How big are your 'group' ride(s) ?

[azrider]

I'm curious to know what size group rides people have access to and what city. Cycling has become more and more popular here in Scottsdale/Phoenix and on any given Saturday/Sunday there are multiple (I can think of 5) options and all are 50+ in size.

SO if you wouldn't mind, please let me know what city and size of group rides you have access to.

[Black Dog]

We don't have anything that big local to me but there are a few huge rides running out of Toronto (i.e. the Donut Ride).

Personally I have never seen a large ride that was not a rolling disaster of bad riding and bad behaviour. They are often a rolling menace to other road users and certainly harm the image of cyclists. Some jurisdictions are capping the size of groups and this is probably a good thing. Public roads are not public race courses and these rides often devolve into ad hoc races. I am of the camp that feels that if you want to race then pin on a number.

[msl819]

We don't have anything that big local to me but there are a few huge rides running out of Toronto (i.e. the Donut Ride).

Personally I have never seen a large ride that was not a rolling disaster of bad riding and bad behaviour. They are often a rolling menace to other road users and certainly harm the image of cyclists. Some jurisdictions are capping the size of groups and this is probably a good thing. Public roads are not public race courses and these rides often devolve into ad hoc races. I am of the camp that feels that if you want to race then pin on a number.

I feel much the same way as Black Dog. Our normal ride is 10 give or take a couple on any given Saturday. For me, I think that is on the verge of becoming a hazard to us and a nuisance to drivers (like they need one more reason to be annoyed with us). We don't cap it but this is about where it stays. I am not one for impromptu races breaking out in the middle of an otherwise normal group ride. If you want to train, lets train. If you want to race, please do so where everyone is in agreement with regards to the added dangers racing brings.

50 plus and I think I would personally look for other options. Our city is about 20,000 permanent residents. 12,000 more with college students. I would bet that one any given Saturday there may be between 100-150 cyclists out and about on bikes. Several of the different groups met last Saturday and all started together. I think the head count was 39. It was mayhem! Just because you can pedal a bike and stay upright doesn't mean that you now how to ride a bike in a group.

[mg2ride]

In season here in Va Beach there upwards of 150+ people but they break up into 4 or 5 different paces. Each group separates by a couple of minutes.

[azrider]

In season here in Va Beach there upwards of 150+ people but they break up into 4 or 5 different paces. Each group separates by a couple of minutes.

that is huge!

[shovelhd]

Northampton MA.

Typical club rides are anywhere from 5-75 on a regular basis, not including one day events that can be up to 500. We have several race type events but do our best to be good road citizens. We have either a TT or hillclimb on Tuesday's, which are eother spaces out by 30 seconds per rider or they string out naturally. The Wednesday Night Worlds is broken up into three groups and we obey all traffic laws. Saturday's are long rides which are well behaved but we are in a group so we get some feedback at times on the rural back roads.

[weisan]

Anywhere from 5 to 20 max. I prefer smaller groups.

[BobO]

SO if you wouldn't mind, please let me know what city and size of group rides you have access to.

Tucson,... there are a lot of good group rides ranging from 10-100+ people.

Shootout.
https://fairwheelbikes.com/ridetime/
50-100 or so people, not counting the 30-50 or so in the Old Man Shootout.

I haven't done it but I've heard the Tuesday Worlds is 30-50.

GABA has rides all the time that vary from 10-30+.

Bicycle Ranch shop ride is generally 30-50, this one is my favorite.

Many, many more.

[OtayBW]

50+ is way too much for my tastes, for all the reasons mentioned.
I prefer to ride with my friends....and I don't have that many friends!....:o

[azrider]

Anywhere from 5 to 20 max. I prefer smaller groups.

Again....just trying to gauge popularity and what people have access to, not personal preference.

[azrider]

Bicycle Ranch shop ride is generally 30-50, this one is my favorite..

