Opinion needed re: group riding

[aicabsolut]

Sounds like the group is ready to split into an A and B ride.
A for the chest-thumping ego-maniacs who want to rip the legs off each other.
And B for the rest of the people who remember the joys of a group ride and its own inherent challenges.
Run that one up the flag pole and see who salutes the idea.

p.s. I find that guys on a group ride fall into one of three categories: (A) they hit on you, (B) they ignore you, or (C) they act like they're your big brother and are out to protect you.

+1
In fact, on one of the Saturday no-drop rides back home, they had to split the "fast" group into 2 groups for reasons like this. Some guys just wanted to hammer all the time. I was home a couple weeks ago, and since it's October, they tried to calm the fast group down and make it one large group again. Of course, about of them went all out as we made it through the last stretch of stoplights. I found myself behind a group who decided to stop pedaling and chat. I saw the hammerheads up the road split into 2 groups. I bridged up to the 2nd group and then (b/c I was flying) decided to keep on going and try to get to the lead group. I wound up in no-man's land, which quickly turned into massive-headwind-land. I was stuck. As I sat up for the 2nd group to catch me, my legs blew and then I couldn't even catch on to that group again. The ride leader meant well in trying to go back to the winter rules of the ride, but it didn't work. I wasn't the only one dropped, either. Far from it. I did wind up catching most of the 2nd group eventually, and all of us finished only about 5min back from the leaders. Seems pretty silly for a no-drop ride. If only there hadn't been a massive, group-splintering surge, we could all have hung together at a normal pace no problem.

When it's just an individual going crazy, in my experience, it's been quite easy for the group to just let him/her go. Sometimes, one person who is a bit stronger will go for a while just to give the other a hard time of it.

Maybe I'm letting my ego get in the way. I have had to work my butt off to finally be able to hang with the faster people on this ride only to have someone mess up the dynamics. I don't WANT to go back to the slower group....my goal is to get faster, not slower. There are several other rides that I "babysit" the slower riders (heaven knows I need to return the favor), but this is one ride I want to do for me. Now my friend, the knucklehead, messed it all up!

Umm...another thing...he IS the ride leader. He wasn't before but the other guy had to back out so.....

If he's going to ride like that, he shouldn't be the ride leader. Yeah, he should make sweeps at the back, but not because he's blown himself up. He should also work to control the pace at the front so that it is whatever the ride is supposed to be.

If you can't get through to him or the group, then I suggest you try to restructure the ride into an A and B. That doesn't necessarily mean that only the people you want to ride with will do the A group. Hopefully, this time of year there will be some people who don't want to basically go out and race and contest all the sprints every weekend.

[Andrea]

Like everyone else, I think that talking to him/the group would be best.

However, being the perpetual smartass, I propose that as soon as he blows up & starts to drop back, "one of the girls" (gigantic eye-roll for that phrase) should counter-attack the bejezus out of him & drop him like a hot spider

[SouthernBelle]

Oh, Andea, I like that one. Wait til his legs are cooked then cook the rest of him.

[Andrea]

Oh, Andea, I like that one. Wait til his legs are cooked then cook the rest of him.

hehehe... the counter-attack is my all-time favorite race move!

[7rider]

However, being the perpetual smartass, I propose that as soon as he blows up & starts to drop back, "one of the girls" (gigantic eye-roll for that phrase) should counter-attack the bejezus out of him & drop him like a hot spider

Slight hijack...
I nick-named one of the guys on our group ride "Pop" - not for his paternal qualities - but because he'd forever attack at the base of a hill and then - POP! - run out of gas halfway up, and the rest of us would just cruise on by him!

The kicker of it it...he turned out to be a really nice guy.

[Tuckervill]

7, that happens to me all the time, because I use the momentum to get me up the next hill. I'm heavy so I can go fast downhill, and I end up passing everyone else, usually. (I try to, so I won't waste any momentum. It annoys me to NO END if I have to brake going downhill!) Try as I might, I can't keep up the speed all the way up, so I end up being passed by everyone else again.

So, maybe old POP is just doing what he can--even though it seems to me he should just sit and spin instead of attacking.

Karen

[7rider]

7
So, maybe old POP is just doing what he can--even though it seems to me he should just sit and spin instead of attacking.

Nah...he's not too big a guy. He was just impatient. And that was last year. He's joined a race team and learned better strategy and techniques. Now, he rides with the faster group and does fine on the hills (much to my dismay). 50% of climbing is learning how to do it well (something I personally haven't yet learned! ).

[aicabsolut]

7, that happens to me all the time, because I use the momentum to get me up the next hill. I'm heavy so I can go fast downhill, and I end up passing everyone else, usually. (I try to, so I won't waste any momentum. It annoys me to NO END if I have to brake going downhill!) Try as I might, I can't keep up the speed all the way up, so I end up being passed by everyone else again.

So, maybe old POP is just doing what he can--even though it seems to me he should just sit and spin instead of attacking.

Karen

Those are 2 different scenarios. You are practicing a good method of not getting dropped. Use your momentum where you can, and then stay to the side and drift towards the back on the hills (instead of starting behind and then getting spit waay off the back).

That is totally different from attacking at the base of a climb (regardless of the terrain leading into it) and then blowing up instead of picking a sustainable pace.

[Tuckervill]

Those are 2 different scenarios. You are practicing a good method of not getting dropped. Use your momentum where you can, and then stay to the side and drift towards the back on the hills (instead of starting behind and then getting spit waay off the back).

That is totally different from attacking at the base of a climb (regardless of the terrain leading into it) and then blowing up instead of picking a sustainable pace.

Oh, I see--he's trying to break off when he gets to a hill...not just attacking the hill to get up it!

Yeah, he's not very self-aware, is he?

Karen

[li10up]

It annoys me to NO END if I have to brake going downhill!)

Me too! Seems like the people in the front forget that those behind them on the downhills are in the draft ...they quit pedaling and then those in back have to hit the brakes. If they would keep pedaling then those in back could coast without having to brake...

...so that's a good tip for beginners. If you are in the front, keep pedaling even on the downhills.

I used to ride with a guy who would spin for about 5 revolutions then coast, spin, coast, ....repeat. I finally had to tell him that the price one has to pay for being in front is to have to pedal ALL the time. He just didn't realize what he was doing.

Now my friend the knucklehead is wonderful to draft behind. His cadence is rock steady...If I could just keep him from blowing up the group...

Guess we can't have it all!

[Geonz]

Just make a teeny adjustment so his brakes rub, or let just a little air out of his tires. He'll blow up much sooner... y'all can continue your ride.