I guess you’ve never been on a B.C. guided ride then. If it’s done properly ( and admittedly some aren’t ) the leaders will work as a team to keep the group moving, and no one will be waiting at junctions, and so on and so forth. If the leaders are really good, the ride will get round the route, and only have stopped to allow re grouping if anyone has dropped off ( probably on an upward bit of the route, when some people get off and walk, and it’s not practical to slow the entire group down that much ) or needs a rest, or at the planned stop points. If anyone does start to drop off, on the bulk of a route, they should get the groups pace backed off, so that it’s riding at the pace of the slowest rider(s). There are also signals used ( if it’s a multi leader ride ) that indicate to one of the leaders from the pack, when to sprint ahead to an up coming junction and try and ensure that the group can pass through without having to stop. That leader then waits for every one to pass through, and joins the back, and gets a ‘dynamic rest’ whilst the previous ‘rear gunner’ moves to the middle / front ( depending on how many leaders / group size ) and becomes the next ‘junction sprinter’. Then the middle and rear leaders swap roles sequentially, whilst the leader who’s route it is, or has been designated ‘mother goose’ remains at the front. If there are only 2 leaders, then the front leader and rear leader take turns in being signaller and junction sprinter, and if it’s a solo ride leader, they have to do everything themselves, sitting at the back for the most part, sprinting ahead and getting the junctions dealt with, then sitting at the back again, unless there’s anything potentially tricky on the route that requires them to be leading at the front of the pack. All the routes should be reccy’d, and risk assessed, and assigned a difficulty / suitability rating, according to B.C. criteria. These are the key difference between what we do, and what the majority of ‘club rides’ do. We are properly trained and experienced, I’ve personally yet to find a ‘club’ that does it ‘properly’ indeed from having experienced a few ‘clubs’ rides, I see what would put people off.