Practice makes perfect, unfortunately. IMO, your best bet to get used to riding in a paceline is to find a ride classification in a local club that does "occasional pacelines." CC class rides with the larger clubs in my area usually have occasional, optional pacelining. You can ride in close proximity but it won't be a big deal if you aren't comfortable and keep a big gap. Your experience may vary depending on what is available for you.

There are also a TON of helpful articles online that at least give you the basic no-nos (overlapping wheels, smooth movements, avoid sudden braking, things to do when at the front). Here is one from a local racing club that I think is very common sense and another one about manners. Google search will get you far with finding similar articles.

That's really sad you're getting that impression. Maybe you can find another group to ride with?

If not I'd recommend you just ride and ignore the people with the bad attitude. It's really a shame when I hear fellow cyclists actively discourage someone from being invovled in the sport - even if they dont flat out say 'You need better gear to ride with us.'

Just ride man.

sounds like the ride i was on yesterday.

due to the holiday, the attendance at the sunday group ride wasn't terribly high, and the local hammers weren't present, so the pace was slower than normal.

after putting up with the braking on shallow descents, watching someone churn a 50x13, causing an accordion effect every time there was a bump because they were rolling instead of pedaling over them, my patience was gone - even if i didn't yell.

But you COULD have, right?

i am planning on buying my first road bike this weekend and this thread is making me nervous about wanting to ride in a group. this doesn't make it sound very fun! no one ever wants to be the last in the pack, right?

Im findin half the fun of moving is findin new roads.

i should have, but i'm only visiting.

Thanks alot guys. My club I am looking at is quite large and looks like there is a beginners bracket so this should all work out fine. I will check out the links kenshinvt. Helpful advice!

We had a guy who rode with our fast group on a five-speed town bike he pulled out of a rubbish dumpster. Kept up just fine. Now he's got a road bike and won the first TT he tried (since the eighties when he was pro).

I ride a steel bike I've built up. I race it. I may not be winning, but I do get a great deal of satisfaction placing better than guys on bling carbon rides.

There's certainly something to be said for showing up on an old school ride and showing the guys what's what - or even just keeping up.

Your being out of shape, though, could be up for discussion.

exactly.

1. showing up on a bike with fenders and panniers will raise eyebrows.

i say: so what.

2. showing up on a bike that's filthy and makes a lot of noise will raise even more eyebrows.

i say: danger will robinson.

3. being out of shape will be ignored if you're promptly dropped.

i say: better luck next time.

4. being out of shape, yet still being able to hang on will be ignored, provided you stay at the back.

i say: just make sure you're not on my wheel.

5. being out of shape and overreaching by attempting to ride up front, will most likely lead to a word or two.

i say: and maybe even three.

Really.

Everything else here is STATIC.

Come to think of it, the sound of grinding bike when some doofus crosses wheels sounds a lot like static.

If the local a** holes give you a hard time, ask them these questions:

1. Who the f**k are you?

2. Are you a paid professional? (There is a 99.9% chance that they aren't)

3. If you aren't being paid, what makes you better than me? (Chances are, they'll start spouting bullsh*t about the local race they won last year, how many hours a week they train, and when they start feeling REALLY insecure, start rambling off meaningless numbers they've logged on their power meters.)

4. If you aren't a paid professional, regardless of how much you train and the aspirations you may have, this is just a hobby for you, right? (They can't argue with this, unless they are really dillusional)

5. So, if we're both out here enjoying our hobby, what gives you, an absolute NOBODY, the right to act better than anyone else? (If they try to justify being a jerk now, just ignore them.)

Just keep in mind, there are a lot of cool cyclists out there with some major ******bags mixed in. If someone corrects a mistake you're making, don't take it personaly, they are only doing you a favor. There is a difference between someone helping a beginner and someone trying to act better than you.

Some of the coolest guys I know are on pro teams. Some of the biggest ******bags I know are Cat 3 nobodys.

