road captain

Noun

road captain (plural road captains)

1. The captain of a bicycle racing team, who sets the pace.
   • Brad finished sixteenth in the individual pursuit and then a wonderful fourth in the points race behind the man who would one day be his road captain at Team Sky, Mick Rogers.2012, John Deering, Bradley Wiggins: Tour de Force, →ISBN
   • Our road captain Mick Rogers took it straight up to 450 and sat at that. So the feeling was: this is getting hard, we're on a really solid tempo here.2012, Bradley Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins: My Time: An Autobiography, →ISBN, page 206
2. (motorcycle club) An experienced rider who organizes and marshals the motorcycle club on the road.
   • At the head of the Rebel column is the road captain, who acts as the chief executive while the club is on the road. He sets the speed at which the club travels. The road captain must have a sound knowledge of how the members' hogs will perform under varying road conditions and be able to coordinate...1991, Daniel R. Wolf, The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers, →ISBN, page 221
   • The president rides adjacent to, and to the right side of, the road captain. The 'prez' and 'captain' are followed by the other members of the executive. Next in the column ride the rest of the patch holders, followed by the strikers, friends of the club, and assorted guests. At the rear of the...1991, Daniel R. Wolf, The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers, →ISBN, page 221
3. (broadly) One who is in charge of a group while it is travelling or patrolling a road
   • Other officers could include the ' road captain, the dirt captain, and the safety director. These three would have duties as follows: The road captain would be the man in charge when the group is on a road trip.1980, Air Force Driver - Volumes 14-16, page 65
   • On the side of the Burgundians an old road captain, called Le Breton d'Aily, was killed; and after these things had happened they returned to Sir [John] of Luxembourg at the camp before Araines.2012, Jean de Wavrin, Edward L. C. P. Hardy, William Hardy, A Collection of the Chronicles and Ancient Histories of Great Britain, Now Called England, →ISBN, page 368
4. (figuratively) A leader who steers or directs a group.
   • We are to take up the shield of faith—to daily walk in the faith and trust that God knows what's best for us. He is the ultimate road captain that has the best route for our lives mapped up.2006, Bill Welte -, Real Victory for Real Life, →ISBN
   • This would tax the strongest of friendships, and the Kinks were more musical partners than friends or even brothers in Ray and Dave's case. Furthermore, Ray, the musical leader, was frequently aloof, moody, or just reticent, hardly qualities of a solid road captain.2008, Thomas M. Kitts, Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else, →ISBN, page 57
5. (historical) A person who has official responsibility for maintaining a section of road.
   • James Fry and Henry Perkins were appointed road captains to call out the people and work on the road from Thompson's cow pens to Boggy Depot.1979, Wanda M. Ellis, Court records, CTN 24, Blue County Choctaw Nation, page 69
   • The ad hoc citizens' road committee divided the county's four beats into special road sections and then appointed "road captains" for each of these sections.1998, William David McCain, The Journal of Mississippi History - Volume 60, page 61