Aficionados of bicycle racing are familiar with the term "selection." In a road race, the weak are selected out, and it is the goal of all to make the "final selection" from which the winner will emerge.
So what's this got to do with the Gainesville Cycling Club, you ask. If you ride A Rides, you should recognize that selection is a part of your everyday life. The only question is, will you be a selectee or a selector?
But first, when does selection occur? Usually not until the second half of the ride (though there have been exceptions!). How else can we take newcomers out into the countryside and get them lost if we don't delay selection until we're out there?
Selection does not occur on all training rides. How can you tell, before the event, whether or not to beware? Count the following jerseys milling around the ride start: Team Water World, AGV, and Team Florida. If there is a critical mass (usually 4 or more) be ready to hammer.
What are the primary causes of selection? The obvious biggie is the sprint. See Kerry Duggan's piece for the gory details. But there is also the time when the wheel in front of you just starts to pull farther and farther away...soon followed by loud cursing and crashing of gears as those behind you jam to catch back up...OH MY GOSH WHY DID I TELL CHANDLER I DIDN'T NEED A MAP!
Of course the real fun and satisfaction in life is being a selector. Winning the sign sprint and holding a high pace as a small elite group struggles to hang on. Pulling for ten minutes at over 25 mph and dropping back to find only half as many as there were before. Such is life on the A Ride. Some complain, but keep coming back for more. In all our dreams, on the next ride we will make the final selection.