The Jake and the Zach (The Fable Aesop forgot).

Question to ponder: What do you get when you cross two metal bikes with road pavement?

So I learned a lesson about biking last night. A pretty important one. It involves riding with others/in groups.

First, the background story...

     Last night, some friends of mine and I were treating ourselves to the glorious night spots in this glorious city. We finished dinner and whatnot at the first place and decided to venture out to a second location for dessert (but instead, we just ended up eating more delicious food!). My housemate, Jake, and I rode our bikes, and the others walked/drove. So Jake and I bundled up and headed out. So far so good.
     This city isn't too huge, and there aren't too many ways to get from point A to point B. I was taking the route I thought was shortest, and without objecting, Jake simply followed my lead. We were talking, laughing, etc. as we rode and it didn't even occur to either of us to check with the other which route we were taking.
     Fast forward to almost the end of the short trip. We're practically just out front of our next destination. Jake and I are riding through an intersection. I assume that he knows that the entrance of this place is on the crossroad, so without asking, I turn left. Jake wasn't turning left. But Jake was on my left. See a problem? As I turned, I collided with Jake. We both have drop handlebars, which suddenly were very intimately cuddling with each other. I can't unhook. Jake can't unhook. Jake starts falling to his left. I am pulled very closely behind aaaaand <insert the sound of metal-clashing-with-metal and metal-scraping-pavement = the answer to your question> kachow! Within a short second, Jake and I went from being upright and next to each other to being on our side and next to each other, sliding along the pavement.
     Save for an insignificant elbow scrape and some cosmetic paint/metal gouges on our bikes (mostly mine), we're perfectly fine. Luckily.

The moral of the story, folks, is this:
(as Aesop might say it) Communicate not, ride not.

English: Communication among riders is essential to a safe group ride!

Our "falling out", if you will, originated with my assumption that Jake knew where we were going --> mistake #1. Then I proceeded both not to ask him if he knew, or to tell him where to go/my intentions --> mistake #2. Then we collided.
But we were okay, and enjoyed a great time at the Beer Exchange (a beautiful, fun and cool new place that just opened downtown - go check it out if you haven't yet!) followed by a beautiful, snowy ride home. We made it home without any collisions.

In the end,
"This time we got lucky. Next time we'll communicate!" :)

Safe riding to you all! Thanks for reading!