Brandon McNulty spent six years helping Tadej Pogačar win. On Sunday, he became world champion. For a big chunk of my career I was a support rider too, the VP whose job was to make the boss shine. It was a role I was good at, and that was the trap. So whose race are you riding right now?

I was heading into a day of client meetings in London, so the Blur T-shirt went under a shacket. Then a Carter USM song at a red light took me back to 1993 and reminded me how much of myself I used to hide to fit the room. Part one of a two-part story about the hidden constraints that shape how we show up.

A mid-week ride, an unexpected challenge, and a lesson about what happens when you stop choosing the comfortable group. Part of the Lessons from the Peloton series.

If I’d focused on personal bests, I’d have called it a failure. But this 200km group ride wasn’t about speed—it was about getting everyone there, together.

A weekend bikepacking trip — and an unexpected trail-side bike pump — got me thinking: what do we leave behind that might help the next person along the way?