Hey, I'm in. When you weigh a lot, you can put out a lot of power without putting out a lot of w/kg. Meaning you get dropped by other riders alot.

Something my LBS does is group rides with an "A", "B" and "C". The "A" group is an all-out group, sneeze and get dropped. The "B" group rides at a fixed pace that's pretty brisk. The "C" group is a "no drop" group that rides at a very leisurely pace and doesn't drop anyone. I think an organized Clyde ride would be a lot of fun, even if we did it in two 'groups'. A front group with a set power output (like 2 w/kg or even 1.5 w/kg) and a 'no drop' group behind it that's paced to not drop anyone putting out an effort.

Part of the issue though is that "Clyde" can mean different things. There are professionals in the pro peloton who are Clydes; either over 6'4" or over 200lb. There was a lengthy discussion on Strava about "skinny people" being on the Clyde leaderboard. But Clyde doesn't mean "fat". It means over 6'4", OR over 200lb (for males). 200+ can in fact be an ideal weight for larger (tall and wide) riders.

This guy IS a clyde:


(He's just over 200lbs... a Clyde!) Very different from a 250lb+ (or even 350lb+!) guy trying to lose weight, putting out some serious efforts and serious watts, but is still quite slow.

So I think it would be great! Especially with a two group system. I'd even be down for a 1.5w/kg group. That can be a lot of power for a heavier rider. We've got some big guys and gals around here who are losing weight on a bicycle (I'm one of them!). A 260lb rider is going to have to sustain 240 watts+ to keep up with a 2w/kg group.

EDIT: The more I think about it, a 1.5w/kg "A" group and no-drop 1.0w/kg "B" group might make a lot of sense. Since there's ALREADY a 2w/kg group that rides regularly.

Sometimes we tend to forget some people are just starting out, too. 100 watts was a big deal when I first starting riding.