We have 2 types of group rides down here, easy ones, and hard ones. With tuesday night being a particular bloodbath of a ride. We also have a training series with over 100 people signed up and participating, It is split into 4 groups, A, B, and C, and a Womens only, although there are women scattered about in the other groups as well.

We have eveything from guys who used to hold a USCF Pro license, to a 300lb guy who rides once a week. Because points are kept, and rankings published, there is no chance to really "Pose". Those with uber equipment can be humbled by those with equipment of much lesser value. So once you take the Posing out, it should be ok right?

Wrong, because we run it as a team format, it adds a whole different dimension for segregating. Instead of attitudes in regards to posing, it has become attitudes as to who the strongest is, who should work for who, etc... Guys in a break get mad because their GC leader has the rest of the team chase the break because it has a threat to the over-all in it. I know this is how the pro's do it, but that is little compensation for someone who is not getting paid to do a job. Guys are getting tired of being told to let breaks go up the road and having to race for 12th place every other week.

So the ego becomes a real problem on some teams. This is a training series, designed to make them all better USCF racers, and when we race as a team in the USCF events, team courtesey is the rule of the day. But for a lot of these guys, this is as big as it gets, they spend too much time worrying about their results in the series than becoming better riders/racers.

The guys that piss me off the most, and whom I consider to be the biggest poseurs of them all, are the sand baggers. We have a guy in the B division who has won the last 5 events in a row, easily. He complains about how he spent all race attacking, just trying to get rid of everyone, no one would pull through, and then makes statements about how no one can stay with him in the sprint. He needs to move up to the A Division, where he will learn a lot more about metering his efforts, and reading a race etc.... Believe me, we will be glad to teach him humility. But he refuses. He wants to stay in the B's and keep his points, and win the Overal B title this year, I guess thats OK, but when he was informed that he had to move up to the "A" division next year, he said that if that was the case, he would just not ride his bike with us. Which I think is pathetic. He said "why would I wan't to move up, when I can stay here and dominate" He'd rather feed his ego and beat up on the newbies, than race with us and become a faster/stronger/smarter/better rider. Factor in the Postal Trek, and Postal Gear, right down to the socks, and yeah.... I'd say thats a Poseur.