We were running north with a hint of a tailwind. The bike computer said we were running an easy 23 mph. Six cyclists in a pace line. The lead cyclist created the forward wind tunnel, expanding larger as each team member passed through. Even with a 5 mph tail, at 23, we still had 18 mph of head wind. The efficiency of the pace line allowed the team to run quicker than a single cyclist alone. The leader on the nose can put maximum effort into the wind, with the rest of the pack safely tucked in behind. The pace line rotates its leader to keep fresh legs up front.
In the dark, the approaching car was easy to see, its headlights piercing out from a hidden driveway. The halogen beams continued to brighten the road in front. We could see the car, the car couldn’t see us.
“Car right! Car right!” echoed off the passing buildings. The pace line, which had been a steady snake for the past 7 minutes suddenly began to bunch, alternating riders cheated left and right. “Slowing!” yelled the lead. Each rider focused simultaneously on bike separation, an escape path and the intersecting car. What would happen next? The riders were bunched, speed had dropped to 18, the efficient wind tunnel disappeared, each bike now flaring its own path into the resistant air.
The headlights stopped. The lead rider made eye contact with the driver and held up a stopping hand. The driver clicked to high beam and back to low.
The lead rider came out of his saddle and pressed hard into the wind, pushing back to 20. The second rider came back from the left and tucked in behind the lead 24 inches off the wheel. Each successive rider adjusted position, pressing into the forming tunnel.
The last rider hooks on and the lead hammers back to 23. In the short space of 8 seconds, the pace line approached danger, lost its effectiveness, then regrouped into a highly interdependent efficient team.
How does your team run its pace line? When circumstances throw it off course, how quickly does it react to protect itself? How does your team re-establish its operating groove? What is communication like? How quickly does the wind tunnel return? Does your team practice this drill?
An excellent analogy. I love sports metaphors in the workplace!
I have discovered one the perils of them, though: not everybody gets them. People who were born in the eastern hemisphere don’t know much about baseball, for example. So using a baseball analogy with them can fall flat. An uncomfortable situation can arise if you’re the leader, having a discussion, and using an analogy which resonates with most but is completely opaque to one individual. They can end up feeling left out of the loop.
BUT this story type of analogy that you used would seem to work best! Personally, I know nothing about cycling, but you succeeded in driving your point home regardless! Great job as always! 🙂
Kevin, Thanks for the kind words. It’s an analogy born from direct observation, so maybe it’s the same difference between virtual reality and actual reality. In any case, thank you. -Tom Foster