What to expect from a group ride?
 

I've never ridden in groups outside a handful of organized event rides. For maybe the first time in my life I was tailed by a group on the road this morning. I'm not sure if they came up on me from a distance or turned in behind me. They sure were loud. I couldn't make out everything they were saying, but it was a lot of shouting kind of like in excercise class when the instructor asks each member in turn to shout out the count. I was a little uneasy as to whether they were going to attempt to pass on narrow road with scattered parked cars on right. Then I began approaching an older lady on commuter going much slower. Then I heard someone whistle the wicked witch theme for the Wizard of Oz. Then as I was overtaking the lady, I heard someone else yell almost angry "Pass that bike!" Not sure if they meant me, the lady or both. Then I heard skidding, but no metal on metal or screaming. A quick glance back saw one guy making u turn, then at red light lady passed and turned. In hindsight maybe the skidding was half the group missing the next turn. Anyway will the front guy usually try to give you some kind of indication the group wants by? Should I expect them to behave the same way I would expect a car to behave? And in this scenario there easily could have been passing cars as well.

The term "group ride" covers a lot of ground.

I think the variety you encountered was the "Imbicle Ride" variant.

There's a racing club here in town. Their group rides look very much like what you see on the televised races with pace lines, rotatating leads, and so on. What makes these things work safely is in-group communication.

I belong to a recreational club. Our rides are much less structured, more social, but still, everyone has a map, cuesheet, or GPS, we obey the rules of the road (in the main) and look out for each other's safety and enjoyment.

My experience is the same as tsl's. The 'racer' groups are sometimes thoughtless about other cyclists 'cause we are messing up their rhythm. I let them pass.

Hmmm. A 50+ Missouri poster with a Terranaut bike. You must be from the St Louis area. Check out stlrc.org. They post several group rides each week with a variety of speed levels. Generally nice folks and they won't yell at you.

I don't know what group you witnessed, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't stlrc.

Agreed. Groups like that are rare, though I've seen them on big century rides. Funny thing - they start out fast, at 25+mph, and tank about halfway through ... finishing in 6+ hours. The other thing is that they're very inconsistent, and sitting on the wheel of someone in those groups can be life-threatening. Give them a lot of room.

I've ridden all over the country and I'm glad to say that the groups I've ridden with, whether a race or a social group, are all extremely pleasant.

A race group will usually ride by you so fast you'll hardly notice they were there, and they'll barely notice you. There are usually a few calls of "On your left" and we go by at 20+mph. (Though I've noticed that in Miami, instead of calling "On your left", they whistle. Strange.)

Race groups are usually concentrating so intensely on speed, training, monitoring power gauges, watching the rider and the wheel in front, etc. that they won't get involved with any other riders or groups.

I think that I'd like that. The oral equivalent of a courtesy bell. Warns that they are coming without the risk of somebody turning left when they hear "On your left.".

That group was out of touch with good road manners..

I used to announce, "on your left" and had people moving towards their left so I decided to substitute, "passing left". It must be a little clearer to those being passed since no body seems to move left and many times I get a raised left hand acknowledging they heard.

'Cept when I'm riding with a race group, there's no way I have the energy or the breath to whistle! I have no idea how those guys do it. (Maybe it's an age thing :( )

Screeching tires, everyone shouting on cue, with a missed turn and mass confusion over passing someone. It actually sounds kind of funny, slapstick comedy, except that the whole situation was probably unsafe. Personally I think I'd mentally mark them and steer clear.

I've experienced the "race groups" many times, and usually the encounters are uneventful. No harm, no foul. Their presence is often not known until the sound of whirring wheels comes up from behind.

During events sponsored by clubs and charities, where the public is invited and experience levels vary greatly, the racers sometimes pose a risk to those they pass. Less experienced cyclists often don't pay adequate attention to bike traffic around them and they often don't ride a straight line. The newbies are sitting ducks for high-speed riders who don't announce a move to pass.

Hasn't been my experience.

The motorists that pass you more closely than necessary - that's how I feel about the race groups that have passed me. If anything the race bike guys give less warning, pass more closely and should know better. I think they are even more rude.

While I put on most my cycling miles solo, group riding with my club is great too. Just pick the proper group.

That was my concern, but a guess due to my speed 18 - 19 and new turn for them they never quite got there. Yo'reu right about the Terranaut. I picked it up on CL for commuter awhile back. I'm not too interested in participating in groups rides at this time, but thanks for the tip. I do have some interest in the Katy trail ride I seen metioned a few times though.