Hey that's my shop!! 👍👍

Shootout is on my list to try one day

[BobO]

Hey that's my shop!! 👍👍

Steve and his guys are a first class bunch. :beer:

Shootout is on my list to try one day

Old Man Shootout is fast, the main Shootout is so far above me I don't even dare dream. :( When I get fully recovered OMS is on the agenda. :)

[Ti Designs]

I love group rides, I make it a point to join in most of the group rides in my area at some point. I don't see a point in complaining about how people ride, you can always not ride with that group. Better yet, if you're qualified, you can teach riders how to ride in groups - what a concept! The only thing that really worries me is people riding well above their own level. If that's who you're teaching you're going to have to drop out of the group ride to teach - I do that 3 mornings a week in the fall...

If you're in a team, there's a point to joining a much larger group ride. As a team doing a team ride, keeping track of teammates and communicating is really easy - all of your teammates are right there. Within a larger group it gets much harder, they are forced to learn the riding habits of their teammates, and keep track of them. learning racing skills doesn't always involve racing speeds.

Group rides for me range from 3 to 800 riders. Base mileage rides in the dead of winter are going to be 3 or 4 people. It's hard to get more than that out that early when it's that cold for that long. I've done the B2B (now called the B2VT) a number of times, there are 800 riders signed up. Really it comes down to a group of maybe 20 that I ride with, probably only 2 or 3 when it gets fast.

Speaking of group rides, Ian and I are planning the next "Next Tour", which is an old school group ride where there are no cue sheets or GPS routes. Ian is the ride leader, he puts together rides that don't use the same roads that everybody else rides all the time. We're planning on March 4th, probably heading in the direction of Harvard Ma.

[Red Tornado]

IIRC best attended ride gets about 40-50 on nice days and closer to 10-15 on the not-so-nice days. The 40-50 rider turnout splits into at least two groups, but more typically three.
The A group is, like another commenter noted, an "ad hoc" race.
B group is typically a 17-19 average, with max speeds hitting mid-upper 30's. A few attacks along the way, but will regroup.
There is also what we used to jokingly call the A- group. Basically the handful of A riders that get shelled, and the few fastest B riders. The A- usually doesn't form up until mid-way through the ride.
Sometimes a weekend ride will pull 30-40 guys early/late in the year.

[Louis]

n = 1

[guido]

2

[Vientomas]

Uno.

[kingpin75s]

3 for the Sunday morning coffee and donut ride.

Otherwise mostly solo these days.

[regularguy412]

The nucleus of our little group has been riding after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays (weather permitting) now for about 10 years -- here in Northeast Arkansas. I feel very fortunate that the main 4 or 5 of us that almost always show up are good riders and understand how pacelines go and how to handle vehicular traffic. We have occasionally had as many as 14 riders.

We have 3 main routes we do after work, depending on the available daylight (we HATE to ride in the dusk/dark even with lights). So we have a 27 mile loop with some options to make it around 18 or 20 miles if the light is fading. Our other 2 loops are 37 with some rolling hills or 42 with some longer climbs but no 'mountains'. We are not racers, per se, but a couple of us have raced USAC in the past and a couple of others still dabble in the Masters classes. We all do like to go fast (relative term -- average speed around 21/22 depending on wind and climbs and who shows up LOL) and we almost always get a bit separated on the climbs. All the usual suspects, though, know where the regroup points are and no one stays off the back for long.

In June and July, we will put in over 2 hours after work before the sun sets.

I'm looking forward to March 12 when Daylight Savings Time kicks in. ;)

Mike in AR:beer:

[Mzilliox]

my rides are yuge, like tremendously big. they are full of the most terrific winners of all time.
or always by myself or with one pal. i like to look around and actually enjoy life while i ride without some jag yelling at me.
but if i did want to, ours has between 7-20 depending on weather and day

[azrider]

Holy cow.....the reading comprehension or lack thereof in this thread is terrible. At no time did I ask what your preference was/is. In the OP I simply asked "what size group rides do you have access to." (I actually asked same question twice hoping I could avoid the "they're too dangerous" sect.

jeez....

Not to be jerkish but I don't care (Nobody should care) about what you prefer.......or which is better, or pros/cons of solo vs group rides. It's as personal as saddle preference so there's no right or wrong answer. I was simply curious if all cities were like mine in the sense of having access to multiple 50+ person group rides (If that's your thing or not is again, irrelevant)

mods feel free to delete this before it becomes another 5 page rant about group ride 'preferences'........

