Drew Lambert
Oakland, CA
My friends and I have a problem keeping everyone at the same pace due to our differing experience levels. My buddy and I noticed that we were spending a bunch of time sitting at trail intersections waiting to make sure the rest of the group didn't get lost. By the time we would ride away our goggles would be completely fogged up and we would be totally out of the groove for a few minutes because of the downtime.
The first part of our solution was to make sure everyone had a map. Then we all discussed and planned the route we wanted to ride. We wrote down on a piece of paper which trails to take and, if an intersection looked like a confusing one, a note which direction to head on the next trail. Finally, everyone knows where to go by just glancing down on your bike's "dashboard."
Now we are happier, cruising along and stopping only when our arms are killing us, we're tired or it's just the planned Power Bar break. Either way it takes some of the responsibility of the group off of your shoulders and allows you to keep in the groove. We put the cheat sheet together with each rider writing out their own to aid memory and make sure they can read the writing, drop it in a Ziploc bag, fold the excess and then duct tape it to their bar pad.