getting dropped

[shootingstar]

\I don't do well when I am constantly trying to keep up with others; it doesn't make me stronger, it just makes me angry and feel like I am weak! I can compete with one person, but a whole group, no.
Of course, I have to make myself remember that most "regular" people think that what I do is crazy and that I am fitter at 54 than I was 10 years ago.

I don't enjoy the sensation..of trying to keep up with many others.if it was a regular group ride..it feels to me, like being forced to conform/to keep pace with Joneses.... Like you Robyn ,it creates unnecessary self-disgust/anger inside myself which lowers cycling love. I am certain I wouldn't have stayed on the bike for so long, the past 17 yrs., if I spent the majority of cycling time in group riding.

Usually my partner is riding ahead...it can get complicated because he doesn't like to cool down when waiting for me at a turn or top of a hill somewhere... but he's able to do lots of riding in past few years on his own while I'm at work (early retired, but now he's starting up a biz ....cycling consulting...this is another story.. ) and when we're together on bike (though not side by side), he might cycle round a loop a few times to "meet" up with me. If it's a route we're familiar he'll kinda ignore me and pump it out. If I didn't do enough solo cycle, I suppose I would be bothered. But I'm not. Hey, we don't have a car...so in the end, we will meet at the finish line..at a store, park, etc.

On loaded bike trips, I tell him how much of a beetle he looks like way out on the horizon.. As along as I can see where he's going in strange/new, unknown areas...even if he's 1-3 kms. ahead of me.

There is no way we would cooperate on a tandem. We rented a tandem once..I sat behind and hated it. I am 5'1", he is 5'10".

He is the sort of person who isn't bothered if a woman passes him.

I have led group rides which have taught me: a)I'm a somewhat impatient person b) not as sensitive of other cyclists as I thought I would be since I'm not a fast-pacing cyclist. This alone, I think I still have enough to learn..

[Crankin]

You sound like me, Shooting Star! There have been several times when I've been leading or sweeping a group ride, that I am annoyed... of course I keep a smile on my face and no one would know.
I have found 2 groups that I like to ride with and I think it's because I am one of the better riders in the group. One group can get pretty quick at times, but they always stop and regroup. Plus, I have found that living on a hill has advantages because I am usually one of the first to reach the top of a climb. But, I still enjoy riding with just 3 or 4 other people most of the time.

[Tuckervill]

I'd like to hear more about your Saturday Saunter ride, Geonz....I'd like to get more people involved in cycling (especially women) and group rides,and that sounds like just the thing.

Karen

[Pax]

I'd like to hear more about your Saturday Saunter ride, Geonz....I'd like to get more people involved in cycling (especially women) and group rides,and that sounds like just the thing.

Karen

I've been one of those sloooow folks who show up for Geonz's ride, she does a fantastic job of keeping it at the advertised pace and making everyone feel welcome. That ride is one of the primary reasons I got back into riding, it was safe and well lead so I felt like I could just focus on riding the bike, not having to pay attention to the route or where to stop is wonderful when you're starting out.

[sundial]

I pass a guy who is only going around 15 mph... and I'm doing 18 mph... to only have him zoom by me a little bit later. Uuummm.. yea... you weren't going that fast before mister.

Yeah, it's the same with driving too.

Yes, some guys are shallow...but others will be very impressed by an athletic woman...others are attracted to intellect...etc

Um, *intelligence* didn't come to mind here--more like a woman's landscape

...and this town's got about 100,000 people and about 200 of 'em are in the bike club... but there's been years of effort to make the club welcome at the entry level.

I live in a town of 3200 people. I have yet to see one woman on a bike here. 2 of my friends are *kinda* interested in riding but they don't even own a bike. I've got a spare bike and that I plan to set up for whoever wants to ride with me.

Tuckervill I'll bet you have access to some clubs over there in your progressive neck of the woods. The closest we have is Jonesboro--an hour away. Wish you lived closer so we could ride together.

[Tuckervill]

Lewis & Clark is setting up a cycling team/club. Brand new. There's a L&C store in Little Rock, now, but probably not one in your neck o' the woods.

I've been doing the Saturday newbies group ride at the Rogers store, and hanging out on their forums a little. The team/club is seeming to focus on racing and mountain biking, so I'm hoping to be a voice for the normal people. ;-) When I asked about club cut jerseys, it went over like a lead balloon.

You should google the Arkansas Bicycle Coalition. I'll bet you'll find some folks.

Karen

[sundial]

When I asked about club cut jerseys, it went over like a lead balloon.

LOL!

[Geonz]

I"ll write more later, but a beginner's ride is a bit of a challenge primarily because you always have to assertively address the genuine culture clash between the different needs of different kinds of riders. YOu've got rank beginners, and hten folks who *think* they're rank beginners but have forgotten what it was like to honestly, really average 10 mph, and then folks who like to go 40 miles at 13 mph, and sometimes somebody who's intimidated by the fast group but 'way too fast for us... but usually that's a problem that fades.
And some days are much better than others ;D
Most important message I preach is to "keep coming back" because if you're the onlly beginner this week... but next week it's a differnet only beginner... you'll never know that there really were 12 of you out there. Fortunately for me, when I joined about 9 other 'saunter types' joined so we had our own kind of critical mass, but when it was only one or two of us and most people were faster, I kept saying "but we have to keep coming back, so we can grow!" and it worked.

[ehirsch83]

I pass a guy who is only going around 15 mph... and I'm doing 18 mph... to only have him zoom by me a little bit later. Uuummm.. yea... you weren't going that fast before mister.
.

Is there any chance though, before you think that these guys are just being arrogant, that maybe they are doing intervals? There could be a very logical reason behing why they zoom past you later.


Also, a lot of people use group rides as training rides. Which means that a lot of them, unless run by a social club where people are there to chit chat, won't have a drop policy- it is up to you to keep in.

I know there are some cycling clubs down here where their rides are grouped off into speeds and they are no drop rides, but the members have to sign waivers and pay a fee to be part of the club(i think).

Most of the other rides, including those I partake on, are drop policy free and are FAST. If you can't hang, to bad keep working till you are strong enough to be there for the whole ride. A lot of people aren't out on the bike to piddle around, the majority of them are out to train.


And remember, if you do decide to start with one of these rides and see how long you can hang in, one way to make sure the guys(and girls out there) will like you better in the end is when you start to feel yourself dropping off move over, don't allow a gap to form between the person ahead of you and the guys behind you- it will really make them mad if they have to bridge a gap and do extra work when they are trying to be smart with their energy.

p.s. one last thing about the girls seeming to be worse towards other girls then the guys. I find that it is more that as a girl, I have to work twice as hard to prove myself. If I drop off and create a gap, those guys are going to never want to ride behind me. They will also try to use me- they will try to not pull through when I pull of, or not let me back into the paceline. It is hard for them to see a girl still hanging in when you know they are hurting, I have to work my butt off to grab a wheel and stay there. And that means I am not a social person on a ride- if I try to talk, I will lose that wheel a lot of the times, so I will probably come off as being rude- but it isn't meant htat way, it is just ride time is business time and most other girls out there I know are the same way as me. I will talk to you before the ride and after, but on the ride there is no place for socialization.