milkbaby

As a noob, I have to say I've been enjoying the club group rides I've been able to do. Very addictive... I'd do more except I'm not a morning person and sometimes sleep in and miss the 8AM start (gotta ride to the start, so that's a 7:15-7:30 start for me). The club ride announcements and info typically list expected distance, speed, whether it's no-drop, regroup at turns, speed limit, don't sprint (at-least-not-until-this-point), what-have-you... Pretty much cut and dried what to expect as far as rules.

Anyhow, I tried a different evening group ride unaffiliated with my club. The ride notice is usually how far, expected speed, no-drop (but nothing mentioned about speed limit). I've noticed one or two guys at certain points tend to ride way off the front, and when I asked what the deal was to other riders the answer was non-committal along the lines of "that's what s/he does". The ride is easier and seems geared towards newbies, so it seems kinda "rude" to blast off the front but I'm not sure. This ride averages about 4 mph slower than the group I usually like to ride with, just doing it for fun, though I do have alpha-dawg complex and can/will chase down anybody off the front.

Doesn't seem to be an explicit rule about speed-limit, but I don't want to be a jerk... Is it better to just ignore the "breakaways" and chill in the pack? It seems to me if it's geared towards newer and/or slower riders, it might be intimidating to have riders fly off the front. Whaddaya think?

brianappleby

www.cyclistrules.blogspot.com

Find a faster group ride. If you aren't getting dropped at some point, then it's too slow for you.

kindablue

Wow, I love this blog (first time reading it). My favorite part is about the carbon wheels.

GP 

Yes, especially if you're new. Hang out, relax and if it's not for you, don't go back.

fatallightning

some people do it for the workout, though it does seem like a bit of chest thumping to do ride an A pace on a C ride. let em dangle off the front, not your problem.