Cycling in a group equips each rider with a role to play in communicating with his/her neighbour at their front, rear or side. Riding at the front of the pack, i'm mindful to issue a hand signal early to my teammates to slow down upon reaching a red light. This signal is then indicated backwards to everyone else in the group, bringing everyone to a gradual and safe halt.
Furthermore, being in the front also means that i'm the first to see hazards such as potholes on the road. Again, signalling early by pointing to the pothole and shouting "pothole" to the person directly behind me helps translate the message down effectively to the group.
At the back of a group, the responsibility to communicate to the front is equally important. In the presence of any oncoming large vehicle from the rear, my response would be to shout "Car! Back!", informing riders in the front of the impending situation without them having to turn and look back.
Reflecting upon this example, it becomes clear to me how the model of the communication process is structured; source-encoding-channel-decoding-receiver becomes apparent. The impetus falls upon everyone in the group to effectively communicate with each other whilst training hard at the same time to ensure that collisions and hazards are avoided, maximizing the cycling experience.
Hello Aldrich! I like your idea of simultaneously introducing the ideas of communication while describing your story. I do agree with your interpretation of communication skills and how they are linked to the passing down of orders or dangers from the front person. However, I realized that this seemed to be a one-way communication such that the front person will pass down the message from one after another till the very last person. The last person will not seem to be able to process a message back all the way to the front person. Therefore, the communication process that was introduced in the notes would not be a continuous cycle. However, this depiction of linear communication still serves as a relatively good example of communication. Good job nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Ivan
What an insightful post! I had never really thought about communication skills in that way before, and in a way, you really enlightened me. I have always perceived cycling to be an individual sport, but now I see how a lot of communication is involved when cycling in a group.
ReplyDeleteHowever, because cycling can be a very intensive sport that requires a lot of willpower and concentration, are there difficulties faced when trying to communicate with the entire group during the sport? Just a thought…
Wow! Your post makes me realise that cycling in a group is something more than what people conventionally thought it would be. I did not realise in the past that cycling effectively in a group requires great amount of communication too. I wonder if shooting (my previous CCA back in Junior College days) requires communication among teammates. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteHello Aldrich! Like Sheryl said, I have always regarded cycling as a very individual sport. Being a Hockey player back in my JC days, I was taught the importance of team dynamics and communication in order to play a good game. Didn't know that the same goes for cycling (: (And probably swimming too?? But I have no idea how that works! Will be interesting if you can share.)
ReplyDeleteGreat insight on communication skills from an athelete's viewpoint!
Hi Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you organise your entry. It is very clear, informative and easy to understand. Although you did not mention the consequence of not having such a communication, it can be easily inferred from the situation that you have explained.
Cheers,
Chee Siang
Thank you for this clear, concise and very creative post. I appreciate the well defined focus and your insights from the cycling experience. Great job, Aldrich! I look forward to reading more from you.
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteYour post is very focused and clear on illustrating how communication in cycling activity can be important. For the most of us, we do not engage in such activities. Hence, we can be unaware of the communication procedures involved. Thanks for enlightening us with your expertise.
-evonne-
Dear Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteI used to race in the mountain biking discipline so I understand the importance of communication while cycling in a pack. Being a mountain biker, it is important to warn other cyclists behind of impending hazards or padestrians blocking the way. Hazards can range from huge stones, big drops to large animals, e.g. humongous monitor lizards. It is also important to shout aloud to warn padestrians to clear the way.
As we can see, there are many events or instances in life that require us to utilise communication skills. Thus, it is never too late to pick up on those skills!
Regards,
Ken Jie