the shark

I know it comes down to power and riding more miles and with faster riders, but if anyone had some advice that helped them not get dropped on fast group rides then this would be appreciated.

There are two rides offered - I will take the shorter of two rides - around 33 miles. Pace is slower this time of year as not race season.

I rode it once before and got popped of on an uphill section, but caught back up 10-15 minutes later and then held on ok.

My plan for tomorrow's ride is:

1) Solid breakfast and bring a caffeine gel pack
2) Warm up for 15-20 min
3) Stay near the front if I can so when we hit hills I drift to back vs dropped ( not so good in hills yet)
4) React to surges to not get gapped.
5) Ignore HRM a bit and just keep contact

Any ideas or reccomendations?

CastIron

Don't be at the front for more than a few seconds.
Don't forget to drink up.

crtreedude 

Get in front as fast as you can and throw tacks on the ground?

permanentjaun

Ride a tandem.

felt1

I don't race bicycle but I do race. 1. Know your weakness. 2. Know your opponents weakness. 3. Know his/her strength. 4. Know your strength. 5. Put a plan together and don't give up.

botto 

pretty simple: never take a pull.

btw - regarding point number 5: if you're that worried about getting dropped, don't wear a HRM.

Edonis13

get a recumbent......

eb314

Hydrating before you start riding is critically important. Once you're dehydrated, you aren't going to get re-hydrated while riding. Other than that, just focus on staying on that wheel. Get into a rhythm and hopefully it's fast enough to keep up.

waterrockets 

Don't eat w/in three hours of the ride start, other than maybe a gu 30 minutes before the start. If you eat something substantial, your stomach will require blood that should be in your legs.

Relax. Don't make sudden speed corrections. If there is a surge, make sure you're looking 2 riders in front of you, not at the wheel in front of you. You will see the surge coming and can gently close the gap before it forms. Just don't react suddenly -- the power spikes will add up.

When you approach the tough climb, move to the front gradually before it starts. Let yourself fall to the back of the pack by the top. Even dropping just 3s on a 1-minute climb might save you from getting dropped.

In corners, downshift 2 cogs going in. This will make the acceleration out of the corner a lot easier.

If you can hear the wind roaring in your ears, that indicates that you're exposed -- get low in your drops and tighten up the draft.

Learn how to echelon in crosswinds: turn your face into the apparent wind such that you hear the same sound in each ear (this indicates your head is pointing into the apparent wind). Now, remember this head angle, and move behind the guy you're drafting such that his head is exactly in your line of sight when you're looking into the wind. Sometimes this will be significantly off to the side, so you might consider tightening up if your bars will be far enough forward to hit his hips (let him know you're up there b/c of the crosswinds).

Do more intervals during the week

patentcad

HRM? For what? The only thing my HRM tells me when I'm riding over my head is that I should have detonated 10 minutes ago.

Leave it home. And do what Mr. botto says, do NOT take a pull. If you rotate to the front pull through and pull off.

Treefox

Pedal hard.

Treefox

Aw man, the most tragic race I've ever raced - I was positioning myself right toward the front going into the final tight corner with 2k to go - came out of it really well, then poof, I found myself on the front. Try as I might to get someone else to move up, I couldn't. So I was on the front well into the final kilometre, dying. And for all my trying to pull to the side and slow up to get someone else to go, all the stragglers on the peloton caught back up as everyone was slowing. So when someone went off, I had nothing, and finished like seven seconds behind the bunch. Tragic.

FrankBattle 

Nothing more to add ..

Bring a map and carry a cellphone (better yet if it's a smartphone with googlemap access).

Reynolds 

It may seem obvious, but keep as close as you can. Less than 30 cm is ideal.

dekindy

It seems obvious that you need hill work. Or just keep riding and not worry about how long it takes to get where you want to be. A few months or hard riding should do it.

permanentjaun

Someone mention to pedal hard yet?

Fat Boy

Never get in front of the pack on the downhill. If you're going downhill alone, you can go faster than in a pack where everyone is more tentative, so it's easy to find yourself with a significant gap to the group. Then when they all group up and catch you, you've been alone for a couple minutes and they are flying. It's easy to have them just blow by and not be able to get up enough speed to get back in the draft.

----------------------------
At every slowdown get ready to accelerate _hard_!
----------------------------
Take turns faster than the next guy. Every 1mph you get by rolling through the corners is one you don't have to get on the pedals.

wfrogge

HTFU?

Best advice is ... stay out of the wind. That and .. HTFU


Good luck as a hard ride will only make you stronger in the long run.

the shark

Thanks -good reminders and I had no real intention of taking a turn in front - I will hide in first third or so as it is a big group. Will just get some fruit in early and should be good with that.

I know the route so no need for maps, just going to go all out and watch for the crazy winds this time of year.

HTFU - I wish it was that easy at times. Everyone knows that feeling of not being able to hold on no matter how hard you push. Calling down to the engine rooom for more power - and it just aint there.

I need all kinds of work, but this is a start getting out with faster groups when they are in there mellow time of year. If I can improve as they start amping it up to get ready to race etc, then it could work out well.

Will definitely be doing more intervals and hills and continuing to drop weight.

I did my own training camp over the holidays. Been hitting it pretty hard for the last week, getting in way more rides than normal, and have next week also to get in some good miles. Probably did a bit much today - hilly ride, but wanted to enjoy the weather and friends.

Will post a quick follow up tomorrow.

fogrider

Pedal soft. draft someone, and don't take a pull. for short hills, power climb; build some speed and use the momentum and stand on the biggest gear you can, sit and shift down.

Brian Ratliff

Grow bigger legs...

...by pushing yourself to keep up despite the odds.

If you need motivation, just don't bring a ride route map. That does it for me.

carpediemracing 

If your HRM does max, min, avg HR, I'd wear the HRM and tuck it away under a sleeve. You may surprise yourself with the data it records. I know mine does.

cdr

ekimeno

The most common place to get dropped is on a hill. As I'm not such a great climber I'll usually start near the front and then gradually drop back through the group. Though I usually find that because I've been riding at my own pace at the beginning of the hill and the rest have been exerting themselves to get up to the front, I'm usually feeling fresher towards the top and start overtaking riders that are going into the red zone. By the crest of the hill and going into the descent I'll be reeling in the leaders without too much difficulty.

fuzzthebee

"I rode it once before and got popped of on an uphill section, but caught back up 10-15 minutes later and then held on ok."

One of the main things that will keep you from getting dropped is knowing the ride...when the fast sections are, where the hills are, how long before the pace eases-up, etc. This knowledge allows you to tuck yourself in out of the wind at the right time to be rested for the hard sections. Sometimes people think their fitness has improved when they stop getting dropped on a regular group ride, when actually they just learned how to ride the ride.

On my normal group ride, there is really only about 65 minutes of hard riding out the 4 hours:

25 min of hammering on flats & slight inclines
20 min of hammering on rolling terrain (20" climbs max)
20 min of hammering on a slight downhill with some rollers

Speedee

Guilty.