Ride Leader

[gmcunni]

What does it take to lead a ride?
1. know enough to not get lost
2. know the trail system, which trails are good / bad / fun / challenging
3. know the conditions, where to avoid (or find) mud and water
4. what else?


Or does none of that matter? Just get out, ride, have fun and write a trip report when done!

 

[Greg]

The most important thing is knowing the trail system, without question. A trail leader that does will know to wait at trail merges in the event others in the group don't know the route. Nothing can kill the flow of a ride more than having to stop and figure out which way to go. I guess that can be fun sometimes, but I normally just want to go, go, go.

 

[bvibert]

All of the above make a good ride leader, but sometimes whoever has more knowledge of the area than the rest of the group is all that's needed. Even if the 'leader' has only been there once or twice. I led a ride through an area that I hardly knew at all earlier this year, but the rest of the group had never been there. I took a few wrong turns and logging operations obliterated some of the routes I knew, but we still managed to have a pretty decent ride.

 

[Gremf]

All of the above make a good ride leader, but sometimes whoever has more knowledge of the area than the rest of the group is all that's needed. Even if the 'leader' has only been there once or twice. I led a ride through an area that I hardly knew at all earlier this year, but the rest of the group had never been there. I took a few wrong turns and logging operations obliterated some of the routes I knew, but we still managed to have a pretty decent ride.

To your point, a good leader knows when to take charge and when to delegate. I have led numerous rides where I have someone in the group that always knows the area better than me and if I put together a ride, I ensure that I tap him or her for what they might know.

Of course, another good point that was touched upon is knowing the area in which you are going to ride. That means performing a good map recon or in today's world means find everything you can about the area you are going to ride on the internet.