Fifty Plus (50+) - Got Dropped But Good!

I have read this sort of event happening many times some here and many on the road forum.
Saturday I had the entire day to myself and had decided to join a Sat. ride group which leaves from an LBS literally down the hill from my home. I had checked out with them earlier in the week. They usually ride somewhere between 40-55 miles in anywhere from 2-3+ hours.
Long story short, I began with a small group of about 14 riders, things were going along just fine, then at about the 8 mile mark heading out of town there is a long incline. It is almost like an old carriage road, a series of rises followed by short plateaus. I use this route frequently and it is always the hardest part of any ride I take. There are bigger hills and longer hills, but I always find this one difficult. Anyway, you know the story from here, about 2/3 of the way into the hill I am being dropped like a piece of day old fish. This is a never look behind group and so that was it. One other rider also got dropped on the hill so he and I teamed up and had a good ride. Came home with 48+ miles.
Lesson learned, when you see riders coming in for a ride wearing Wake Forest cycle team jerseys and having bikes set up like jppe's time trial machine it's probably going to be a little fast.

:beer:

I have read this sort of event happening many times some here and many on the road forum.
... I am being dropped like a piece of day old fish...

hearing ya
same kinda weekend for me...
I rode saturday's ride with little distinction and yesturday was even worser. woulda felt better if I had bonked, instead of the limp spaghettini leg syndrome. I need get to some real recovery time - this is not good considerin the 1st race is 2 wks out. time for some megadose massagin...

One of the reasons I am starting to ride on my own nowadays. On the MTB I just let the others do their thing but ALL mountain bikers in my area have the same rule. Top of a long hill or at an intersection of trails- you stop to let the group reform. I am often the slower rider up the hills but I do not need a rest at the top to collect my breath- Just get to the top, catch the others unawares with their helmets off, and keep riding. At least that is how it works for the first half of the rides. Second half and it is me waiting for them at the top of the hills .

Then on the road- Haven't found any group to ride with. I know of a several in our town- and one should suit me down to the ground- an elderly group of bike nerds on their 15 to 20 year old lumps of steel- but they get boring. Only went with one ride with them and they go at 12mph. On the flat downhill and the uphill bits. There are several friends that ride regularly but sorry- their milage is either too low or they are too slow. Then there are that group of 30 year olds that go from the other end of the town. Regularly see them as we start. They are all dressed alike- all on Giant OCR's and all look as though they are fit as they pass us at 10mph faster than us as we set off for the hills. Mind you we did meet them once at a cafe 15 miles from home once. We went offroad over the top of the hills and they obviously took the scenic route. We got talking and I asked them how they got over the "High and Over" (A very steep hilll in our area), with their 53/11 gearing and they admitted that their bikes are not set up for hills. They only do the flat bits. Where they had gone I do not know but I did notice that none of them seemed to be the remotest bit tired.

The last club ride I went on I was (to steal a phrase from a friend of mine) dropped like a hot rock in a hot rock dropping contest. One older gent hung with me for the first few miles and then said, "Well, I guess I'm warmed up." He proceeded to take off like he was shot from a cannon. That was 15 years ago. I haven't been back on a club ride since.

We do a Breakfast ride every Saturday,the standard rule is ,if your gonna cook,you take the extended route,which is 3 to 6 miles longer, that way we all get to the restaurant at about the same time,after we eat and start back home, all bets are off,put as much wind in your sails as you can...works good for our group!!

Good story Dan-we've all been there!! I can just picture that hill you're talking about.

I'm sure there are some rides around your parts where there are "no drops" and riders group back up at different points. Good to hear you were able to group up with another fellow and make it a good day!!

Man, if I had a dollar for every time I was dropped, I'd go out and buy a pretty, lugged, steel bike!

Man, if I had a dollar for every time I was dropped, I'd go out and buy a pretty, lugged, steel bike!
:D

We do a Breakfast ride every Saturday,the standard rule is ,if your gonna cook,you take the extended route,which is 3 to 6 miles longer, that way we all get to the restaurant at about the same time,after we eat and start back home, all bets are off,put as much wind in your sails as you can...works good for our group!!

