pdedes

Like this.

rangerdavid

very nicely written......... should be taught more by local riders, rather than the attitude of "every local group ride is a race"........

LowCel 

Very nice article. Thanks for sharing. I shared it on my clubs facebook page.

veloboy971

Good article!

milkbaby

Sounds exactly the same as the good amateur group rides round my parts... except for the part about mountains and it's usually only 3-5 hours instead...

Bob Dopolina 

I shared it with a local club's page, too.

There's too little mentoring in cycling (esp here) and this is some of the stuff should be understood.

Whenever I get the 'what's the crazy foriegner on about now' look from riders here I tell them that this is how it's done all over the world and that they should be able to take their bike anywhere and, without even being able to speak the language or knowing anyone, slip into a group of riders and ride just as easily there as they do every weekend at home.

justkeepedaling

There is only one way to group ride, drop everyone hard enough to start the CAT 6 sufferfest!

revchuck 

Thanks for that link! I posted the link in my club's email group as well.

ruindd

Can anyone copy/paste for people who have blocked internet?

Joe Road

Nice. Sending a copy to my club. Thanks for posting.

cyclezen

always a fun way to ride when it does happen. certainly a great way to handle off season and pre-season building miles. Works when a group is some 20 or less, a little more if it's a very focused group/team. Over 30 and this starts to fall apart. Breaking up into mulitple groups helps bring it back.
But if its a loose group of anyone who shows for a ride, there's very little chance that everyone's program will match. And I think most every rider who comes to an 'open' ride expects the freeform progress.
The key is for a club or team to take charge / provide the alternative ride with the focus of this kind of ride. Like Mike said, he learned it as a youth. It's a great way to get young riders into the roadie scene. It's a great way to introduce new members into a club.
Our club does/offers just such a ride alternative on Sundays. It works. SO does the free for all hammerfest.
The cycling universe needs more of both, along with monthly local TTs, hillclimbs, offseason offroad, xcross - practive crits...

Still, another great article high-lighting that there's way more to roadie than just a hammerfest.

LowCel 

Sorry but copy / paste complete articles violates copyright rules.

vladvm

FROM https://michaelbarry.ca/2011/11/the-group-ride-2/

The Group Ride


The group settles into formation meters after leaving the café. Like the table manners learned as children the formation is innate to us. Two abreast, tight against the curb we form two lines. Cars pass us with ease as we pedal out of town and into the countryside. The pair on the front increases the tempo as soon as we are out of traffic and onto the rural roads. From experience they quickly find the rhythm of the group. On the rural roads, we’re in synch. Knowing how to ride properly in a group is taught and learned.
I was introduced to cycling as a boy. On my first group rides, I was taught how to ride with others appropriately. As we pedalled along with our club mates, my father explained ride etiquette to me. On open roads, the group stays close to the shoulder. To allow cars to pass and to benefit from the riders’ slipstream, the group stays compact. It is often easier for cars to pass a group of cyclists who are riding two abreast near the road’s shoulder than a group, which is single file and much longer. We must be aware we are sharing the road with other traffic.
Each pair pulls off the front sharing the workload with the others. To peel off the rider on the right moves right, the rider on the left moves left, reducing their speed gently to let the others pass. The pair who has been following slice through the pair to take the lead with the rest of the group in their slipstream. The two who have just finished their turn on the front, move back into the slipstream at the back of group rapidly to avoid being in the way of the traffic for long.
Within the group riders should always be paired up. Two abreast is acceptable, three is not. In an odd numbered group, the single rider sits at the back. Each rider has his or her turn being alone at the tail-end. In a group, everything is shared.
A group is concerned with others’ well being. We point out obstacles in the road, we signal directions and we take care of each other. A rider who is struggling is sheltered from the wind and given food and drink. We wait for those who have punctured and help them repair the flat. Every cyclist has a bad day. A group will get you through the bad moments.
Like bragging at a dinner party about wealth, nobody appreciates a rider who constantly forces the pace to prove his strength. Half-wheeling, the term used to describe a rider who is constantly pushing the pace half a wheel in front of the others, is an insult not a compliment. Group rides are not races. Good riders are in tune with each others’ abilities and the groups’ objective. At the right moment, when everybody is ready, the tempo will increase, the group will splinter, the strongest will surge ahead, and then only to regroup again at a designated spot.
A group ride should be challenging but also pleasant. Experiencing an achievement is often richer when shared. On the bike, each pair of riders converses as if they’re across from each other at a dinner table but in the fresh air the conversation is often more animated. On the roads, societal hierarchies are muted. A CEO is just another wheel to follow. A professional cyclist is just another face glistening sweat.
Together, a group of eight eats through the hours. In nearly six hours, we’ve seamlessly devoured mountains, cut through valleys and popped through towns. Even our stop at a café failed to break our rhythm. On the terrace, everything continued to flow.

Juan Foote

Only if you don't cite the author/site you found it on, usually by prefacing with a link to the article.

Gummee

There's always one yahoo that wants to race. Typically the Cat 4 that thinks he/she has something to prove. Happened last Sat on a ride with a couple of 1s and 2s and one guy that had been at worlds. Makes me embarrassed to be a 4 too sometimes. Yup. You 'won' the 'middle of the ride.' :nod Congrats.

Good thing the rest of us knew better and just let him go.

Don't get me started on the lost art of pacelines.

M

mvnsnd

It's a good read. Thanks.

Homebrew01

+1 on the reverse-drop

Doohickie

Meh. That's not any fun. THIS is how you do a group ride:

kgoings

Thanks for the article!

Smokehouse

Exactly...I wish I could find a group like the one in the story.

Of the group rides I've been on, a scant few are at a pace so slow, it will make you numb chugging along. The others, the term "no drop" goes completely out of the window and you're either racing, or dropped. Too many superstars round here. Out of 14 or so...6 will blast out everyone, ride to the next "checkpoint" then want to leave the second the group catches up. It's miserable.

This is why I ride solo now...I'm tired of having good riding opportunities wasted on some jerks who want to race.

aaronmcd

Here, no drop means most of the time the group is together, but everyone goes as hard/easy as they please on the climbs and wait at the top. Occasionally a few want to go hard for a while and wait at the next turn.

The A ride is no drop, meaning race/ride hard to checkpoints and then regroup.

Drop means if you are OTB you finish the ride alone or go home.

Why is it miserable to ride along at a comfortable pace with the 8 that don't race to the next stop?

Clipped_in

+1

rkwaki

But the author of the article is a great guy, raced against him for years...

Smokehouse

Drops in climbs are 100% understandable...no one climbs the same and some are naturally better than others. As long as the group waits and lets the tail recover a bit...it's good in my book.

Bob Dopolina 

The climbs here are big enough that we regroup at the bottom. Nothing is worse than waiting at the top, covered in sweat, only to freeze yer arse off on the descent. Instead do the descent while you are still warm and regroup at the bottom.