I dunno Brian - I agree with some of this, and disagree with some as well. IMO - a group ride is no different than a solo ride when it comes to the most basic rule: don't ride over one's head. The difference, of course, is that in a group ride there is this natural temptation to try and follow the rider directly in front of you, sometimes right past one's own comfort limits. The problem that crops up isn't the fault of the group ride (or its leader, or its sweep, or anyone else), it's that individual rider letting that temptation get the best of them.
The best way to handle that in a group ride is to make sure that people know they won't be left behind. And from a rider's perspective, it's important to always know where you're going and where the next meeting point is. As challenging as Mt. Hamilton/Mines can be, one thing that it is supreme on is its navigational simplicity. It's utterly impossible to get lost. If you lose the rider in front of you, keep going until you see them again. There are no intersections, there are no complicated directions, it's as simple as that. Someone who idles along at well below the speed limit can still have fun on a ride like this, with a group that will always be waiting at the next meet-up point. This can be emphasized more at the ride start, and we likely could all have been much clearer about this early this morning. There's never a need for anyone to ever feel any undue stress.
In a group ride that does go over more complicated routes, it is key to make sure that people understand how to wait for the rider behind them at intersections. If everyone follows this basic rule, and trusts that everyone else will, then there is that much less worry and concern for newer riders to worry about getting lost and left behind. That confidence that they will be A-OK as long as they keep progressing at whatever speed they choose is important. And of course - a sweep is never a bad idea.
The best group rides tend to be ones that feel like solo rides that happen to have other people along to share the fun. All riders should retain the flexibility to move along at whatever pace they are comfortable with, and in all likelihood, they will find another rider or several riders who are on the same wavelength anyway.
