Saturday's Ride (Teamwork or Self-Advancement?)

Saturday's ride included four of us. I rode with Jimmy, Dan and Jurgen. We were a bit slower on the trails today, since it was about 4C, and the trails were a bit wet.

Today I tried taking a few pictures with my new phone, an LG 8100, which has a 1.3 MP camera, takes vids, and is an MP3 phone. So this time, instead of waiting for the other guys, I took pictures while I was waiting, and I also lagged behind when taking other shots. I have yet to figure out how to get the pictures off of my phone, but I'll figure that out soon (update: See photo above of "the Mill").

At the beginning of the ride, I was having problems with the contacts on the battery for my lights. The clips were getting loose and had to stop a few time to fix the situation. Jurgen stopped and waited, to make sure that I was coming, and we then continued.

There were other times where I was really pushing myself to have a good run at some of the sections. I felt bad that I sometimes did that, but I'm torn between being a competitor, and wanting to better my racing skills, and enjoying the company of the group, and training the less experienced riders in our group. It really got me to thinking when Jurgen waited for me, and compared it to how I treat the others. Sure I stop at certain points, but only because I feel I have to.

This is the theme for this blog, and thus the title. How do I balance the needs of myself with the needs of others? Should I go two times a week to fulfill both? I'll have to think that one over.

I might go riding on Wednesday, since a LBS has a regular ride at 6pm every week. Since I'm off on Thursday for the rest of the year, That should work out. I might also go some during the day within the holidays.