What is Red Lantern Racing?
You beat everyone who didn’t start.
The lanterne rouge, or “red lantern,” has long been the traditional nom de guerre given to the perseon who is the final rider across the finish line in a bicycle race. A red jersey hasn’t been awarded to last-place cyclists for many years, but that rider is still noted, often heroically, for battling the course, the elements and their own weaknesses to finish the race. It is, in its own right, a position and title of honor.
Red Lantern Racing is a concept honoring the competitive spirit of riding without needing to actually be truly competitive for places or points. A Red Lantern Rider gets on a bike because – above all else – it is fun, and feels neither shame nor sorrow at crossing the line in or near last place, as long as the person gave it their all.
If our identities are first and foremost as bike riders and racers, our results are merely footnotes to that overarching lifestyle.
