Group Ride info for Beginners

[slowandsteady]

I am trying to get a group of friends together for once or twice weekly group ride. They all got very turned on by the recent Charity Ride I had them all join.

I suggested a group ride and they all went gaga over the idea so I am very psyched.

- They are almost all very new riders with few real skills...
- There will probably be about 10 of us
- Mixed levels as far as fitness

Looking for some info on what you do to educate these riders a bit before a ride and how to start this up safely and enjoyably.

Of course we will take it slow and learn to ride with one another in a paceline and shoulder to shoulder etc. over the summer but what is the best and safewest way to get this started?

[palincss]

Those new riders have no business in a pace line, IMHO. Let them learn how to ride a bike before you put them in that situation. Right now, they'd be a danger to themselves and everyone else, atmo.

There's nothing that says a "group ride" has to include pacelining.

[Lifelover]

Location, Location, Location!

Doing a beginners ride is very much like coaching youth sports. The most important thing is to make them want to come back.

However, it is completely different from youth sports in that most times the riders are NOT there to be coached.

Pick the safest most pleasant route you can find. Know the route very well.

Soft pedal out of EVERY corner! EVERY corner! Every Stop sign/light.

If the route lends itself, have a couple of VERY safe sections with an obvious ending point where people can go fast if they want. 1 to 2 miles MAX. A safe 3/4 mile loop through a neighborhood is perfect. You can do 2 laps and if anyone is really slow or needs a break, they do one.

The pace should be just fast enough that the slowest person has to work pretty hard to stay with you. If you go too slow you can quickly lose control of the ride.

If you have "control" issues, vary the route a little bit each time so that it discourages people from going off the front.

Don't expect too much. Unless they expressed otherwise, they are not there to be coached. Teach by example. Ride smooth, call out the appropriate hazards but not every little bump. Same with traffic.

Express to everyone up front that while you are there to lead a safe ride, everyone is responsible for their own safety. They should never cross an intersection simply because someone called clear. I even discourage calling intersections.

Leave the meeting spot on time and do your best to return close to a preset time.

Avoid conversations about current events.

Did I mention that these people are not coming out to be coached!?

[slowandsteady]

Palincss - I meant a very easy paceline just to get them started. We all start somewhere :)

Most of these riders have some experience but just not ready for a heavy duty group ride so this is kind of their intro riding as a group outside the (the more intense) club ride atmosphere.

Most can't make the weekly club rides in our area due to kids, work etc. so we thought we'd start our own ride...I can get them started but it's been ages since I raced or did any serious riding with a group

[palincss]

Palincss - I meant a very easy paceline just to get them started. We all start somewhere :)


I agree, but there's no reason people getting started need to be six to eighteen inches behind the rider in front. A bike length behind is perfectly fine, and gives them some room for mistakes and more reaction time while still letting people feel that they are "riding together." You don't get the benefit of the draft that way, but then there's absolutely no reason for those beginners to get the benefit of the draft.

[R2D2]

Stay in the small ring to start.
If you are in a paceline, emphasize to the leader to never stop pedaling. Especially down a hill.
Show them how NOT to lap wheels or they will go down.
Smoothness and predictable movements.
Hand signs to get back in the line.

[palincss]

Overlapping wheels is not the only way a beginner mistake can take down a pace line. How about proper technique for getting out of the saddle? Then, let's not forget not staring at the wheel in front of you. The list goes on.

Tom Kellogg has a great article on group riding on the Spectrum Cycles web site (http://www.spectrum-cycles.com/67.htm). But IMHO if you're smart you'll let all that be the subject matter for 2011's rides. For 2010, just get them out there riding but NOT in a pace line.

[slowandsteady]

But IMHO if you're smart you'll let all that be the subject matter for 2011's rides. For 2010, just get them out there riding but NOT in a pace line.

I think you are spot on with this recommendation. And if we practice anything in a paceline variation it would certainly be with at least a bike length between riders...

Other helpful tips appreciated to get them used to the rules of the ride appreciated. i thought I saw a post a while back with a list of do's and dont's for group rides. Cant seem to find it now...

[ergott]

This is big.

Teach them hand signals for hazards and not to call every pebble out so I can hear them from NY.

Teach them to ride with a steady effort level, not speed to prevent bunching up and stringing the pack out.

Teach them not to stare and the next persons rear wheel.

Make a contest out of riding the white line where it's safe. "Who can do it the longest" sort of thing.

Have a gear and bike check before each ride. All riders should know how to do a basic inspection on their bike and have some basics tools/tire repair items.

Those are my first ideas that come to mind.

[rugbysecondrow]

Palincss - I meant a very easy paceline just to get them started. We all start somewhere :)

Most of these riders have some experience but just not ready for a heavy duty group ride so this is kind of their intro riding as a group outside the (the more intense) club ride atmosphere.

Most can't make the weekly club rides in our area due to kids, work etc. so we thought we'd start our own ride...I can get them started but it's been ages since I raced or did any serious riding with a group

I view this a little different. I see a club ride different than a group ride. A group ride would mean more social, no drop policy, appropriate speeds for riders, appropriate terrain and route for riders etc. A club ride seem more like a team ride, a more formal, race oriented ride.

If you are preparing people for club rides and they are actually going to be riding in pacelines someday, then great. If these are buddies out for a social ride and fitness, then I don't get the need for a paceline. IMO, too many people want to be Lance and not enough want to enjoy the riding that got you on the bike as a kid.

[Ozz]

No underwear under their shorts....

:beer:

[palincss]

I view this a little different. I see a club ride different than a group ride. A group ride would mean more social, no drop policy, appropriate speeds for riders, appropriate terrain and route for riders etc. A club ride seem more like a team ride, a more formal, race oriented ride.


Maybe in some bike clubs -- racing clubs, perhaps -- that's how it is, but not all bike clubs and not all classes of rides are like that.

[rugbysecondrow]

Of course you are right.