JesusGarcia

Herro... how do you get a noobie to ride faster? Got this buddy who's new- less than 3 years of riding, and he will not keep up w/ me when we ride together. I don't ride that fast, but sometimes I like to pick up the pace a little bit.... So, how do you guys "push" noobies to keep up? Or, should you just leave them alone and hopefully they'll get the message?

patentcad

WheresWaldo

Make a game out of it. As an example, after a couple of months of riding with some new rider friends, I suggested that we play the sprint game. This is where you see a Stop Ahead or Signal Ahead sign and when you are close enough you go all out to see who gets there first. Give him a point if he gets there first. Purposely do not win every sprint, as much as testosterone will allow it. I played this and when they won I would say something like, "man, I didn't see you make the jump," or "that was a surprise move," etc. This got them moving faster. Then after a few more rides we expanded the game to include hills. I play that particular one with my daughter all the time, but she has learned to be sneaky. As we are climbing she will either stay right on my wheel or will be beside me and complain that "it's too hard," or "I can't keep this pace," and if I do anything to remove attention from her she will stand and sprint over the top and claim to be the Queen of the Mountain. I hate it when she does that, not really.

Before you know it they will be faster and they will enjoy it. Long stretches at a fast pace is just not everyones cup of tea. Find something that works for the both of you. If you can't, then only ride with him on recovery days.

EffSizzle

Find a riding partner who will keep up.

wanders

Keep encouraging him. When I ride with slower people - I should say person because I am pretty slow myself - I drop to a lower gear and try to spin above 105 rpms. Keeps it interesting.

calhoun1

I am in the same situation. I ride with a couple of guys, I think I may just start riding from my house since "it is getting dark earlier". I just can't get much of a workout. We are already only riding about 20 miles to begin with. And I don't know if it is that they can't go faster or don't want to go faster... I am too nice to ask...

DScott

Have you considered talking to him about this?

If not, there's always telepathy, but I've always gotten kind of mixed results with that.

kukusz

If he has almost three years of riding and is still not pushing, then it might be a lost cause. Less than 3 months and maybe there is hope.

scotch

dangle a hunk of carbon fiber in front of him...or try some "your momma's so fat..." lines.

bbgobie

Tandem bikes are great!

patentcad

jkizzle

tie a rope to his fork and your seat post

Psydotek

Don't leave 'em. Because i used to be that slow guy that got left behind by my two other friends. Now i'm faster but that's mostly because i've kept riding regularly where they haven't.

The sprinting game is alot of fun though.

merlinextraligh

Get them out on some group rides. They'll get some perspective, and the group dynamic will make them faster. Try to pick one they won't get dropped on, but will have to do some work to keep up.

rollin

Find a riding partner who you want to ride with

Az B

For me, there are basically two kinds of rides. Social rides and testosterone rides. If I'm on a social ride, it's to spend time with friends. Sure, I might sprint to the tops of some climbs or whatever, but I always wait and I generally ride with them. As someone else mentioned, try riding lower gears and spinning. Sometimes I'll take my fixed gear out with a slower group to make it more interesting for me.

Either that, or find a fast group to ride with. Many of my really fast rides are when I'm by myself and don't have to worry about people keeping up... or me keeping up.

Az

Jay Gloab

A friend of my wife's recently decided she wanted to start riding. So the two of them did a 20-mile organized ride together -- at 6 MPH.

There are slow noobs, and then there are slow noobs.

JayC

I just drop your a**... ask Wolfpack, she'll vouch for that

Course, most people I ride with actually want to get better so that motivates them to keep up.

jsigone

keep them in your draft, one day he'll take his turn in pulls

johnny99

How many hours per week does he ride? If you're riding twice as much as him, he is never going to catch up with you. Maybe you can take him on your recovery rides.

EventServices

it's like the kid who eats nothing but chicken fingers and french fries and mom says, "It's all he'll eat!"
Push him to go faster. Don't let him dictate the pace. Tell him "we're going faster now. Let's go!"

"To the top of the hill. let's go!"
"To the town sign! Let's go!"
"'til your eyes bleed! Let's go!"

Tri-FatBoy

Indeed. This is how I plan on surviving the Valero MS150 this weekend.

Machka 

Some riders CANNOT ride faster ... it is not that they will not keeping up to you, they CANNOT.

"Hopefully they'll get the message"? What message? That YOU are impatient and inconsiderate? Yep ... they'll get that message all right. That cyclists in general have similar attitudes? Sadly, they may get that message too.

JayC

I agree with that but its kind of easy to tell the guys who are out riding a touring ride versus people who actually are trying to get faster. Generally, I wont torture people that are trying to have a nice touring ride.

obstacle

Thanks, now I'm horny.