getting dropped

[shootingstar]

I may get totally shot down for this, but I've really had more issues with competitive women than with men. The men I ride with are generally very supportive. In contrast, I've had a number of incidents with the stronger women that I ride with who act like they have something to prove, not just to the men in the group, but to the women as well. And I stopped riding with a friend who never failed to remind me that she was faster than me. I got sick of hearing it.

That said, I actually don't think it's a male or female thing. The truth is that some people make better riding buddies than others. For me, gender isn't necessarily the issue. I don't mind riding with a strong group if I know they will have my back if I start to peter out, and I avoid riding with people who'd rather outdo me than stay together.

At training rides, I have no expectation that anybody will stay with me because it's not a "no-drop" ride. If I get dropped, I get dropped. I don't always like it, but I also see it as a challenge to be proud of myself even when I don't perform as well as I'd like. When I first started doing the trainer, I got really frustrated because I couldn't always keep up, but I then tried to change my attitude about what success and failure means with respect to my biking and overall fitness. Any day I take care of myself--even if taking care of myself means riding easy or resting--is a success. Even if I can't keep up, I'm still working harder than the millions of people sitting on their couch!

That said, there are days where I'm not in the mood to go out hard, so I skip the trainer and ride with a kinder, gentler group.

Well said, indy. Some people personality-wise are just better riding buddies...meaning at least they stay in your sightline, if it isn't paceline.

You are so right, about taking care of yourself and being proud of one's own achievements to keep on riding...to keep fit and happy!

[pinkychique]

my last saturday's ride was like that, we were on a fairly long climb - it's 4-6% for about 5 miles, and well at the beginning i wasn't going that fast - needed to get moving, but this man passed me, and rode up to the rest of my group(my bf and a guy friend). my guy can climb like NO OTHER, so i knew that he wasn't going to be with my guy for long, and sure enough, the man got dropped by them, pooped out, and i go flying past him after my legs warmed up, and ooohhh you could see the steam coming out of his ears!!

as soon as we got to the flat, it turned into a balls-to-the-wall sprint fest since another male stranger caught up with us, and well we couldn't let that happen, now could we?

it was fun, but boy was i sore!!! i don't remember what we were going but it was fast....

[Jiffer]

I haven't had a lot of opportunity to ride with our club because of scheduling conflicts. However, I haven't made to much of a point to try, either, because I figure I'll just get left in the dust anyways. Yet, I discovered our club had a new women's only ride every Sunday afternoon. I tried it last weekend and was excited to actually be among the faster riders. We stopped a million times to wait and then one gal and I got so far ahead, we missed a turn and lost the group all together. I made a point to hook up her (exchanged phone numbers) and she almost went on a beach ride with me and another girlfriend of mine the next day, but couldn't make it. The point is, one group is too fast, the other is too slow, so I worked at making my own group of women riders. I also find sucking other girlfriends into riding helps! (I just snagged a new one who bought a bike yesterday. Woo hoo!)

[ehirsch83]

my last saturday's ride was like that, we were on a fairly long climb - it's 4-6% for about 5 miles, and well at the beginning i wasn't going that fast - needed to get moving, but this man passed me, and rode up to the rest of my group(my bf and a guy friend). my guy can climb like NO OTHER, so i knew that he wasn't going to be with my guy for long, and sure enough, the man got dropped by them, pooped out, and i go flying past him after my legs warmed up, and ooohhh you could see the steam coming out of his ears!!

as soon as we got to the flat, it turned into a balls-to-the-wall sprint fest since another male stranger caught up with us, and well we couldn't let that happen, now could we?

it was fun, but boy was i sore!!! i don't remember what we were going but it was fast....

Pinky, were you doing the casino climb on tramway?

[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.

[Fredwina]

I haven't had a lot of opportunity to ride with our club because of scheduling conflicts. However, I haven't made to much of a point to try, either, because I figure I'll just get left in the dust anyways. Yet, I discovered our club had a new women's only ride every Sunday afternoon. I tried it last weekend and was excited to actually be among the faster riders. We stopped a million times to wait and then one gal and I got so far ahead, we missed a turn and lost the group all together. I made a point to hook up her (exchanged phone numbers) and she almost went on a beach ride with me and another girlfriend of mine the next day, but couldn't make it. The point is, one group is too fast, the other is too slow, so I worked at making my own group of women riders. I also find sucking other girlfriends into riding helps! (I just snagged a new one who bought a bike yesterday. Woo hoo!)

