Road Cycling - My first group ride experience (kinda long)

A LBS leads several weekly rides, including 2 road rides every Monday. One for Superman riders (17-20mph avs) and one for normal people (14-16 avs). Needless to say, I did the normal ride:D I actually ran into a bunch of people I haven't seen in ages, including one guy I graduated high school with who works at the shop. I didn't recognize him until I was riding next to him. The group was pretty big, at least 20 riders. When we first left I wasn't sure what to do. Are we forming a pace line? What's a safe following distance? How do I pass if I need to? Do I need to warn the rider before I do so? I didn't want to get too aggressive so I just kinda hung with the main pack most of the time. Unfortunately, I'm not really used to following someone else's pace, so I found myself alone quite a bit. You really have to pay attention to where everybody is and where you are and how fast you're going, otherwise you could find yourself ahead of or behind everybody. It seemed that whenever I would hang with somebody, they would start to go too slow, so I attacked a lot, especially when the crest of a hill was in sight. I started to pick up the etiquette, warning people up front of passing cars and pointing out debris and obstacles to people behind. It turned out that I was one of the faster riders, so that gave my conifdence a much needed boost. Overall it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to next Monday. Maybe in 2 weeks I'll graduate to the Supermen
:beer:

I forgot to add that the ride was not well organized. We got separated from our leader somehow so we had to take an alternate route, and nobody really knew where to go so everybody just kinda followed the person in front of them. I guess throwing 20 riders of varying skill and fitness levels together like that is a recipe for chaos.

There was one thing that really irked me, though. Some of the riders were just plain inconsiderate of other traffic. They ran stop signs, red lights, and expected all cars to yield to them when turning. One guy actually pushed off of a car as he turned left in front of it. It looked like the motorist was trying to push back, so they were both being tools. This behavior bothered me. I always try to be a courteous cyclist. I stop at every red light (especially in traffic) and I always try to yield to cars that need to get by me. Riders like this will only hurt the cause for cycling:crash:

Any thoughts? Tips on group riding?

Where in CT are you?

I'm in Wallingford. I joined my first group ride last week (see related post- Testosterone and the Newbie) and enjoyed the experience as well.

Which shop were you riding with? I'm guessing Pedal Power.

I agree that there is a problem with riders being inconsiderate, etc. I've been out on a few of my own rides since the group ride and will slow down and "roll a stop" if there are NO cars in sight. BUT, I always try to stay on the side and NEVER run red lights. So far, drivers have been considerate around me...which is good since I'm a new cyclist.

Shoot me an e-mail if you want, maybe we can hook up for a ride...provided you use it as an off day and we go at my pace, I'm still one of the slow riders. Although, I went out last night and felt stronger than last week, so that's good.

PJBAZ
Nikonshooter@hotmail.com

If I was you I would express my very valid concerns to the organizers of the ride. (Most likely others have had similar concerns.) If you did not see an improvement in the organization of the ride/behavior of the other riders on you next ride, I would look for another group to ride with.

Eric had a good point. You should express some concerns.

The group breaking up and no one knowing the route back is not a good thing. People should be given maps or cue sheets at the beginning of the ride.

Twenty people is a big group and hard to keep together. It is almost impossible to keep together with varying abilities. It sounds like you need another group - Supermen, Ordinaries, and Slow Pokes.

Another thing that is bad is people blowing stop signs and lights. In a group, that can be really really dangerous if there is any traffic around and from your account there was.

The rule should be to slow down on corners or intersections and everyone go through yielding to traffic as need be and stopping for red lights. What I like doing is keeping the group pace down until everyone has "formed up" again.

I have seen fast groups dive through intersections. People were afraid of being dropped so they just blindly followed the guy in front of them. One group I knew made a practice of blowing stop signs with oncoming traffic as a device for making a breakaway. How they didn't end up getting someone killed, I have yet to figure out.

You sound a bit like me.. I'm not as fast as the fast group, not as slow as the slow group... this keeps me stranded between the groups, mostly riding alone... my club is pretty good... they give out route sheets in the beginning if the ride... there is a ride leader, but they don't necessarily stay at the front... there is usually a couple regroup points on the longer rides...

As far as people blowing stop signs, or red lights.. that is pretty dangerous... I've seen people asked to not come back in my club, until they learn that you need to stop, or at least slow down to the point where you know it is 100% clear to go...

it does take a few rides to figure out the etiquette... I learned by mostly hanging back, not attacking too much at first... and by observing what others do... if needing to pass, just make sure you have enough room, shout out "On your left, "and always pass on the left...

Let us know how further rides go...

Jeff

Thanks for posting your exp. I am planning on joining some local groups for rides in the next month. Good experience.
-Duncan

I went on my first group ride last night w/ my LBS. . about 15 people or so, 27 miles, a few hills. Didn't have any problems riding w/ the group, it was a helluva lot more fun than just riding by yourself. It was humbling though. . must-get-faster. :D

:beer: