Bicycling 101 #11:
Surviving In A Stronger Group
By Liz Sands, TCBC Ride Leader
Riding in a group where the others are slightly stronger than you can
be a good way to build fitness and learn how to go faster. Just be sure
to follow these suggestions.
Most important is not to ride beyond your ability. What might be an
‘easy warmup pace’ for a stronger group, could send you into the red
zone. While it is okay to be out of breath for short periods of time
(like after climbing a hill), if you find yourself that way continuously,
you’ll eventually be so taxed that your bike handling skills will suffer.
This makes you a danger both to yourself and others. A good guideline
is if you’re struggling so hard to keep up, that you haven’t been able
to drink from your water bottle, the group may be beyond your skills.
Be smart and let the group go.
Second, be familiar with group riding skills and etiquette. Check
out the tips on the club’s website:
http://www.mtn.org/tcbc/bt-group-riding.htm
Use drafting to your advantage (drafting is riding behind another cyclist,
which protects you from the wind). Drafting is what will allow a weaker
rider to be able to keep up with a stronger rider. Pick a big rider
to ride behind – big riders block more wind. Also, try to pick a steady
rider to ride behind. Some riders, not paying attention, will fall behind
the rider in front of them - then accelerate to close the gap. A strong
rider may have the fitness for these continual accelerations, but they
are likely to wear out the weaker rider behind. Conversely, a steady
rider rides a consistent pace. If they accelerate or slow down, they
do so gradually. Steady riders are also more trustworthy and predictable,
and therefore you don’t need to leave as much following distance behind
them and will get a better draft. If you ride up behind someone and
intend to draft, let them know you are there. It is polite to say something
like: "Do you mind if I draft?"
They will be more likely to point out obstacles in the road and may
even ride more consistently, making it easier to draft, if they know
someone is behind them.
Pay attention when the group is moving out of a corner or away from
a stop sign. Experienced riders will usually accelerate quickly from
a stop or a corner, in order to get back up to cruising speed. If you
don’t accelerate as quickly, a gap will open up between you and the
group. Once there’s a gap, it’s more difficult to catch up because you’ve
lost the benefit of drafting. Obviously, you should NOT blow a stop
sign just to keep up with a group.
If the group is riding in a paceline, make your turn at the front of
the group very short. Don’t feel obligated to stay there for two minutes
just because the previous riders in front did that. If you don’t feel
up to even a short pull in the front, try recovering in the back of
the group. Just be sure you let the riders who are rotating back know
what you’re doing. Open up a gap to let them pull in in front of you,
and say, “Go ahead, I’m just sitting in”. This will give you a chance
to recover and also, if you do decide to let the group go, you can slow
down and drop off without causing a problem for others riding behind
you.
Hills are often the spot where a weaker rider will be dropped by the
group. One strategy is to try to be toward the front of the group at
the bottom of the hill. While other riders will pass you on the way
up the hill, you may still be in contact with the group at the top of
the hill, or close enough to catch up. Again, it’s polite to let the
other riders know what you’re doing. If I see a big hill coming up,
I’ll tell the rider behind me that I’m slow on hills and feel free to
go around me. Otherwise, as you fall behind on the hill, the riders
behind you may react too late and they will be dropped from the group
right along with you. The strategy of letting other riders pass you
on the hill only applies if the road conditions and level of traffic
will allow riders to pass you. If it is only safe to ride in single
file and you think you won’t keep up on a hill, it’s more courteous
to ride at the back where you won’t cause a problem for others in the
group if you fall behind.
Be sure to pay attention to your map or cue sheet so that if you do
decide to slow down and let the group go, you know where you are on
the map. Most of all, if you do get dropped don't feel discouraged.
There are all levels of riders and we all have strong days and weak
days. In the beginning you might only be able to keep up with a faster
group for 20 or 30 minutes. But making that effort will improve your
fitness, and over time you’ll be able to hang on longer. If you get
dropped you don’t necessarily have to finish the ride alone - slow down,
drink, recover, and give the riders behind you a chance to catch up.
Or plan to go to a less challenging ride in the next couple of days.
There are all types of rides in the schedule from social rides where
everyone sticks together to fast and competitive rides that challenge
your ability. You can balance out your experiences by doing both challenging
training rides, and social rides for fun!
Finally, I always make sure to thank the other riders at the end of
the ride if they did most of the riding in the front, sheltering me
from the wind. On the other hand, if you ride behind someone for most
of the ride, only to sprint around them at the end so you look like
you’re beating them to the parking lot, you can probably assume they
won’t repeat the favor.
Copyright © 2004 Liz Sands. All rights reserved.