:crap:

[Mzilliox]

:hello::beer::crap::banana: yawn....

[bironi]

Holy cow.....the reading comprehension or lack thereof in this thread is terrible. At no time did I ask what your preference was/is. In the OP I simply asked "what size group rides do you have access to." (I actually asked same question twice hoping I could avoid the "they're too dangerous" sect.

jeez....

Not to be jerkish but I don't care (Nobody should care) about what you prefer.......or which is better, or pros/cons of solo vs group rides. It's as personal as saddle preference so there's no right or wrong answer. I was simply curious if all cities were like mine in the sense of having access to multiple 50+ person group rides (If that's your thing or not is again, irrelevant)

mods feel free to delete this before it becomes another 5 page rant about group ride 'preferences'........

:crap:

Take your meds and get to bed.

[mg2ride]

that is huge!

I meant to add that is in season AND on Saturdays.

I'm leading rides for a group of young adults that make up the nucleus of a Tour De Cure team called the Justice League. Those rides vary from about 6 to 15 people.

We all dress like super hero's for the Tour, The Young man that organizes the team truly is an amazing kid. He is a Engineer, Hipster, break dancing, artist.

I maybe starting a thread asking for donations later in the season. Here is a couple of links if anyone wants to check us out.

https://www.facebook.com/JusticeLeagueCycling/?pnref=story

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TourAdmin?team_id=734299&pg=team&fr_id=11710

[MaraudingWalrus]

Most of the rides I do are a range of one to ten. There are some larger rides in the area, but I avoid them due to... shall we say, personality clashes?

[Tickdoc]

winter rides average 10-12 riders.

After time change, regular Sat group rides are from 50-100, split up into four groups: Breakaway (10-15) A group (20-30) B group (20-30) and a mellowton group (20-30)

Anytime a group gets too large, ride leaders will split the group to keep it manageable....tell the slower ones or those not feeling it to take the back, and let the others push to the front. It works for about five miles and then the big group eventually regroups.

Wed night rides are smallish about 10 people with our group, but there is a large multi-club wed night group ride that is anywhere from 100-200 large.

[Black Dog]

I love group rides, I make it a point to join in most of the group rides in my area at some point. I don't see a point in complaining about how people ride, you can always not ride with that group. Better yet, if you're qualified, you can teach riders how to ride in groups - what a concept! The only thing that really worries me is people riding well above their own level. If that's who you're teaching you're going to have to drop out of the group ride to teach - I do that 3 mornings a week in the fall...

If you're in a team, there's a point to joining a much larger group ride. As a team doing a team ride, keeping track of teammates and communicating is really easy - all of your teammates are right there. Within a larger group it gets much harder, they are forced to learn the riding habits of their teammates, and keep track of them. learning racing skills doesn't always involve racing speeds.

Group rides for me range from 3 to 800 riders. Base mileage rides in the dead of winter are going to be 3 or 4 people. It's hard to get more than that out that early when it's that cold for that long. I've done the B2B (now called the B2VT) a number of times, there are 800 riders signed up. Really it comes down to a group of maybe 20 that I ride with, probably only 2 or 3 when it gets fast.

Speaking of group rides, Ian and I are planning the next "Next Tour", which is an old school group ride where there are no cue sheets or GPS routes. Ian is the ride leader, he puts together rides that don't use the same roads that everybody else rides all the time. We're planning on March 4th, probably heading in the direction of Harvard Ma.

Here is the rub Ti. There are skilled experienced riders that are good teachers and willing to teach. However, there is an pervasive attitude among riders against learning how to "ride". The resistance to even the mere suggestion that they may need to learn anything generates such a powerful negative response. Everyone knows everything, regardless of the evidence to suggest otherwise. This is especially worse with riders that are strong, they falsely equate being fit with being a good rider. The riders that are willing to learn and realize that no one is an expert starting out are usually female riders and young riders.

