdraw our names so here is what being a Tuesday ride leader is all about.  There already exists a database of rides from which to choose the route, based on amount of daylight and riding conditions.  In other words, the ride leader does not have to create routes, just pull a map and make a few copies at work when the boss isn't looking.  No big deal.  My approach will be a little different.  I will call Todd Lee (Grand Poobah) each Tuesday morning and ask him what he wants to do.  Whatever route he wants to ride, that's the map I select. Makes life in the parking lot much easier.  The RL shows up with sign up sheets by 5:30pm, throws open the hatch or trunk of his/her vehicle and people come over and sign up.  No biggie.  About 5 minutes before the start of the ride, you shout or scream, "Listen up!" and you then tell people to be careful out there let anyone who wants to make an announcement, make an announcement.  Lastly, you perform these duties only once every 4 weeks.  Probably, we'll get together once this fall or late winter and map out a couple of new routes.  Keep this in mind and be ready to answer the call if we need to fill another RL slot before next season.  If being a Tuesday RL entails anything more than the above, I will update later.

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