flyguy676

Well i did my first group ride the other day and it came my turn to take a pull ( which i didnt want to do), before it was my turn we were avg around 22-24 mph so i did my best to maintain that pace. after about a minute the guy behind me grabbed my saddle and said im "chopping people".

my question is, what did he mean?

Alasdair

Did he look like this?



If so, I have no idea why he said that...

gabdy

You were going too slow and he wanted to up the pace.
In my first road race, when it becomes my turn to take a pull I will do the same thing, drop the speed by a few KPH and wait for the rider behind me to get impatient and take my turn for me.

Edit, never mind, I read that as "I'm chopping in" not "I'm chopping people"

As you were.

Sommy

what a prick. Assumming you told everyone this was your first ride, he should have been more polite about it - or at least speak in plain english what you needed to do.

Stories like this turn me off from trying a group ride. I might ride with someone else I just see cruising down the street, but I'm in no rush to join group rides.

Copperhed51

I have no idea what he meant but oh well. Do the ride again and either ask him what he was talking about or try to hang back a bit and not do any pulling for a while. The only thing I can honestly think of is that you were either being really squirrely and couldn't hold a line or you were pulling for too long. Those are kind of wild guesses though.

Blossom

I'll bet that you got to the front of the group and took a nice hard pull and caused gaps in the paceline to open up.

Matching a speed is really a surrogate for matching the effort. In a paceline you don't want to force people in the back having to change tempo when you move to the front. So when you are about to get to the front, notice what speed you are going. When you get to the front keep the same speed, and notice how much effort that takes. Then keep the effort level constant.

The idea is that if you are doing 24 on the flats and try to keep that same speed on a hill you will destroy the paceline and yourself. Keeping a constant level of effort for riders in the peleton is what you should be aiming for.

Psimet2001 

Depends on the situation. You bias the statement by leading with speed information. He could have meant that you weren't hold a line....

....but coming up and grabbing your seat while you are pulling and telling you that you're chopping people would seem to imply that you're shelling guys off the back.

Holding speed doesn't mean much for pulling...it's more of an effort/speed combination. If you held 20+ and all of a sudden there was a lot of hills...you probably shelled guys. Grabbing your saddle is a way of slowing you down...putting emphasis on the statement.

He may have been gassed too...sometimes when you're gassed what you say doesn't really come across clearly. Especially to guys you've never ridden with.

BTW - welcome to group riding...grow some thicker skin and don't run home to ask everyone on the internet if you did something wrong...just ask the guys you're riding with. You'd be amazed at how helpful they will be, and what good friends they will all become.

Phantoj

Maybe he said you were "dropping people" ?

Allegheny Jet

Thats what I was thinking, He may have been dying himself and just couldn't get the words out correctly or it was the "doopler effect"

There is a guy on one of my group rides who doesn't have a computer. When he takes pulls he will pick up the pace by as much as 2 to 3 mph and shell the guy who just took his pull and/or some of the weaker riders. I am sort of the group leader, via defult, and have been getting in line behind him lately. When he takes his pull and jumps the pace I'll just let him do a "solo flyer" and take the pull myself. It's greated some anomisity between us but most everyone else on the rides have thanked me or made positive comments.

flyguy676

I did the ride again tonight, he wasnt there. The pace was a little slower tonight. I hung back a little where I wouldnt have to take a pull. I'm still getting use to riding in a group.