david58

Scenario: Large metric Century ride (over 2K riders). Cruising along at about 20mph (had a bit of a tailwind, or less headwind, or whatever) and in my mirror I noticed a large group.

Man! I thought we got away from that rest stop clean! I sure don't remember seeing a group like that.

They approach like a large freight train.

Someone at the head of this mass calls out "Large group" and they begin to pass at a decent pace, a couple of miles per hour faster than me and my riding partner.

I don't mind getting passed, but what happened next really pissed me off: they "amoeba-ed" around me and absorbed me into the group.

Folks would pass me a couple or three feet to my left, then drop into the group mere inches off my front wheel. As the bulk of the group (totaled about 50-60 riders) got to where I was, they were 3-5 abreast, brakes squealing, yelling "Slowing" "Left" and so forth, and here I am in the middle of this ambulance-ride-about-to-happen cluster thingy.

Guys (and gals), just ride past! Don't try to pick me up because I don't know you and have no desire to ride in your group. Scared the crap out of me when folks started grabbing handfulls of brakes....and I had only the ditch as an alternative. You don't want to ride into an Oregon farm country ditch if you can avoid it. You need a ladder to get out.

Glad the P******* V*** folks had a nice ride. Jerks.

Rant over and out.

DropDeadFred

HTFU and STFU

valygrl

If you don't like that, don't ride events.

DropDeadFred

I keed....throw your arm out and ask for 3ft...it's what I do to cars...

calamarichris

Sorry you had an unpleasant experience, but there's no need to call them jerks and the solution is very simple: stop pedaling and ride a straight line until they've passed you.
It's doubtful that anyone will give you any guff over opting out if you hold a straight line, but if anyone does, just mention you don't wish to join their group.
Peace & safe riding!

Shimagnolo

Resistance was futile;
You were assimilated.

dtrain

Trapper Keeper!

david58

Not much of a group rider - 4 or 5 is fine, guys that I know. It was the very mixed group that was the irritant - again, once I was transmorgrified into a pack member, the squealing brakes were quite unnerving. Scary when folks less skilled than me (eek!) pull in front and beside and then start riding twitchy.

I suppose the coast and let 'em pass is the way - I slowed down, but probably not enough.

david58

DDF, I understand HTFU. This is the 41 - nobody STFU's here. If you ain't interested, go climb on your bike and get some HTFUing done.

david58

An unwilling member of the CycloBorg.......

DropDeadFred

Next time that happens you wait for your pull then take a wrong turn and lead them in the wrong direction...that'll teach em

DropDeadFred

I'm on vacay so no riding till Tuesday

pallen

They were afraid of passing you on the right.

Clipped_in

Your on vacation and also on BF. Wow your vacation blows, huh?

AMFJ

LOL. I've often wondered if someone would do that on a charity ride to a random formed paceline.

david58

You obviously don't know how to plan a vacation.

david58

I did that on this last ride, but nobody followed.

DropDeadFred

Ehhhh....I'm waiting to board a cruise ship tomorrow. So for now I'm drinking and just wasting time.

Edit: I'm also involved Ina web venture which is the same reason I'm on bf so much. I spend a lot of time online testing my new sites infrastructure...bf is a nice way to pass the time while I wait for my developer to upload new updates. I'm officially unavailable after tomorrow.

dtrain

stfu !

DropDeadFred

Nahhhhhhh

david58

I don't have to burn vacation time to drink and waste time.

I find now that as much as I like a good IPA, I like riding more. My dear wife is even cooking up vacation ideas that involve bicycles! Cruise ship - no way.

DropDeadFred

Well she paid for it and got a good deal. When we go to Europe next year we will be touring on bikes. She probably has more HTFU in her than you and pad combined. For now I'll sip on my beer and piña coladas while stuffing my face with buffet food....I'll call it carb loading.....for the rest of the year...

hueyhoolihan

OP, had this happen to me (solo rider usually) the other day for the first time. i was "absorbed" into a pack of about thirty and was forced up against the curb and into the detritus. no way i was staying there. so i stood up, accelerated and when i got my wheel in front of the guy beside me, i made it clear i was coming in.

i rode for a while with them, which was not difficult and then signaled when i made a turn. i will say it was a little unnerving, being dependent on the riding consistency and abilities of others to maintain the safety margin i am accustomed to.

david58

Riding with these bozos would have been easy enough, speed-wise. But I don't like depending on others' ability and their safety margin. With the crowd of hangers-on the back that were not part of the club, it did look like an ambulance call about to happen. I wouldn't have minded seeing it, but I didn't want to be part of it.

First organized ride I have done where there was a group this large snowballing its way down the road. Nice thing was that we were quick at the lunch stop, and left 'em and never saw 'em again.

Pug

I can't figure out what the profanity filter blocked here.