Flicking through a December 1987 copy of Bicycling Magazine, I found several little gems worth sharing.  In case anyone says anything, EVERYTHING here is relevant to Gravel Grinding.  Sort of.

Another Long Road Ride
Picture a hot and humid Sunday morning, in Gainesville, Florida.  Seventy eight miles were planned, from the agreed meeting place, but more if you rode to the start.  That’s what I did.  Weather forecast called for showers around 1pm, which is pretty typical in Florida for this time of year.

Note to self: prepare for the ride by wearing not your best kit, not your best shoes, and riding not your best bike, aka the “rain bike”, “frog bike”, etc.  If you’ve only got one bike, well, that’s a bugger.  The route was carefully chosen; I have a nice library of rides I have prepared over the years, and rotate them in and out on any given weekend day.

This is the conundrum our grupetto faced during today’s 86 mile training ride.  “Next right”, or “right”?  First world problems abound here.

Setting the Scene
Imagine a two by two group of riders, 12 in all, chugging along on serene Florida back roads.  The bloke leading the ride, yours truly, was calling out the turns to whomever was on the front.  A few of the riders were ignoring me, as they had swiped a copy of my awesome course file, and loaded onto their little Garmin 705’s and 800’s.  The purple line can rule your life.  Lemmings.

The group was heading South along a paved road (at left).  Yours truly, a row or two from the front, calls out “next right”, not once, not twice, but thrice, each time increasing in volume.