profjmb

Would like to try group ride--never really have. I'm in pretty good shape so don't worry about that. Wondering about hills, up or down. Do I maintain constant speed or constant effort? I have a power meter so could gauge to that.

profjmb

Forgot to add that when I take the lead Ill have to exert more power to maintain pace so don't know how to manage if I do it on a hill.

Elvo

At minimum - 4 w/kg on the flats, 6 w/kg on the climbs

Bob Dopolina 

You can't hold the same pace on a climb but you can hold the same tempo. Do that. If it is too slow others will go around you.

DO NOT increase speed when you inherit the front. This is a noob mistake. You will have to increase wattage to hold that pace but there is no way of knowing by how much as it is conditional.

Again, DO NOT accelerate when you hit the front unless you are doing it for a specific reason.

If this is your first group ride expect to get yelled at.

Kopsis

Most groups are perfectly happy to let you stay in the back on your first ride. Just let folks know that you're new and you're going to hang back to get a feel for how the group rides. Focus on demonstrating good riding skills. Group expectations often vary quite a bit from group to group. After a ride or two, you'll have a much better feel for what your group expects.

GoRacers

Pretty much spot-on. Some rides have different "rules" for rides, especially hills.

Most of the weekly club rides I do have an unspoken "rule" for hills--free-for-all climb to the top, and regroup and restart a pace line. This allows everyone to climb at their own pace.

bbattle

Most of the group rides I go on don't know what a paceline is. Somebody gets up front, sets a pace, others follow. While there is drafting involved, there is no rotation of the line.

OP, most important thing is to maintain an even pace in the line, do not yo-yo.

Watch the riders in front of you but don't stare at the wheel in front of you. Better to stay further away from the rider in front of you than risk running into her. You don't want your front wheel to get ahead of her back wheel.

I expect a slight decrease in speed when the group hits a hill and back off the rider in front of me or at least be looking to do so. Many groups fan out on a climb and the riders go at their own pace then regroup at the top. I once was too close to the rider in front of me when we hit a climb and he went back a bit. Our wheels touched and I went down, taking another rider with me. Got a nice bit of road rash for that.

Some groups expect you to say "STANDING" when standing up on the pedals. This is because many riders will "throw" their back wheel back a bit when they stand up. It's a nice courtesy but better to practice and not shift the bike at all when standing.

Again, most important to maintain an even pace. Anytime Mr. Slinky gets in a paceline, it gets tiresome and frustrating for the group behind him. Worse is when he doesn't take the hint as they ride off the front to get away from him and he insists on getting back in the front of the line. That's when the yelling and heated explanations start.

Bob Dopolina 

Avoid these kinds of groups like the plague. Nervous Nellies don't make for steady wheels but do have a tendency to grab a handful of binder for no good reason.

big chainring 

^The staying seated thing is something peculiar to this old coot. I'm up and out of my saddle frequently. But in a tight group I throw the bike forward as I stand.

Homebrew01

As a hill starts, leave a bit more room between you and the rider in front in anticipation of them slowing down more than expected.

FLvector

Some very good advice above. It does take a little time to get comfortable and built confidence in riding in a tight paceline. You need to have some trust in the other riders that they won't do anything unexpected and be ready for it when it happens. Some riders are very squirrely, so be careful around them. Give extra space when ascending and descending, since riders naturally climb and ascend at different speeds. Riding on flat areas is when paceline rotation becomes fun. Each group has different techniques, hand signals, what they call out, etc., so discuss this before the ride. If you hook up with a good group you'll realize all the fun you've been missing.

wheelreason

All good advise. I'll add to keep an eye out for the squirrels, they will make themselves known in short order (and become worse as they get tired), and to position yourself an inch or 2 to either side of the rider in front of you, and overlap temporarily, instead of running into them, if they slow down suddenly (or you fail to pay attention) I don't know why the last one seems so difficult to some. Oh, and yes, maintain speed up the hills, its the law...

UnfilteredDregs

Did a larger group ride this past weekend, it sucked at first simply because people do not listen and follow basic directions.

About 12 of us, all with queue sheets, ride leader says, "Casual pace, 18-20mph (hills), single file, rotate off the front every 30 seconds the only caveat being typical exceptions...(group climb, decent, limited LOS, hazards etc..) For more significant climbs and descents we opened up and regrouped.

Group takes off, nice line, then the front starts to pull away, smug know it all up front, not looking back, no rotation, etc..Makes a paceline pointless. Ride leader didn't own the group.

I and a couple of like minded riders summed it up, and five of us basically just broke off (Notified the leader...) and did our own paceline. We opened up the pulls because we wanted the work, some decent wind to deal with... At one point when I was pulling I saw a big dude solo up ahead obviously strong rider, I accelerated, notified the line I was doing so, gradually came up on his wheel, asked him for a pull and welcomed him to hitch-hike if he'd like, he was more than happy to do so.

Pacelines are great when they work and all it takes is good, frequent communication. Leave the ego at the door because it's about the group.

Agreed upon hand and verbal queues for everything...slowing, accelerating, hazards, direction changes, coming off the front , when in the back shout "last" so the rider who just came off the front can seemlessly get on the end of the line...Yell, "Mechanical" if you have a breakdown.. As the leader glance back frequently enough to ensure the group is tight, pass info up and down the line...

Teamwork is cool.

Looigi

Except for a few instances of intentional paceline practice, all the fast group rides I've been on are more fluid. Sometimes there's a nice single file paceline, and sometimes a few may be riding side-by-side. Some riders rotate through pulling, some hang toward the back and never pull. Some pull only to get passed because stronger riders don't think they're pulling fast enough and go to the front to pull. Sometimes we hit a hill and the strongest riders race each other to the top. Sometimes a rider might shoot of the front and race ahead out of shear exuberance. The thing to do is to go on some rides and see how it works.

Bob Dopolina 

As you become more experienced or ride with more experienced groups you will discover that all the verbal communication goes away and the international hand signal take over. Even those dwindle to a precious few as the general level of understanding makes many of them redundant.

hueyhoolihan

it's all about making a good first impression. letting them get to know you and all your good points. when you've proven yourself to some extent is the time to let it be known you are really an insufferable know it all like everybody else.

Clipped_in

Simply get on the back, stay there, pay attention, and try to hang on. Get used to how it moves the first couple of times. As people rotate through just open up a gap in front of you and tell them to pull in.

Any decent line is ok with this. But, they hate it when the newb jumps in trying to be somebody and screws everything up. Watch, learn, and don't let a gap get you dropped if at all possible.

Have fun, and ask questions before and after the ride. Good luck!

macca33

For your first group ride, tell the group it is your first ride and ask if you can sit in for a while to see what happens. Then, when your confidence is there, try and roll a couple of turns. Others will give you advice and let you know what you need to do - and not do.

Definitely, do NOT try and venture outside your capacity, as that is the time that you may make a mistake, touch a wheel, or something else and end up crashing. If it gets too hard - sit at the back, or drop out, to avoid a mishap.

It is a bit intimidating at first, but once you're in the groove, pacelines are a LOT of fun - the hum of the tyres, gears and carbon rims in a bunch is fantastic!

cheers

FLvector

OP - it would be interesting to here your impressions from your first group ride when it happens. What you liked, didn't like, what you learned etc. Follow up after it happens.

GoRacers

+1. Let us know.

Northwestrider

+1 paceline , and in my group rides, drafting is equally unknown.

dalava

On a long or long-ish climb, you probably won't be riding a paceline as you would on the flat; more like riding tempo with a group of riders with similar climbing abilities. If you are new to this, I definitely wouldn't try to go outside of your comfort zone just to hold onto the wheel in front of you. You could blow up very quickly. Since you have a PM, you should know your ability and limitation.

bbbean 

Assuming it's a recovery ride.

aaronmcd

Depends on the group.

Serious riders, casual ride: You may accelerate slowly when you get to the front if you like, and the group may accept it, or they may not. Slow up a bit and hang out for a bit. Maybe you can take off and have some fun, but come back to the group in short time.

Serious riders, serious ride: Don't drop people, but go ahead and try to gradually push the pace. Most likely you can hammer hard up the hills and people will follow.

Serious riders, drop ride/race ride: Hide when you are tired, attack the group when they are tired. Try to win.

Casual riders, casual ride: Pretend you are sightseeing with your grandmother.

Casual riders, serious ride: Take your pulls, but be careful. These will likely be steady, aerobic pulls - not hard pulls. Try not to accidentally drop people. It can be good practice setting pace for weaker or slower riders. In these rides, I like to see how fast I can get everyone going without dropping anyone. Pay attention to how others pull as well: how hard do they want to hit short hills/rollers? And it's strange, but sometimes you have to reduce effort for longer, slight grades (1-2%): a slight grade will reduce speed/draft, so others have a harder time following.

aaronmcd

Even in an experienced bunch, it's good to yell stopping or slowing if there is a sudden obstacle. Also, always point out or call out rocks, traffic cones, joggers, slower cyclists, cars parked on the shoulder, etc. Even in races we are usually decent humans that don't want the guy behind us to get his wheel stuck in the giant crack in the road.