Originally Posted by
BengeBoy
To clarify what I meant about "easy" -- my experience is that there will be century rides that attract folks out for their first century; frequently these rides may consist of several different loops so you're on routes that may include people who are just out for 20, 40, or 60 miles, in addition to folks doing their first century. I mean no disrespect to folks for whom these distances are a big accomplishment -- but my observation is that there are riders on these rides who are struggling to hold a straight line, and not experienced at all in pacelines. That's OK with me -- rides like this are fantastic way to get folks out stretching their limits. But on these rides, I won't jump on a paceline with riders I don't know.
You are absolutely correct. I guess in my mind when I have been on these overlapping route rides I tend to dismiss the type of riders you describe as obstacles to get around - but you are correct. These are riders who are not traveling a pace that would allow me to draft nor allow them to draft me. I guess the "looking through" these riders is not the best attitude but I tend to focus on my agenda. However I do believe that someone who as prepared themselves well for their first century may not be a cat 5 racer but is certainly far better and much more experienced than your average cyclist. But these are not the only ones you encounter - you also ride through all the Sat afternoon riders doing their first 25.