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06-06-09, 04:59 PM
My wife and I are getting this tandem thing figured out a bit. Rode with a group out of the LBS this morning (short (25 mi) not all out ride) and had a chance to chat with a few of the riders. These Sat. rides will paceline, but the really hard ride is on Sun. am.
50% of this ride is rolling terrain and the singles do expect us to pass on the downhills recognizing that we need the momentum (and the lead) to get up the next roller. Of course they're free to grab our wheel and we'll just fade back once the climbing starts. This will be a big improvement over our attempt to be polite; read this as riding the brakes on the downhill to stay in line.
On nearly flat terrain (plus/minus 2% or so) we'll stay in the paceline. We will have to figure out what do do when we're in front; The paceline might be "set" at 19-20 mph, but with a 2% downhill we could be going considerably faster. We're not experienced enough to know how much a paceline of singles would speed up on a slight downhill, but I suspect about the same amount.
I think I know enough now when riding with a new group for the first time to discuss how we're going to approach a paceline and rolling hills. Best to figure this out before the ride starts I think.
50% of this ride is rolling terrain and the singles do expect us to pass on the downhills recognizing that we need the momentum (and the lead) to get up the next roller. Of course they're free to grab our wheel and we'll just fade back once the climbing starts. This will be a big improvement over our attempt to be polite; read this as riding the brakes on the downhill to stay in line.
On nearly flat terrain (plus/minus 2% or so) we'll stay in the paceline. We will have to figure out what do do when we're in front; The paceline might be "set" at 19-20 mph, but with a 2% downhill we could be going considerably faster. We're not experienced enough to know how much a paceline of singles would speed up on a slight downhill, but I suspect about the same amount.
I think I know enough now when riding with a new group for the first time to discuss how we're going to approach a paceline and rolling hills. Best to figure this out before the ride starts I think.