Seasoned road cyclists sometimes steer clear of new riders. This in many cases is an act of self-preservation, especially on public group rides that sometimes attract riders who have no idea what they are getting into. Just as one would not go out on a golf course for 18 holes with people you have never met if you have never played golf before, new cyclist should not show up at a fast group ride and expect to be coddled along. Seasoned cyclists and racers are there for a fast, safe training ride. And if one or two squirrelly riders show up who have no experience riding in a pace line or can’t hold a wheel, well it make for some tight sphincters. The people who do it day in and day out want to do return home in one piece.

When the Performance bike shop opened up in my area a few years back, the manager knew most of the fast guys and asked if they wanted to use the shop as a staging point for winter training rides. This worked out well at first. But soon, guys started showing up with their brand new matching outfits and bikes, who had never been on a group ride before in their life and who, as far as I could tell, never trained on there own. After several near-wrecks descending steep hills with a group of 25 or more rides, it was decided to force a split of the ride. The front guys turned up a brutally steep climb and hammered as hard as they could resulting in a nice group of about 8 guys who then did a 3 hour ride without further incident. Invariable, some of the most dangerous riders in the group were switchover mountain bikers. Several had the fitness to hang at the front, but had no clue how to behave in a pack, making radical line changes without checking to see if somebody was already there, etc – the usual dumb stuff.

So, if you want to be accepted, show up in shape to hang, and stay in the back and out of the way until you know what you are doing.