In cycling, you'll find every kind of rider. Getting dropped used to piss me off. The anger stemmed from my weaknesses not their strengths. I have been fortunate because most of the guys have waited at intersections or told me up front the pace would be too fast for me.

It is important to foster riding in newbies, which I do. Harder rides are done solo or with the fast group days. I have complained to a few strong/bikeshop riders about not helping others get stronger on the bike, especially those clearly wanting to improve. New riders need lots of instruction on bike etiquette, bike handling, drafting, cleaning, maintenance, etc. Most of the guys are doing a lot better at helping newbies.

This year I dusted a fella that just couldn't understand paceline riding. He took the pace up every time he led. He had the paceline strung out over half a mile and then some. The newer male riders were disgusted and somewhat demoralized. When he increased the pace to 26 mph and even some of the stronger guys were struggling, I got really pissed off. I ignorantly broke from the line blasting past that guy at 31 mph. He called me a sandbagger. I guess he'd been struttin' his stuff. He slowed when he saw me coming around him. So I slowed and nicely let him know he was blowing the paceline apart, which defeats the purpose on multiple levels. Afterwards, he maintained the set pace rather than ratcheting it up. He may have been ignorant but his actions were making the ride harder on everyone. So don't be afraid to speak up.

I dropped back to pull some of the other guys up but they didn't want to participate in a blistering pace again. Couldn't convince them it wouldn't be blistering because the burn was too fresh. So it happens to guys, too, not just us gals.