Great article on group rides

[firerescuefin]

http://carolinacyclingnews.com/2011/09/01/lost-art-of-the-group-ride/

Had a friend send this to me today. Lot of good points that are easy to forget/misplace.

[thinpin]

An all to often heard complaint these days.

[tiretrax]

I'm putting together a group ride combing two 100k charity ride routes that overlap. It's in beautiful hilly country west of Ft. Worth. I've invited friend and folks from the forum - they will all receive this article beforehand.

When people ask me about what riding in Dallas is like, I tell them it's a place of LanceWannabes. I bet 1/2 the production of deep dish wheels is sold here. I bet it has the highest concentration of Cat 2-3's and triatheletes in the USA.

[Joachim]

That was written by my bike lawyer...

[Scott Shire]

Great read. I'm on board with every point he makes. I only ride one group ride anymore, and he's summarized nicely the reason why.

[SteveFrench]

I'm glad I read that. I'm guilty of several of those follies and will now make an effort to improve. Thanks for posting.

[JDtwowheels]

Nice Article. I think I learn and forget each of those items each year.

[geopedler]

A good read indeed, thanks!

[Steve in SLO]

Good article...thanks!
Having been riding for 30+ years, the last section particularly hit home: the apprenticeship and acceptance vs today's "I'm here for me" attitude. This is probably why I now tend to ride with just a few friends, all long-time riders.

[cat6]

I think in short what he's saying is the ride is about the ride, and not about you. The glory in a group ride is riding with a group of likeminded cyclists, not about standing out or being elite. Thanks, good read.

[cat6]

I think in short what he's saying is the ride is about the ride, and not about you. The glory in a group ride is riding with a group of likeminded cyclists, not about standing out or being elite. Thanks, good read.

[Bob Ross]

I think in short what he's saying is the ride is about the ride, and not about you. The glory in a group ride is riding with a group of likeminded cyclists, not about standing out or being elite. Thanks, good read.

The folks I coach have heard me say this too many times to count:

It's called a Group Ride because you ride in a group! If you're off the front, you're not riding in the group anymore!

Some of them have even listened...

And yes, I've already forwarded that excellent article to this year's class. It really is an incredibly succinct description of The Problem.

[LesMiner]

I too found the article right on target with my own experience. Some of the rides are more like interval training. Like a game of how many riders can I drop. Other rides have been with a more cooperative group that remains together through out the ride. Typically the average speed at the end of the ride is not that different. All that surging is great fun for those dominate riders until a more dominate rider shows up. Sort of like riding in a pack of stray dogs and all want to be the top dog.

[1happygirl]

Great Article!! Just read it.

Have been out of riding a while, called & joined a club. Asking abt rides and they said what speed are you etc instead of welcome back.

We have lost all consideration. Its all abt me. :crap:

[kenmetzger]

I ride about 3k miles a year, but I am still not very experienced with group rides. It often feels like chaos even with experienced riders. I want to know what I am doing wrong, but it seems like not many people know the rules. I will told one thing and then corrected over doing what I was just told (both from very experienced group riders). This is why I am much more at ease on the front or back and will pull much longer than I should.

Btw, is there a good source for the basics?

[soulspinner]

Great Article!! Just read it.

Have been out of riding a while, called & joined a club. Asking abt rides and they said what speed are you etc instead of welcome back.

We have lost all consideration. Its all abt me. :crap:

Mirrors our culture as a whole right NOW :crap:

[wasfast]

He makes some good points and I mostly agree. The real issue IMO is expectations. Most group rides that have been going on for some time have a script. The problem is it's not clearly articulated.

"Bill" invites his buddy "Joe" from work that's somewhat new to riding but has some basic fitness. Bill says "you should come to our Saturday group ride. It's fun!". Joe comes thinking that we're all going to have a nice gentle ride in the country. The ride really is a bunch of former Cat 4's that like to hammer each other each weekend since they can't/don't race anymore. Joe goes out the back on the first hill, the group rides off into the distance and Joe concludes that group rides are a negative experience.

The expectations are very clearly different but also not spoken. The group regulars complain they have to wait for the "the new guy" and the new guy is asking himself how this is fun or even considered a group ride.

The only way around all this is to do some research upfront on a particular group ride and guage that against your own fitness and goals. There's nothing wrong with any sort of group ride as long as you know what you're getting into. Otherwise, a solo ride at your own pace will be far more satisfying.

[Fixed]

nothing new group rides were like that in the 70's too and i suspect since the beginning of cycling ..
2-3 riders a nice ride add more riders and a race breaks out
everybody wants to show how strong they are
cheers imho

[etu]

one of my most memorable ride ever was a group ride while i was in minneapolis/st paul with the bike club there. there were about 20 guys and it was a perfect mix of testasterone and camaraderie. we'd stay together as a group, except when the town signs approached when there was a mad sprint for the "points". the group wasn't the most fluid, but ride leader did a great job of keeping the group together and everyone was having a lot of fun.

[redir]

That little article has really gone viral.

As for riding in groups I really don't understand why it's so difficult for some people. Not to sound like an arrogant jerk but it just came natural to me. I remember the first time I ever road in a group I just watched what they were doing and repeated it, simple, done. idunno?

[HenryA]

I ride about 3k miles a year, but I am still not very experienced with group rides. It often feels like chaos even with experienced riders. I want to know what I am doing wrong, but it seems like not many people know the rules. I will told one thing and then corrected over doing what I was just told (both from very experienced group riders). This is why I am much more at ease on the front or back and will pull much longer than I should.

Btw, is there a good source for the basics?

Generally cycling clubs don't follow any authority about ride organization but their own that might be passed as custom from one to another. It can become layers of bad advice applied with little thought. If you ever trained/raced with a proper group and a knowledgeable coach the dysfunction described would be immediately apparent. So you might not want to pay too much attention to some of the more experienced club riders as they might be operating out of some faulty local rules or custom that have no bearing on how a group ride should be conducted. They are as ignorant as a beginner or maybe worse if they think they know something.

In a typical club situation, there is usually no coach, just every man and woman for themselves. Riding four abreast, crossing the yellow line, not holding a line and giving little or no regard for other traffic are pretty standard.

My suggestion is that you ride in groups no larger than 10 or 12 (and that's big) comprised of individuals who want to cooperate in having a fun safe ride. Someone should be appointed the captain - not to rag on people but to simply insure that safe and polite practices are followed, no one is dropped, left with a flat, etc.

Introducing a few drills can be fun, such as practicing riding in pacelines while sharing the work or sitting in and resting if the pace is too high at the moment. When your group can ride a compact efficient paceline for 5 minutes, start working on doing it for 15 minutes, then longer. You'll be amazed at how much ground you can cover with a cooperative group. For a real strong workout, chasing a rider who's gone up the road can be a good interval training while using the paceline skills you've learned or mastered. For all that you'll need someone in charge to call the game.

This might be a subject for a good new thread if anyone is interested.

[kramnnim]

Dang...everywhere I look, people are linking to this article.

Interesting how different points stand out to each person.