This sounds like our weekly breakfast ride. The fast group does 25 miles, the slower group (that would include me) does 20 miles to the restaurant. Everyone takes the same route home and we often finish together. The route home is mainly downhill, with tail winds and only one significant hill. Wish I could find more routes like the last leg of this ride :D

This is why I started a bicycle club. Instead of trying to keep up with hammerheads, I found new riders and helped them become stronger riders. For a while I had the odd experience of being the fastest rider on most rides. But now we have a few who could leave me in the dust. Most of our rides are very casual. If some of us want to go a little faster, we'll take a side loop or wait at the top of a big hill. We usually agree to meet up at a rest stop if we break up into groups. But nobody ever gets left alone.

LBS talked me into going on local "no drop" club ride. Did not even make it with them through the warm up. Dropped like a bad habit. Got a better bike and trained. Rode again with them the next year. Made it past the warm up stage. Then it was like the tour de France. Got boxed in the pack, people forcing me off wheels, lots of braking. Spit out the back of the pack. Bad thing is that there the only club within 50 miles.

Man, if I had a dollar for every time I was dropped, I'd go out and buy a pretty, lugged, steel bike!
I already have several. :) [See C&V for Capo pictures.]

One blessing of being entirely devoid of natural athletic talent is that I learned long ago to compete only against myself and the clock.

We do a Breakfast ride every Saturday,the standard rule is ,i.... ...works good for our group!!That's the thing - the group should decide on the rules of the ride before time and stick with it. Our club rides are all for specific speed ranges. The slower rides are always no-drops and someone is assigned as a sweep. The faster rides will drop you if you fall below the agreed to speed - but that's known and agreed to before the start.

The more I hear about other club rides, the more I appreciate the Harrisburg Bike Club.

Thanks for everyones comments. I just take the event as a lesson learned. I won't try to ride with that particular group again. I may try another, but in the meantime I will continue to ride solo. I was surprised by this group becuase my own regular performance at distance is okay (usually 17.3 - 17.6) for rides over 40 miles and when I had checked with the shop and they told me the parameters of their normal ride I thought the timing/distance sounded right.

What kills me on rides in which I can maintain the average speed is differences in recovery rates.
When I go anaerobic, usually on a short hill at 20+ mph in rolling terrain, it takes 1-3min, depending,
to get my legs or wind back, by which time the cyclists 10-20yrs younger are 100+ yds down the
road. Being on beta blockers doesn't help either! There are some groups I just can't ride with.

Thanks for everyones comments. I just take the event as a lesson learned. I won't try to ride with that particular group again. I may try another, but in the meantime I will continue to ride solo. I was surprised by this group becuase my own regular performance at distance is okay (usually 17.3 - 17.6) for rides over 40 miles and when I had checked with the shop and they told me the parameters of their normal ride I thought the timing/distance sounded right.
+1 on checking other clubs in your area. I like to ride at about your speed, and I find I'm between the preferred speeds of the two main clubs in my city. One is a pretty hardcore racing club, which can drop me like a bad habit. The other is recreational/social oriented. Some members can drop me, but the group rides at a slower speed than I prefer. The upshot is that I do a lot of my riding solo, too.

No one says you have to do the whole ride with the group. There are a couple of fast groups that cycle through my area on Sat and Sun, I don't have the legs to do the whole 40mi with them at speed but I know their route so I will meet up with them right before one of their sprint zones ride hard through the sprint and then drop out to recover and finish my ride on my own. This way I can dial it up for 27-30mph for a while but then not have to try and keep up a 23-25mph avg they do and take multiple pulls. Its a little bit of cheating but fun anyway.

+1 on checking other clubs in your area. I like to ride at about your speed, and I find I'm between the preferred speeds of the two main clubs in my city. One is a pretty hardcore racing club, which can drop me like a bad habit. The other is recreational/social oriented. Some members can drop me, but the group rides at a slower speed than I prefer. The upshot is that I do a lot of my riding solo, too.

After reading some of the posts I get the impression that many of the clubs have one main type of riders. How large are these clubs? The reason I ask is our club has 700 members and it's easy to pick a ride that fits your riding style.

I started my own club. I'm the only member, and to insure quality control, I will only add members who meet secret but high quality standards.

So far, I'm able to keep up with the club on all my rides. If that changes, I'll quit the club.

I started my own club. I'm the only member, and to insure quality control, I will only add members who meet secret but high quality standards.

So far, I'm able to keep up with the club on all my rides. If that changes, I'll quit the club.

