globecanvas

Group rides are all different, and totally depend on the personalities of the leaders. And the camaraderie factor is really independent of the difficulty. There are rides that are challenging and friendly, not-challenging and unfriendly, and all the other combinations.

Group rides do make you a better cyclist, but the important thing in all cases is to ride the way you want to.

CraigB

Absolutely right. These guys at my LBS rides are pretty friendly, but the group rides I always compare everything to are the ones I took in my 20s with the Illinois Valley Wheelmen in Peoria, where I lived at the time. That was the friendliest bunch I ever rode with. I wouldn't trade those rides for anything, regardless of their difficulty. They were so much fun, and they're the reason I still do group rides to this day.

IBOHUNT

Thanks for sharing Craig.

"C: 13+ mph no-drop
Bumble B: 17-18 mph
Honey B: 19-21 mph
Killer B: 22-23 mph
A: 24+ mph"

Really? A "B" ride at 22-23 mph. Wow!


I had a similar deal last night on a social "C" ride. About 6 miles from the finish it started to sleet so one "A" guy took off and I more or less kept his wheel. Not sure what that average was for the last 6 miles but I know it was all I had with my HR >165. Supposed to go an an A/B ride tonight. I'm looking forward to getting dropped form the A folks and learning at the same time

CraigB

I've noticed the shop has revised their speed estimates a little, or it could be my memory from last year is faulty - always a possibility. At any rate, their website currently says the As are 20+, the Bs (all subgroups combined) are 18-20, and the Cs are 13+. When we're staging for tonight's ride I'll pay close attention to what they say there in light of this. It's hard to imagine breaking a group with as narrow a range as 18-20 into three subgroups that are distinctively different. Then there's the whole issue of what they actually do on the road and how that compares to their stated speed categories.

The whole thing is largely academic - I know I'm a little too fast for the Cs and not quite fast enough for the Bs. The only decision for me is do I want to finish ahead of a group, or have one to chase, and for me, it will always be the latter. Hope springs eternal and all that, you know.

IBOHUNT

I am in the same boat. Of the 4 group rides I've done I've come home from 3 of them asking myself why I even went. I could have ridden around the house and got more accomplished.

Look forward to hearing your report from tonight

CraigB

I typed up this report once before but got a database error when I posted it. Sheesh. Anyway...

Last night's ride was the same route, but with less intense wind, this time about 5-7 mph out of the northwest. The only split in the group came early when some got caught at a traffic stop. I made it through with the front bunch, and this time stayed with them the whole ride. It was exhilarating, and felt almost effortless, until the last mile or two when the pace picked up to about 22-23 mph and we got a little strung out. In fact it felt so easy that I'm PO'd that my Garmin didn't pick up my heart rate data. I didn't know it had to be told to look for it (I got the head unit without the HRM and instead used the one that came with my Forerunner - which would have worked had I known I had to go into the 500's setup routine to tell it it was there). I'll get it next time.

About halfway into the ride, the leader drifted back to chat with the rest of the bunch, and we had a nice talk about mid-pack. I asked him about the team/club and who gets to join - whether it was based on performance results, since they seem so performance-driven, along with actual racing. He said all I needed was a recommendation, and I should consider myself recommended. So after the ride we talked with the club secretary, who also owns the shop, and after a light grilling about how I like to ride and what my personal goals are, he gave me the application to fill out. Maybe they're short on dues, or they need to get rid of the one 2XL jersey they ordered.

Anyway, it was a blast. Here's the map and speed chart. Elevation data is the same as before. Moving average was 18.6 this time.

PhotoJoe 

And THAT is how it's done. Nice job. Nice report on the team app, too. Let us know how that goes!

lenny866

Nice job!

youcoming

Keep going eventually it won't be a problem.

CraigB

Last night was the third Thursday night B ride for me. Managed to stay with the group without too much difficulty. Same route as before, with about a 10 mph wind out of the west/northwest. Finished with a moving average of 18.3, so they appear to be a pretty consistent bunch.

One fun note - just before the halfway point, I got stuck behind a couple of people who allowed about a hundred yard gap to open up. When I got around them I bridged it much more quickly than I would have guessed. The leaders weren't really hammering, so it's not like doing the same thing in a real race, but it's fun to pretend.

jethro56 

I think you should do one of these everyday next week and two on Friday. That way you'll be prepared for Saturday's ride.