I have been at this for over 30 years and was taught by experienced and knowledgeable riders when I was starting out. I still have things to learn and I still practice the basics every year. Most riders out there are middle aged men that started latter in life; ego, pride or whatever makes them seemingly impervious to wanting to cultivate better skills.

[oldpotatoe]

Uno.

one or 2..prefer one. :D

[Ralph]

Lots of large group rides here. Almost any day.

I only ride with small groups that obey traffic laws same as cars....no matter how dumb some laws are for cyclists.

BTW....on a ride recently...one of my riding friends got knocked down...right hook at intersection....and was observed by local cop. Cop went to court and told judge how lawful we were riding, and how it was 100% car drivers fault. Thousands of dollars of health care costs at stake...to be paid by someone....or their insurance company.

[Dana Kilalps]

Nearest group ride is 25 miles away, 15 to 50 people. Ten years ago I quit going and instead ride by myself on nice rural roads nearer home and listen to books or music. I occasionally encounter another solo rider and may ride together a while.

[Peter P.]

Some jurisdictions are capping the size of groups...

I'm curious; who in the jurisdiction is capping the group size and how are they policing it-is it a local law?

I fully agree with your comments. I don't participate in the local rides so I can't answer the OP's question, but from what I've heard, they're large enough to impede vehicular traffic. I fully expect this to become a widespread problem and expect the result to be laws limiting the size of groups without pulling a parade permit.

[shovelhd]

Bike races impede local traffic. Farm tractors impede local traffic. Garbage trucks impede local traffic. Buses impede local traffic.

Guess which one needs multiple permits to impede local traffic?

I'm not in favor of group rides impeding local traffic, at least not consistently and intentionally. Some of it is inevitable. It's called sharing the road.

[mg2ride]

... I fully expect this to become a widespread problem and.....

You really expect packs of anal retentive, middle aged men wearing spandex to be a wide spread problem?

[Ti Designs]

Here is the rub Ti. There are skilled experienced riders that are good teachers and willing to teach. However, there is an pervasive attitude among riders against learning how to "ride". The resistance to even the mere suggestion that they may need to learn anything generates such a powerful negative response. Everyone knows everything, regardless of the evidence to suggest otherwise. This is especially worse with riders that are strong, they falsely equate being fit with being a good rider. The riders that are willing to learn and realize that no one is an expert starting out are usually female riders and young riders.

I have been at this for over 30 years and was taught by experienced and knowledgeable riders when I was starting out. I still have things to learn and I still practice the basics every year. Most riders out there are middle aged men that started latter in life; ego, pride or whatever makes them seemingly impervious to wanting to cultivate better skills.

I don't think I've agreed with any response on this forum more than this. Most people trust what's in their heads more than what reaches their ears. Say something that conflicts with what they "know" and they react like you've just kicked their dog or insulted their mother. My own memory is in constant overwrite mode, which is why I'll never be able to memorize a phone number, or trust anything that's in my head. To me, testing what I think I know is the default process, it's just what I do. Two things happen because of this: I tend to be very good at what I do (what most people call "expert" I call competent), and lots of people think I'm an asshole because I've kicked their mother...

When it comes to teaching middle aged riders, there's a trick to getting some of them to give up what they think they know - it's called frustration. If there's one thing you know they are, it's competitive. If one guy in the group gets carbon wheels, they all get carbon wheels. If one guy learns how to ride better, the competitive instinct can override what the know, all of the sudden it's "what just happened?" Their first reaction is probably still going to be "ride harder", but that's probably going to fail - getting older and trying harder is a bad combination.

A good riding group can also shut down the angry response to questioning what they know. There are a couple of local groups that want to be the best riding group on the road. I've taken one group out on the grass for a morning of bumper bikes, I've taken out smaller subsets to work on paceline skills...

[mjalder2]

I'm curious; who in the jurisdiction is capping the group size and how are they policing it-is it a local law?



Can't speak for everywhere, but there's a town or two around here that see lots of cyclists every weekend and passed local ordinances against riding in groups over a certain size and/or riding two abreast. Local police will corral groups to hand out tickets or stop pairs of riders riding next to each other.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shovelhd]

Please publish the list of towns so that I can avoid them.