[posted to CCM list]

Me to this list, 24 April 2003:

Hear, hear! I don’t think “anarchy routes” are ANY fun. There’s always
dilly-dallying about where the ride’s going to go, the ride ends up going
in circles and ends up in the same old parts of town that pretty much
replicate my daily commute. (We live surrounded by architectural splendor!
Let’s go and see it!) We end up being really antagonistic, inertia keeps us
on streets for really long and boring (and bus-schedule-wreaking)
stretches. The ride loses its energy fast as people who don’t have anything
to look forward to make other plans and ditch the ride — not that there
was much energy to start with, since the ride has no common (or consensus)
vision to begin with. “Anarchy” is capricious, frustrating, and boring.

This is not to say that a lot of planning has to go into a ride to make it
great. Gareth’s totally impromptu, sketched-on-a-paper-napkin map the time
the French Cycling Sisters showed up a few summers back totally rocked.

Okay, so maybe I’m a stickler for order and responsibility and planning.
But hey, in my experience, those sure beat the alternative.

Also, the “anarchy map” privileges the individuals up front; no one else gets any say in where the mass goes. With pre-printed maps, the entire group gets a chance to read, vet, and vote on the maps.