Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most cycling fun ever. Riding solo is fun, but riding in a paceline is Really Fun. I did that every Sunday for many years, all with the same group. The group is sorta still there, much diminished in number and ability so that we really can't paceline anymore. Riding with friends is still fun though. I'm starting to get back to it, sucked a friend's wheel for 37 miles a week ago. Folks have become more dilapidated at an uneven rate, so we get spread out now and regroup at the rest stop. Some of us went to e-bikes, but they're a minority so far.

Learning how to pull takes some experience. When we ride solo and the wind gusts a little, we usually keep the same effort, meaning we slow or speed up in the gusts, depending on direction. Pulling, we hold the speed and vary the power. Going over the top of a hill, we accelerate as soon as we start to descend. Can't do that with a paceline. The leader can't accelerate any faster than the last rider in the paceline. Lots of stuff like that. It's an art. But that's the fun of it, too. Riding with people who know how to pull is a real pleasure. And conversely . . . I like to say that on a group ride, we speak with our bikes. There's a language. That's a great way to get to know each other. We're pretty naked out there.