Me too I think. I have on more than one occasion when hearing the "on your left" looked and subsequently moved left. What a lot of people don't think about when making that comment is ..(a) can the person hear you due to ambient (wind) or artifical (music) noise. I never listen to music riding but see a lot that do and the wind noise can be significant. (b) calling out might be heard but not clear enough to warn someone so all you hear is someone talking and you look.....

I had one person yell "the other left" when I looked over...it wouldn't have been so bad if they were actually faster than me but I ended up catching and passing them a few miles later...I mean if you're going to be all huffy about it at least stay in front of me :) especially when you are 25 years younger :P

Groups vary widely. From fast pacelines riding inches apart, to loose gaggles with lots of weaving and chattering.

If I see a group using the standard group riding signals, I'm usually willing to think they know what they are doing and should be a reasonably safe group to ride with.

On the topic of group riding signals - this is what I see in use, anyone want to add others?
- Point to hazards, hand down and finger indicating the object, to alert following rider to storm drain, pothole, debris, soft shoulder, etc
- Make the "going around" motion (sweeping hand from right to left behind your back), to alert to shifting left and making a pass, e.g. of a slower rider or a pedestrian
- Signal slowing or stops, with open hand, pointing down, palm toward the following rider
- Signal turns, the usual way
- Call "clear" when crossing a street
- Call "car back" to alert riders in front to an overtaking car
- Call "bump" to alert following rider of a sharp bump or drop, you don't hand-signal these since your own hands are needed on the bars
- I recently saw a sgnal for gravel, which was waggling the hand with fingers outstretched and separated, that was a new one to me
- Call "on left" or "passing left" as needed

And on the topic of group riding behaviors - again, please add what I'm leaving out
- No sudden braking (unless, of course, you have to . . . )
- Ride a steady speed; if you start to ease up, give a visual cue (e.g. sit up)
- Maintain the group's speed when you are leading
- No sudden swerves (unless you have to)
- No overlapping the rear wheel of the rider in front -
- Ride single file where needed
- Tell the rider in front if you are wheelsucking him - not so much a courtesy as for your own safety
- In curves, anticipate that other riders may move from the outside of the lane to the inside at the apex of the curve, and then out again, and they may be too focused on making the turn to notice you
- Also in curves, remember the rider in front may brake more for the curve than you would

So, for the OP, the leading rider of that group should normally have called out "passing on your left" or something similar, while making the "going around" signal to the following rider.

This varies widely too. My current team is very cautious around the few other cyclists we meet on the road. The racing club and the recreational cycling club are on good terms, and support each other's events. This may be related to the fact that we're in a small city, and most cyclists know each other; if you're an ass, it gets around.

Hand signals are never wrong; but a call-out is better because everyone can hear it rather than just the person behind you seeing your signal. The groups I ride with tend to avoid calling "clear" at intersections. If someone called, "clear" and someone else got hit because of it, there would be a liability issue. It's better for each person to look for themselves.

Everyone may be jumping to wrong conclusions here. What the OP perceived as lots of shouting could be be riders calling out warnings like "car up," "slow rider ahead," make the next right," etc. When someone shouted "pass that bike," they could be alerting riders back that you weren't part of the group.

There's no excuse for whistling that tune about the woman though.

Faster pace training rides often turn into rides like this when the course is unknown to many, there is lots of turnover in the group, and the group doesn't want to wait for people to read que sheets.

The subject of your post and the content of it are a bit different. You highlighted a situation that is often encountered when one comes upon an organized racing team in training or just a bunch of folks who are out for a hard workout.

Those situations function a lot differently than a traditional cycling club group ride. Those will generally have indicators that will give you counsel on how fast you can expect to go, the terrain, etc. The key there is to find a group and/or a ride leader that best caters to your skill level and desires. While there is a letter-grade scale to rides that corresponds with difficulty, different leaders have varying interpretations of it and/or stick to it more closely than others. Also, pay close attention to whether a ride is listed as "no drop" or not. If it is, the ride leader will not leave any stragglers behind; rather, the ride will regroup along the route to ensure that everybody stays together.

One thing I've encountered, when I'm being passed by a bunch of racers in a pace line, is that occasionally someone will call out how many people are in the line, e.g., "Six back". Usually not necessary, since I've almost always seen them coming in my mirror and so I have an idea of how big the group is, but I appreciate it none the less. This is almost always early morning on the MUP that I commute along (too crowded in the afternoon for pacelines to be effective).

Calling out how many in a line is really important. Most people don't have mirrors. Then a paceline doesn't accidentally want to attempt a pass themselves of a slower rider at the same time.

Interesting feedback. I was kind of wondering about the number in line. I remember packs of riders doing that on dirt trails when I rode them more often.