I rode in a similar club for years. Membership was limited to grandkids. Unfortunately the members grew up and started their own clubs. The new potential membership pool is still is diapers and the club rules clearly state you must be able to wipe your own nose and butt:D

+1 on checking other clubs in your area. I like to ride at about your speed, and I find I'm between the preferred speeds of the two main clubs in my city. One is a pretty hardcore racing club, which can drop me like a bad habit. The other is recreational/social oriented. Some members can drop me, but the group rides at a slower speed than I prefer. The upshot is that I do a lot of my riding solo, too.
I have found myself in the same position. During my first supported ride in Jan 2006 I was far to fast for the social riders, but could not pace the hardcore. That being the case I basically rode the route solo. It did make the support stops very convenient as when I pulled up there was no crowd wolfing down the snacks and drinks:D

I started my own club. I'm the only member, and to insure quality control, I will only add members who meet secret but high quality standards.

So far, I'm able to keep up with the club on all my rides. If that changes, I'll quit the club.

:roflmao:

:beer:

... It did make the support stops very convenient as when I pulled up there was no crowd wolfing down the snacks and drinks:D

Wow... and no lines at the porta-potties, I'll bet! How did you manage to survive the ride? ;)

Ride with women. They look better. They smell better and are (a few hammerheads aside) compassionate enough to slow down when I can't keep up. Back of the pack. That's where the fun is.

Ride with women. They look better. They smell better and are (a few hammerheads aside) compassionate enough to slow down when I can't keep up. Back of the pack. That's where the fun is.

On the metric and english centuries, it seems I always get spit out of the front pack and get grouped up with some 30 -40 yr old females and old farts like me. Those are some great rides!!!

Ride with women. They look better. They smell better and are (a few hammerheads aside) compassionate enough to slow down when I can't keep up. Back of the pack. That's where the fun is.

Lewis Grizzard said "Life is like a dog sled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes."
Riding with women gives that line a whole different meaning.

Ride with women. They look better. They smell better and are (a few hammerheads aside) compassionate enough to slow down when I can't keep up. Back of the pack. That's where the fun is.
I caught up to a group last summer and found it amazing that the young men showed off by dropping the women and me. Now I'm stuck in the back with all those younger, athletic, freindly women. Hey, it's a cushy job, but somebody's got to do it.:D :D

On the metric and english centuries, it seems I always get spit our of the front pack and get grouped up with some 30 -40 yr old females and old farts like me. Those are some great rides!!!
jppe - Thought that was you in the group on the RRRC ride in Davidson!:D

jppe - Thought that was you in the group on the RRRC ride in Davidson!:D

It just works out that way!!

After reading some of the posts I get the impression that many of the clubs have one main type of riders. How large are these clubs? The reason I ask is our club has 700 members and it's easy to pick a ride that fits your riding style.

Clubs seem to run the gamut of what they want to uphold. I like the idea of belonging to a few. The 'Solo' club, which rides at exactly the level I do, everytime - but a bit lonely at those times when company is fun and a nice dimension. Then I'm lucky to have 2 distinctly different clubs that I also belong to (among some 8 or so other 'clubs' in the valley). One interestingly, is competition/performance oriented in a broad sortta way. Originally started as a local racing club it has evolved in a unique group with a large group of 'Masters' level riders (40 to 70 yr olds) who either perpetuate their roots in racing or are just interested in a strong competitive workout, seniors (18 to 35), juniors and quite competitive women as well as men and women who just want to have a fast group ride. Its a special group that many of you 'harder' riders here would certainly like.
Then I belong to a 'tour' group who all enjoy the full range of rambling through any ride. Much less forced, more for comfort, and mostly 35+. On those rides I make it a point to always be in the middle of the group and often hanging near the rear, chatting and getting to know each rider. This group knows I belong to the other performance club, but they don;t hold it against me.:)
In any case, variety is the spice of life.
Like P8rider, I too get dropped while on occassional forays into the training ranks of cat2 type razors, bt as long as they tolerate my ass-draggin and tenacious wheelsuckin, I'm willing to go at it regularly.
...because...
in any particular week or weekend, I can pick a ride which will prolly fit my mood and need - being a needy guy.
as I've always thought, cycling is a singularly selfish kinda thing. one that is not only not frowned upon, but encouraged, by others of the same thinking. We get to selfishly ride our own ride, and except for tandems or trailering kids, each has to ride their own ride - very selfish. Yet, we get to do it solo or we get to do it in the friendly and warm company of other nice people.
P8rider, and the rest of us Walter Mitty types, don't give up the dream!
One ride you may get hammered. On the next one you may just be rolling 2 up in pedalin nirvana.
Life is good, cyclin