1. Show up the next ride
2. introduce yourself
3. tell them you're a beginner and can find your way back if dropped
4. hang at the back of the pack
5. buy a gallon of water at the rest stop
6. don't get your chamois in a wad if you get dropped
7. Repeat every week

Understand what you are saying, but this thinking always cracks me up. Im not a professional Golfer either, but if someone hits into me im gonna say something, and the delivery may be less than subtle. Im not saying the group he was riding with was right, but there is a reluctance to greet new riders out of concern for ones safety. Nature of the activity that you end up earning your stripes.

that's a lot of questions. is it cool if i print this out and take it with me for reference?

I'm not for or against you - sure you should ride what you like. But if the club has some kind of rule like "no helmet no ride, or no flappy clothing, only cycling gear, or race bikes only"... well that's their club rules. Some rules are just un-written.

Probably response: Surprise, because that sentiment (elitism) only exists in your mind.

This thread is really about faster group rides where riding in a paceline and higher speeds are the norm. Go out and find the slowest group ride you can and I'm sure you will have a blast. Many of such rides are "no drop" and cater to the slowest member present. Further, many of those groups wouldn't bat an eyelid at the sight of fenders & a rack--many of those present will be likely sporting them. When you get faster and more confident, consider making the leap.

Again, pick your group rides intelligently and you can avoid a lot of this. If you show up for the local Cat3/4/5 training ride, know that they will likely expect you to look & act the part.

I bought my first road bike two summers ago, it was carbon frame and forks, etc. A nice bike so I did not appear out of place. However, I was still new to riding. I joined a fast group ride last summer. On my first ride with group, people were wary of me (they did not know how I rode or handled my bike). It was concern for their own saftey that made them wary and not my bike. I stayed at the back and was dropped half-way but finished. Now they know I can handle the bike and I'm more welcomed to be in the mix....and I'm keeping up (most of the time). Don't worry if your not accepted with open arms the first few rides, stay at the back until you get to know the group....just ride and be happy.

Ain't that the truth.

Cycling is great, but it is probably a bigger *elitists magnet* than most sports I have encountered. There really are some very anal characters attracted to it. It is fun to ponder why that is.

Every sport has it's *folks*

I think the best way to deal with that is to just acknowledge it, don't fight it, use secretly laughing at people to keep yourself amused and entertained while you ride.

Don't take it personally. That is a great skill to develop anyway, be glad they provide the raw material.

(I'm a fledgling, so I encounter it too) and I try to use it as a tool to meet my own objectives.

Which means I don't ride with the alpha group right now, lol.

once again, this time with feeling: it's not elitism, it's self preservation.

all you have to do is read the countless "i crashed my bike, pity me" threads that sprout up on BF.net once the weather gets better, to realize that it's a squirly world out there.

oh yea, I get that.

I don't dive with people that could kill me.

here are a couple of examples though:

my last cyclists BF had two pairs of identical shoes. One for the car, one for the beach so that when we went surfing, one pair would remain sand-free. And he always carried a gallon of water in his car to rinse his toes, and he was always trying to pull my ponytail through the back of my cap....I don't like all that, when the guy is more feminine than I am.

another would fill out index cards with the address where he was, his full name and SS # and when I laughed at that, he indignantly asked "do you know how many people across America, are in comas, and nobody knows who they are?

I just think it's funny.

I'm sure he is right, precisely right.

I don't meet too many people in other activities that are planning their *post coma existence* to that degree.

But my friends had fun making "If Found" stickers with his picture on it after he went back to Socal, and putting them everywhere.

I am only pointing out that these guys can be cheap entertainment if you can assume the right mindset. And then there are the hikers that clip the tags from their t-shirts, he he.

And of course, my old Vitus got me some ridicule. Sometimes? Certain people making fun of you is actually a compliment.

I agree, and I haven't read the whole thread so I may have missed something, but I'm not talking about the guy who shows up and almost crashes the entire pack. I'm talking about the tendency for roadies to be total and complete ******bags to ANYONE they don't deem "cool" enough.