For one brief and glorious moment my riding partner, Steve, and I found ourselves leading the entire pack of 12,000 cyclists riding the famous RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. (See photo album here)
We had zoomed through whatever little town we had just zoomed through, disdaining a food and water break because it was still early in the morning, when suddenly, we found ourselves for the first time that week with no one in front of us.
We often joked that the only reason we didn’t leave at 5 a.m. every morning and ride like demons at the front is because we were afraid we would get lost and lead 12,000 lemmings through the wrong corn field.
But here we were, ahead of the pack with no one in front and a long, colorful stream of riders behind who were—turning left!
ARRGGHH. While chatting our way through the little burg, we had missed a directional sign, missed a turn and were heading the wrong way.
We were leading and riding fast, but where were we going?!
We may be dense, but we’re not impenetrable. We quickly hit the brakes, did a U-turn and rejoined ourselves to the larger stream of riders—just two of thousands with the real leaders somewhere ahead, making sure they caught and followed all the directional signs, because they knew others would be following their lead.
You may not think you are in a race or even in a crowd. You may not consider yourself a leader, but someone is following you, watching for the turns you make to provide the cues for their own direction.
Few are actually leading the pack. But I realized while riding in Iowa that no matter where I was in the stream of riders, no matter how near to or far from the front, thousands were behind me still.
I needed to follow those ahead, pay close attention to the signs myself in case they missed them, and provide a signpost for those who trailed. Some simple rules of the road as you travel as one among many: