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Rethinking Organized Rides

Old 04-13-14, 09:37 AM
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Rethinking Organized Rides

My wife and I rode our tandem on numerous organized rides over the last several years. She's not riding currently so I've been riding my single exclusively. I still enjoy riding tremendously and have signed up for several organized rides this year, primarily ones where I don't have to stay overnight (within 150 miles or so). I rode 75 miles of the Tierra Bella Century yesterday, my route here, and I'm having second thoughts. The TB (as it's called) is a very good ride: excellent rest stops, course workers, scenery, etc., but as most of the organized rides have hilly routes there isn't much opportunity to ride along with someone else for a bit and chat.

I do most of my riding solo as there is no club nearby. I'm old enough (and slow enough) that even in a club I might not find others riding at my pace. Certainly got passed by enough folks on the bigger of the two climbs! Now, I don't believe I was passed by any senior citizens (my demo), but probably not many seniors doing the Century.

Counter to this line of thinking: I can ride 50 miles on dead end ranch roads and see only cattle. Transient human contact and the occasional chat at a rest stop is better than no human contact.

How to others feel about "solo" organized rides?
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Old 04-13-14, 10:39 AM
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I'm not a huge fan of organized rides -or more specifically, rides with no destination objective. I much prefer to plot out a destination (single day or multiple day) and ride it with other biking buddies. Since almost everyone has a different speed/cadence comfort zone, we usually spread out and have spots feeling like a solo ride. But at rest stops or lunches and especially over snacks and beer at day's end, the comradery is most excellent. I much prefer to achieve a destination than ride a loop and go home.
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Old 04-13-14, 10:53 AM
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Golly. I enjoy them.

I ride solo because of my slow pace. However, I meet interesting folks along the way. Yesterday I met a guy who rides my model bent and the guy was fearless on hills (he also weighs 30# less). I met some catrike guys who upload a lot of YouTube videos and they enjoyed hearing about how much I enjoy them.

I also would not have attempted my ride yesterday without a support team. They made it easy for me to stay ahead of my fluid and calorie intake without lugging the stuff with me. It was hard enough as it was.

I was envious of a pair of guys (one of which was my fellow bender) who kept each other company the entire ride. Having a riding partner like that is a gift.
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Old 04-13-14, 10:57 AM
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I resolve to try more of them. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.
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Old 04-13-14, 11:30 AM
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The organizer needs to receive compensation for their efforts ($),

so as a single , I just go and figure it out along the way, myself.

often the cost of just getting there is too much for my budget.
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Old 04-13-14, 12:17 PM
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It depends upon the quality of the club rides. Our local club has had outstanding leadership, and our two main rides spring and late summer has had increasing number of riders for several years. The reason for this is the fact that we have great sag stops, roving sags, and roving sags by bike shops. No one is left with break downs or any other problem for very long at all. We also get support from the local radio club. The increased ridership has allowed the club to be able to buy sun canopies, tables and chairs for all the sag stops. Then there is the great food at the sag stops and BBQ at the end of the ride.

BTW--------Check out and ride our Spring Fling comming up soon. Search Great Plains Bicycling Club, and come and ride with us.
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Old 04-13-14, 12:52 PM
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I don't like getting up early and driving to do an organized charity ride. I only do a few each year. One is the ADA Tour de Cure (good cause), the other is a local ride starting 2 miles from my house. I do like having supported rest stops and not having to lock my bike to use a bathroom and get fluids/fuel.

Even on club rides I usually don't ride alongside others and chatter. I am very slow on the climbs but I have good speed on downhills and flats so it's more of a game of cat and mouse exchanging leads. I will make a little social contact with others where it's possible but not dwell on it.

I really do enjoy having the post-ride meal or parking lot socializing on both organized or club rides. It can be my only social contact for some weekends.

One of the nice advantages to the organized rides is the intersection / traffic control. Law enforcement controls intersections so bikes generally do not have to slow or stop. Sometimes lanes are coned off for exclusive use by bkes. Routes are often marked so cue sheets and maps aren't needed (much).

Homeowners along the routes are advised of the event and are reminded of the rules against loose dogs. Often they will set up lawnchairs curbside to cheer on the riders.

As far as the "senior citizen" set, I have ridden with several older individuals who are solid riders. We had a 78-year-old who averaged 18mph and floated up hills; our 65-year-old retirees are enjoying more time to ride and have more choices what time of day they ride. Most of the folks in my bike club are over 45 years old. We accommodate riders who average 11 to those averaging 20. Most riders are comfortable with 13-15.

I have ridden with a 65-ish guy who decided to do a "recovery" ride with me for 35 miles with hills. We averaged 14mph (the climbs killed me, he waited at hilltop), but got some decent speed 26-29mph avg on some some small rollers that netted out flat or slight descent. He had chemo the day before. There aren't a lot of century rides in the area so he does a lot of 100k rides including hilly ones. I don't believe he has a racing background but the decades of attention to physical fitness and good health habits are showing the results.

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Old 04-13-14, 08:24 PM
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I have enjoyed organized "loop" rides thus far. Typically I travel an hour or two to get to these rides, and I get to ride in areas and on routes new to me. I meet new people along the route. On some of these rides, I have met folks who ride about my speed and have ridden quite a distance with them. The end-of-ride food and chit-chat are enjoyable, as well.
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Old 04-13-14, 08:57 PM
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Do mostly solo rides as go out every other day being retired. Trying to do more group rides. One of our local groups does 18 - 21 MPH or faster on Saturdays. We ride together in double file so good chance to talk. Had trouble keeping up especially at corners and stops. Getting stronger and hope to keep up sometime soon. Getting dropped after 15 or 20 miles now.

Advantage of groups is riding 25-30% faster with less effort plus cameraderie.

Riding alone means no one to keep up with or talk to but can ga as fast as like and stop when like. Both have pluses and minuses eh?
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Old 04-13-14, 11:26 PM
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I ride with a group that's been riding together 52 Sundays a year for about 20 years. Not all the same people, but the same group dynamic. Unless it's icy. Then a few of us go snowshoeing instead.

This is how it works. We ride out of a brewpub with parking nearby. There's always an after-ride social time at the pub. That's perhaps the most important part: bonding. Those who don't come in don't get invited back. It's invitation only. Exclusive club, if you will. The motto is "Safe, cooperative riding." No racers. Guys who go off the front and don't wait also don't get invited back. We want predictable riders whose wheel you can hold all day with no effort.

This is how you do it. You advertise. Bike club, word of mouth, whatever. Rules: There's a leader or several cooperating leaders. You're there on the leaders' sufferance. If a leader says don't come back, you don't. A member can invite someone, but they have to babysit them. If they seem to fit in, after a few rides they get added to the email list. Different people can design routes. They get published to the group, so everyone knows what's the ride. We have maybe 120 people on the list. On a nice day, maybe 20 regulars show up. On cold rainy winter days, maybe only 5, the core group.

To build the group up to this size we'd advertise a ride with the local large club. Sometimes we'd get 100 riders, many new ones. We'd have three leaders, fast, moderate, and slower. We'd send the group up a "sorting hill" and organize into groups by arrival time at the top. Sometimes we've had just one group of regulars, other times we've had three, depending on the ability range of those who showed up regularly. The group is self-sustaining now. We no longer advertise at all.

This isn't a public group. It's a private group of friends. We don't do insurance. In 20 years, we've never had a problem because we weed those out who might cause a problem. Those who fear need not apply. On the advertised rides, the bike club's insurance covers. Everyone signed a waiver for those rides.

We have great fun. As we say, this is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.
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Old 04-14-14, 05:39 AM
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Alone always for me. Bicycles or motorcycles if I"m alone I"m in my happy place.

Love to run into riders at stops and say hi and kick tires,just don"t want any company on the road.
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Old 04-14-14, 08:27 AM
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Organized rides are fun just for the social aspect alone. Other than that you really need to agree with their organizational plans.

Personally, I ride alone. Yeahhhh all by myself. When I ride alone I prefer to be by myself....

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Old 04-14-14, 08:39 AM
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One of the things I used to like about organized rides is seeing new territory and meeting new people.

I don't attend them as much nowadays, as I have a lot of friends who cycle, and we just kinda organize our own rides ... there are usually 2-3 going on at any time with different groups. Not dissing the ride organizers, but $100/ride would get rather expensive pretty quick, and at this point, we really don't need all the support they provide.

I think they are really good for people making the transition from casual riding to more serious stuff ... longer distances and hillier terrain.

And add my vote for the post-ride festivities. If and when I organize a ride, you can bet a post ride meal will be part of it. The banquet debrief of the adventures of the day is the best part, IMHO.
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Old 04-14-14, 11:33 AM
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Doing organized rides is my incentive for riding. I'd probably not have half the miles I do if I didn't do organized rides. I enjoy meeting folks at the different events either while riding or afterwards.
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Old 04-14-14, 11:49 AM
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In many respects bicycling isn't a social activity. The actual riding is often done in near silence because it's hard for two riders to stay within conversation distance for any distance. Organized rides on closed courses are better in this regard, but as the OP points out things like terrain can make it hard for unmatched riders to hold a conversation.

However, one of the best parts of organized riding is what happens when folks aren't actually riding. The AM start area, rest stops, and end of ride venues are great opportunities to meet and socialize. This is one reason I like multi-day organized rides where folks can get together and share drinks and meals at the end of the day. Most one day events are barely worth the time and effort to get to and from them, and rarely offer better riding than I can find on my own.
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Old 04-14-14, 11:50 AM
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I have lots of reasons to do organized rides. To ride on roads I wouldn't normally ride. To visit other communities and enjoy the local culture. I've done several rides where the weather was questionable and I got a long ride in on a day that I might normally stayed home. I use organized rides to get in a fully supported training ride for a longer upcoming ride. I live in the country and can get in lots of miles on rural back roads so riding with others is a treat.
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Old 04-14-14, 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by OldsCOOL

Personally, I ride alone. Yeahhhh all by myself. When I ride alone I prefer to be by myself....

Nice George Thorogood reference...

I'm too slow for most organized rides so it's mostly a solo experience.
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Old 04-16-14, 04:00 PM
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I'd like to go on an organized ride so I can try a longer distance 50mile or metric century and eventually a century but that likely won't happen until I retire. I can usually only get out for 2-3hrs on a weekend due to other commitments and that is generally a sunday sandwiched between 2 2-3 mile dog walks. So I'm not sure I could do longer distances but having a supported ride would be a big advantage I think (not need to worry about food/H2O bathroom etc).

I've also never done one and almost always ride completely solo. I've ridden my entire life riding essentially solo and I really am not very comfortable riding with a group of riders on the occasional time it happens. Usually when it does happen I either speed up a bit to pass them (if they are slower than me) or slow down so they get well ahead of me (usually not a problem if they are a lot faster but if only a bit and there are lights you can keep catching them at the stops) or change my route so I go someplace they aren't.

I have ridden with some other guys on rare occasion and chatted generally only for a short period of time but sometimes for miles and I certainly see the reason why many do but for the most part given my time schedule to do so regularly would be ...inconvenient
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Old 04-16-14, 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted by rdtompki
... Now, I don't believe I was passed by any senior citizens (my demo), but probably not many seniors doing the Century.
You probably got passed by quite a few "seniors" and didn't realize it. Older riders with good technique and enough riding time that they maintain good fitness are almost indistinguishable from younger guys, unless you can spot the grey hair under the helmet. I've caught up with lots of riders whom I had thought were kids in their 20's, and was surprised to see that they were actually old guys. Their riding technique was so strong and solid that you just couldn't tell.

A lot of the old guys like to do gran fondos. These are like competitive century rides, where the entry fee is around $200, but in exchange, you get first class rest stops, well-marked courses, usually a timed climbing section with prizes, and best of all, the intersections are controlled by marshalls, so you can usually blast thru stop signs and run red lights with the cops holding up traffic for you. I think the average age of gran fondo participants is somewhere in the 50's. Most of the guys who pay $500 to be in the "VIP" group (you get to ride with the ex-pro whose name is attached to the ride) are usually successful business professionals with expensive pro bikes!

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Old 04-16-14, 05:20 PM
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Other than on the weekend, my daily rides are almost always solo. I participate in 8-10 organized charity rides per year. Those rides are done with my cycling team. We've done five charity rides so far this year. I have two more next month and four in the fall.
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Old 04-16-14, 05:36 PM
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I ride bicycles in part to get away from crowds rather than to join them. Nonetheless, my wife and I might someday look into the "organized" ride idea.
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Old 04-16-14, 07:03 PM
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I think I get the best of both worlds....I enjoy organized rides. I enjoy my daily solo rides.

My daily rides are solo, most people around me do not want to ride at 530am and that is my favorite time. Sunrise on a bike just cannot be beat. The organized rides are fun because you do meet the most interesting people. It is not just the riders. Some of the rest stop people have been fun to hang around with. I have my favorites that I do every year and try to add in some new ones too. Most of the rides around here range from $20-40 so it is not that expensive. Living in the DFW area, there are always rides close by.
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Old 04-16-14, 07:54 PM
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I always ride solo around home. There isn't a club in the small town I live in. I'm not sure I would join a club if there was. My son used to ride with me but he is going into the Navy. He's afraid if he gets hurt they won't take him so I am a solo rider. That's OK with me, I can entertain myself.

As far as organized rides go I am just starting my adventure with them. My first one was last weekend and I will be doing one for the next three weekends. As FBinNY said the AM start area, rest stops, and end of ride venues are great opportunities to meet and socialize. It's was great not being the only guy wearing spandex for once.

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Old 04-16-14, 10:09 PM
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Hey, Rick, the wife and I did TB last Sat also, the 100k route. It was OK; I always hate the slog between GHS and Uvas reservoir or whatever that second stop is because it's such a (relatively) big gap compared with the other stops, but we hear what you're saying. My wife actually said that the rides in the '80s were much more enjoyable than rides now because (as she says) there are folks who chat it up in the middle of the road and are oblivious to the ride-single-file rule even with a CHP cruiser sitting right behind them, and then there are the look-at-me poseurs/closet bike racers who can't be bothered by your slow pace. So I dunno where you were because I found myself riding TB mostly by myself, too. Well, towards the end, anyway. Oh, I just remembered a funny incident from TB; so I'm on Santa Teresa working my way back to GC and I catch a woman with a Tour of the Unknown Coast jersey on, so I say to her "Hey, that's a really pretty ride" (if you need a visual, think lots and lots of big redwoods) and I asked her how she liked riding The Wall. So she says she usually rides with her husband blah blah, and that she didn't ride The Wall because she rode the 100k (The Wall is on the 100 miler), blah blah, and so we crest a roller and we start going down and I just take it easy because I'm not in a rush but she just starts pulling away and then on the flats where she'd been slower she gets her second wind and pretty soon she's out of sight. So there you go, Rick, proof that this kind of anti-social riding doesn't just happen to you.
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Old 04-17-14, 05:35 AM
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I really don't socialize too easily, never have. Even with the guys I normally ride with, if they start to talk on a quiet road, I'm off in front doing my thing. I guess that is why I enjoy the 112 miles of an Ironman. No talking except to myself. Don't care to gab at any stop either, whether it be on a club ride or organized ride.

Originally Posted by CandSAdventures
I think I get the best of both worlds....I enjoy organized rides. I enjoy my daily solo rides.

My daily rides are solo, most people around me do not want to ride at 530am and that is my favorite time. Sunrise on a bike just cannot be beat. The organized rides are fun because you do meet the most interesting people. It is not just the riders. Some of the rest stop people have been fun to hang around with. I have my favorites that I do every year and try to add in some new ones too. Most of the rides around here range from $20-40 so it is not that expensive. Living in the DFW area, there are always rides close by.
I really like the 0200 to 0500 time frame because the air is as quiet as it can get. Streets are empty, houses are dark, sky full of stars and sometimes the overhead passing of the ISS.
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