Leadership
Lead others leveraging interpersonal ability, group management tools, and sound decision making and judgement.
During my third semester in the Outdoor Adventure program I took the 5-day Cycle Touring Guide elective in October 2023. This course involved developing guide-level cycle touring skills with a focus on learning and executing industry-specific standards for cycle touring guides. Emphasis is placed on planning and executing multi-day cycle touring trips, client management, equipment packing and care, and retrieving industry related information for successful trip planning. This allowed me to hone my ability to lead others through interpersonal ability, group management tools, and sound decisions making and judgment.
Over the 5-day tour my co-guide Kia and I were the leaders for two days. We made sure to plan our route for the next day ahead of time. We made sure to avoid main, high-traffic, roads and super challenging hills. When we did have to travel on busier roads, we made sure to keep everyone safe traffic. We also made sure to plan the meals we cooked ahead of time, before stocking up on groceries along the route to our next campsite. When we did cook, we made sure to have more than enough food for everyone and that the food was perfectly cooked. On one of the mornings I even led the group through a morning yoga practice to keep spirits high while everyone’s bodies were aching. See the photo of Kia and I cooking spaghetti for dinner and the other photo of our cycle tour group at the end of our trip.
This was a great learning experience. I learned that as the leader of a group, you don’t always have to lead from the front. You can also lead from the middle of the group. It is also important to remind the group the importance of safety, especially around cars. Furthermore, being able to give a group warm food at the end of a long day of cycling really makes them trust you and feel supported by you. Warm, delicious food keeps people calm and happy.