glockenspieler

I had a wee bit of a mishap this week and I'd like some feedback as to what I might have done wrong.

Ok, to set the scene, large century ride, I start off with the front group, hanging on for about 30 miles but as I moved towards the back of the front group, got pretty tired with all of the yo-yoing, so pealed off at one of the rest stops. Restart and end up in a group that seems to be a real grab bag of people (you know, some team kits, some beer jerseys, and some tri folks on TT bikes). I'm not having any fun, pretty sketchy, but since i'm riding by my self, i'm trying to keep an eye out for a good group.

Anyway, we hit some rollers and people are dropping off and the group keeps bunching up, then stretching out, etc. At one of the hills, the group slows and while I'm keeping my line, the guy to the front right of me pulls out and I end up with a derailleur in my front wheel.

It happened while i was actually holding my line BUT I was overlapping the guy to the front and about two feet to my right. I think he pulled left to get around someone that was dying on the hill.

Contact takes out a spoke, both of us stay up, i put my hand up, drop back, pull onto the grass. No one runs up to me with a new wheel, so sucks for me (I mean, what passes for support these days!). He keeps going, and I'm glad he didn't go down.

So, my question: Did I muck up by overlapping this guy even though I was keeping my line and trying to keep some cushion between us? I think I've got some blame because just don't see this happening to a few of the folks I ride that I know are just flat out better than me bike skill wise (although perhaps that's because they wouldn't have stayed in this group).

Homebrew01

If he was to your right, must have been his skewer in your wheel. Anyway, you get most of the blame for being too close, especially in a mixed group of varying skills and going up a hill.

Drag

What you experienced is why you do not overlap. The sketchier the crowd, the more space I put between me and the rider in front of me.

saintsfaninks26

In a group that is very experienced at riding in a group at higher speeds (race crowd) you should have been able to get away with a two foot cushion to one side. In a century with people who are not that experienced, either don't overlap at all or exaggerate the overlap so they see you. I usually put my wheel equal with the other rider (think echelon) so they have to see me.

You guys were lucky to both stay up. At one of my last group rides I saw two guys lock their handlebars together. It took them about 50 meters to unhook but they both stayed upright.

glockenspieler

Yeah, I think I didn't adjust enough since the weekly rides I do are pretty tight but everyone is pretty well behaved and there's not people surging and dying from one moment to the next.

Overall it was pretty embarrassing because I don't want to be *that* sketchy rider but on the bright side, I kept my line and extracted myself without taking anyone out.

I had a great example of of this a few months ago when two guys tangled and went down in one of the regular groups and the guy behind one of them just rode over the guy on the ground rather than try to swerve.

ultraman6970

Well imo was kind'a your fault but is true too that some guys just dont care they just move to the left or right and dont care. Many times is not about just move is just more like a slide slowly to the back of the group. If you are going behind somebody do it at the right side, nobody will move to the right if they want to stop or go to the back of the group suddenly because at the right usually there is no room.

Good luck next time

mkadam68

+1

This right here:

Sorry: couldn't resist.

glockenspieler

I'm coming around to this view. I starting questioning why I was doing this when i saw the guy with the aero helmet. On the century. Getting dropped.

popeye

Always protect your front wheel. You got lucky.

glockenspieler

Right, I meant skewer, not sure why I wrote derailleur...

DropDeadFred

i wouldn't go as far as to say you were all at fault. I'm always aware of my surroundings when riding, I check my flanks to the rear and make sure I move and make it known where I'm going. If somebody was dropping off in front of him and it was in a fairly large group, he shouldve checked before making a move left rather than slowing with this guy to avoid going into your spokes. Apply the same instance to the highway...just because he got caught in the slow lane doesn't mean he can abruptly swerve into the fast lane without checking his blind spot first. You slow with the traffic to avoid causing wrecks.

sorry about your wheel.

simonaway427

I soon as I read TT guys on TT bikes, I thought to myself - "Right about now is where I'd keep extra distance...."

mkadam68

I started adopting this view a couple years ago when some lady on a century hollered at me 'cause I passed her on the right. Even though she was riding on the double-yellow line.

roccobike

IMHO, It's all your fault. You should not be crossing the wheel in front of you, period. When you overlap a wheel and can't get back immediatly, you should call out "on your left". We've all had surprizes and crossed the wheel in front of us, but you need to let the person in front know that you're crossing (or overlapping) their wheel so they hold their line.

slims_s

I don't quite get the whole "on your left" stuff, i've never heard/seen that here in Argentina, and it's not like people is crashing all the time... if you're moving to the left (or right, for that matter), you should check if someone is coming, period. I always assume that something could be there when moving to the left, specially in a group... It's not like the OP was riding within a few inches of the other rider, 2 feet is plenty of space

blacksquid

^ - this

merlinextraligh

It's actually ok to overlap wheels. It's not okay to not protect your front wheel

The difference is the 300 class lesson; "don't overlap wheels" is the cycling 101 lesson.

grwoolf

There are times when I find it OK to overlap a wheel (sometimes to make it easier on the guys behind and keep things smooth), but you have to be ultra-aware of your surroundings in that situation. At lot can be solved by keeping your eyes up to road and anticipating wonky moves. That said, it's almost always safer the avoid the overlap to begin with.