Originally Posted by
BobG
The "hurry up in the morning to get going to beat the heat and wind" attitude took a lot of enjoyment out of the last group ACA tour that I led in 2009. On my first tour in 1994 with a younger group I'd be the first up at 7AM and I'd have to make noise with the stove to get the others going. With the older group I had in 2009, 4 or 5 members would be up at 5AM to "beat the heat and wind" and this pattern soon spread to the rest of us out of necessity because of our shared group gear. Every morning was a clatter of tent poles and crinkle of ground sheets being packed up in the dark. I recall several group members actually running between their bike packing location and the lunch prep table, woofing down a bowl of cereal while rushing between the two. I felt that every morning was a hurry to the office in an attempt to beat the morning traffic. I couldn't even enjoy a morning cup of coffee at camp before being pressed into duty. The 93 days of tension caused me to loose my temper a couple of times with group members. (apologies if any of you are in the BF audience). I've since retired from leading ACA tours.
To summarize, starting before dawn is my LEAST favorite way of dealing with the inevitable wind which, despite all efforts, will still hit you sometime later in the day.
I have never done an ACA type tour so maybe the dynamic is different, but I think starting at different times can be manageable unless the riders want or need to ride together.
I can see where it would be harder to manage with a paid group, but someone is going to be unhappy with the start time regardless of what it is. Some folks are annoyed by having to get going in the morning, but I don't see why the early risers should have to sit around either. If I habitually wake up at 5 AM, I don't see why I should wait around twiddling my thumbs waiting for someone who wants to get started at 10 AM any more than they should have to get up at 5 AM when I do. I personally try to slip out quietly in the morning and expect folks to be fairly quiet in the evening if I turn in way earlier than them. A little courtesy in both groups can make this almost a non-issue. Putting a little distance between where the early and late risers pitch their tents helps in this regard.
As far as shared gear... I think that can be managed as well. If folks want to get going early they should prepack their lunch the night before, carry stuff that doesn't need prep, or plan on buying their lunch. They should forgo cooking breakfast. A granola bar in camp and something else down the road an hour or two later should suffice. The folks who want to sleep in need to be the ones to carry the shared gear that they will need in the morning. If the early risers have to delay or forgo their coffee or buy some of their own indiividual food, or if the late risers have to carry a bit more of the shared gear, so be it.