I found myself thinking of our forum
scribe, Event Services, this evening. I was on a local-ish group ride, trying to blow out the cobwebs after 5 days off the bike, and a weekend of driving and drinking (note the order).
About 12-14 guys, and a gal, showed up. About 4-5 of us were capable of pushing the pace.
There was one stretch, where the group were riding single file.
- the road was quiet.
- there was no traffic.
- there was a sidewind, coming from the left.
- EVERYONE (apart from wfrogge) was riding in the gutter.
- despite several requests from yours truly to move out to the middle of the road, they continued to surf the gutter.
the straw that broke the proverbial back, was after a hill, when one rider attacked me. that part wasn't a problem.
the problem came after we regrouped, and he explained to me that he rode in the gutter because that was his tactic. problem.
seriously... wtf? this was a shiddy little group ride. it was training. it was NOT a race. not even a training race.
i told him that if he had any interest in getting stronger, he should skip the tactics, and just ride himself into the ground. there are no podiums on a group ride.
for some reason i did not yell at him. probably because i was a guest on the ride.
next time will be different.
back OT - if there's a side wind from the left, and the road is clear, get out of the gutter.
that is all.