For that one I usually ride over, do the ride, and ride home.
Yes it tends to be slow riders. I figure that way I can I can get in workout and help out some new riders - I get about 30 miles that way
The Saturday rides probably could stand some more slower riders, but it seem be in a "chicken or egg" situation. I.e. No wants to come out and get dropped, but we can't build the slower riders unless we have a base.
it make take some compromise on you all part to find a riding partner. I was think about his yesterday (sorry about being late). One of our older club member hadn't been on the bike for while,and I was moving on down Baseline road(about 20 mph). He complained about the pace, so I dialed it back a bit

[smilingcat]

talking about getting dropped. reminds me of a story from my brother-in-law. He has a training rides with his club. A young "punk" shows up and kept disrupting the training ride by going out too fast instead of customary 10-15 minute warm up run. And during pace line, he would surge out front instead of maintaining the training speed.

My in law and his buddy decided one day to let the boy surge out way ahead. then they changed their training route by turning onto some other road. They didn't see the boy the rest of the day. Happy riding I guess... He thought it was funny. I said the group was being mean...

So you could get "dropped" out front.

smilingcat

[kelownagirl]

talking about getting dropped. reminds me of a story from my brother-in-law. He has a training rides with his club. A young "punk" shows up and kept disrupting the training ride by going out too fast instead of customary 10-15 minute warm up run. And during pace line, he would surge out front instead of maintaining the training speed.

My in law and his buddy decided one day to let the boy surge out way ahead. then they changed their training route by turning onto some other road. They didn't see the boy the rest of the day. Happy riding I guess... He thought it was funny. I said the group was being mean...

So you could get "dropped" out front.

smilingcat

I did that to my dh once...

[OakLeaf]

So you could get "dropped" out front.

That's okay (and appropriate IMO) on an informal ride, but if it's an organized club ride with a designated leader, policies usually dictate that the leader has to go after the rabbit, so that s/he can make sure everyone finished the ride. A rider with that very habit is one of the reasons our Wednesday ride leader resigned at the end of last season

[PscyclePath]

That's okay (and appropriate IMO) on an informal ride, but if it's an organized club ride with a designated leader, policies usually dictate that the leader has to go after the rabbit, so that s/he can make sure everyone finished the ride. A rider with that very habit is one of the reasons our Wednesday ride leader resigned at the end of last season

Depends on the club rules and "generally accepted practices"... Several clubs have a general rule where if you pass the ride leader and sprint off past the horizon, you're no longer part of the ride and are wholly on your own after that. Our group (Arkansas Bicycle Club) hasn't discovered the concept of cue sheets just yet, so I've used some of these instances last year as a teaching point, and taken the pack off to a parallel, but different road for better scenery or less traffic.

Outside of learning to ride in a racing peloton or practicing race tactics, your average club ride is intended to be a social occasion where we share our enjoyment of this marvelous sport. In Magnuson's book, Heft on Wheels, his friend Saki always admonished, "Ride together."

Add together the fact that a pack of cyclists quickly succumbs to groupthink like a school of fish, and successful ride leading becomes nearly a black art...

[SadieKate]

Yep, the 3rd time you zoom out in front of the ride leader and you miss the turn? We're not chasing you down and your rescue and return factor is now entirely up to you. When we count noses at intersections/turns, the total has just dropped by one nose.

You get one freebie no matter what. You get a 2nd because I'm just too much of a mother-hen guilt ridden sort. The 3rd time, you're on your own.

I have no problems with people riding in front of the ride leader, but only if they stop at all the intersection that we've agreed to AND they know how to get to that intersection.

[SadieKate]

That's okay (and appropriate IMO) on an informal ride, but if it's an organized club ride with a designated leader, policies usually dictate that the leader has to go after the rabbit, so that s/he can make sure everyone finished the ride. A rider with that very habit is one of the reasons our Wednesday ride leader resigned at the end of last season

Sorry, but I think that even on an organized club ride a repeat offender should be allowed to "drop" themselves off the front. The group isn't dropping the offender, the rider is doing to the dropping him(or her)self.

Good ride leaders are far too valuable a resource to waste.

[indysteel]

Our weekday training rides, which are sponsored by the club and do have a ride leader, are marked so you can ride at whatever pace you want, although the expectation is that you stay with the group (there are actually at least two groups at most rides, one faster than the other). If you pull ahead or get dropped, you're on our own. The ride leaders will sweep the course if someone doesn't return to the parking lot within a reasonable time. There are multiple training rides, however, around town on any given day. Some are more "maternalistic/paternalistic" than others. The more they cater to the racers in the club, the less likely that anyone will care if you stay with the group.

When I ride more informally with a group of friends, we stick together. I've never known anyone to sprint off and I've never known us not to slow down if somebody starts to struggle.