I know a few people who ride one kind of bike in one kind of way, their whole lives, like they’ve found a sweet spot so sweet they never want anything else. I think that must be nice, to know just want you want and how to get it. My riding life has been less straightforward. I’m never not wanting to ride, but I’ve had more eras than Taylor Swift, more phases than the moons of Saturn.
Among my frequent vacillations is a willingness to organize rides, to be the cruise director if you will, and a retreat into passenger status. Currently, I’m in passenger mode, content to wait for my neighbor or one of the people in my loose ride group to suggest a spin. I would guess this is all a function of motivation. The more motivated I am to ride, the more initiative I take in making rides happen.
It’s possible that one person can only be the cruise director for so long before they run out of juice, ideas, energy for other people, but perhaps I’m projecting. I’ve certainly done long stretches as the prime mover, and I hope time served qualifies me for my current minor character role.
And to be clear, there are a whole host of minor characters, enumerated here.
But today, we’re concerned only with the cruise director, a seldom appreciated puller of strings, maker of routes and wrangler of cats. And of course, there are many types of person who take on this role. There are the Type A types, who really just need to be in charge of everything. There are the cheerleaders who sincerely want you to feel the joy they feel. And there are those who begrudgingly, because-no-one-else-is-going-to-do-it-and-we-have-ride, do what needs to be done to get you all there in one place to do the thing.
So who are you? Are you the planner? Or are you just along for the ride?
