Josette,

My personal apologies since I was one of the “sprinters” last night.  For myself I did enjoy picking up the pace towards the very end of the ride but advanced notice would have been nice.  I would have liked to finish the ride (faster or slower) with the group instead of a hundred feet behind the next 2 riders.  In the future, maybe we could decide at the turnaround if and when we will be sprinting so that those that still want to keep the same pace are a big enough group at the back to ride safely and the faster group advances to the finish. 

Thanks for bringing this up for discussion.  And thanks for being my partner during part the ride! J

Jennifer Laevens

519-436-4600 Ext 2926

From: ckcycle-bounces@lists.ncf.ca [mailto:ckcycle-bounces@lists.ncf.ca] On Behalf Of Josette deBrouwer
Sent: August 19, 2010 10:29 AM
To: Chatham-Kent Commmunity Cycling Group
Subject: [CKcycle] Wednesday's ride

I have a bone to pick with yesterday’s ride. After riding more than 40K together as a group, to split the group up for a sprint to the finish is fairly pointless and displays more bravado than common sense. My understanding of the purpose of the group ride is to share experience, so we can all be safer, stronger riders. Please, correct me if I am wrong. When the group falls apart at the end, it jeopardizes that safety. I also thought that one of the main principals of the group ride is to ride predictably — maintain the line and the speed. If that is not the intent, please let all riders of the group know ahead of time.
Thanks,
Josette deBrouwer