Club Runs

Mike Willcox1

Just for a bit of fun chris has suggested a poll for the club runs. so come on guys be honest which one best descibes you:

1) A mountain goats who want to sprint up every hill (normally weighs less than 70kgs)

2) A wheel sucker who never/rarely does a turn at the front

3) A novices or unfit liable to get dropped even on the flat.

4) A racers who want to show off your latest carbon thingy, or fitness ( been doing interval training), by continually going off the front.

5) A sprinter who annoys everyone by sprinting for every village sign after having wheel sucked for the last 10 miles.

6) A "sufferer in silence", who mutters under their breath about numbers 1-5

7) A whinger who complains loudly about numbers 1-5

8) A veteran who has seen it all before and won't let anything spoil the ride as long as they can twiddle @ 100+ rpm

9) A newbie who rides up the first hill like a demon and within 30 minutes is totally knackered.

You can't be more than one.

SteveR_100Milers

What about "normal rider who can keep pace, takes his/her turn, and enjoys the whole event"?

Mike Willcox1

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

What about "normal rider who can keep pace, takes his/her turn, and enjoys the whole event"?

Rare as hen's teeth. But your best off being number 6).

Mike Willcox1

After tomorrow's club run you can tell me how many riders fitted the various categories and full marks if you have the bottle to name the club.

SteveR_100Milers

IME you have to be over 50 before you start openly moaning at other riders - I have come to the conclusion that training on your own or in a small group of no more than 3-4 mates is best. Can we have a category of "silently fume at the OAP moaners complaining about not looking, hoolding a wheel etc etc etc" (when you know damn well you are looking, and can hold the wheel easily but not when your contact lens is about to fall out of your eye).

BeaconRuth

I'm none of those.

Can we have a category for "Racer who so rarely gets out on clubruns that it's a relief to just have a nice sociable ride for a change"?

Ruth

DaveyL

Do testers ride in groups?

chrisw12

Thanks Mike, very good.

I'm no 4 by default as I'm no 'wheel sucker' and too bad at the hills that I have to get revenge somewhere. :oops:


I wonder why I don't get invited on many group rides :idea: :?:

Mike Willcox1

BeaconRuth wrote:

I'm none of those.

Can we have a category for "Racer who so rarely gets out on clubruns that it's a relief to just have a nice sociable ride for a change"?

Ruth

OK a new category: None of the above.

...........and you have to say what you are. Otherwise there is no end to the list.

TheGreatGatsby

I think I would be;

sunday social rider - a rider of intermediate all round ability* who rides primarily on his/her own during the week so enjoys the club runs for the social aspect.

Gats


* good rider who can sprint, climb hills, keep pace and pull on the front all to equal ability. A bit of a jack of all trades but master of none.

Jeff Jones

We've got all the types you listed on our club run, which is what makes them fun.

I'm thinking I best fit into veteran twiddler, except I'm not that old. Sometimes I turn into a racer, but it defeats the purpose of going out in a group if there is no longer any group. At the moment, the club runs are a social exercise more than anything else.

Monty Dog

Why not add 'winter racer' forces the pace on the front, comes through too hard, takes huge turns much to the sufferance of his ride companion. Is flying come the start of the season, fluffs the first few races and then decides that summer is purely training for the winter club runs.

nolf

Defo the mountain goat.

Up here in York I sprint up all the hills.

All 3 of them.....

J2R2

I am probably a 'silent whinger'. I get really fed up in winter with people turning up on best bikes and winding up the pace and half wheeling on the front - in other words, 'winter racers' as described by Monty Dog. I don't make a fuss about it though.

I remember getting my ar$e kicked all the way through last winter, but I ended up having a much more successful season than many of the people who were doing the kicking. Two of them completely disappeared from the start of April (but guess what - they're back on their bikes and getting out on the winter runs again!)

shockedsoshocked

A mixture between 1, 6 and 8, I think.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Yeah - the half wheelers are annoying.

I rarely do club runs though, just not effective training - mostly as a social thing. I think if there is a strong & experienced ride captain/leader and an effort to at least set an expectation before the ride as to pacing, regrouping, opportunities for racers to go off and do their thing etc then that can sometimes help.

You also forgot the riders who yell out for every minor little bump on the road or shout out "car behind" when it's a dual carriageway and there's really no need. Then the worst of the lot - the call of "over" when changing lanes is required when the car passing hasn't passed the front of the bunch yet.

I s'pose I can be 6, 7 or 8 depending on the day! Or if I'm not really enjoying it, then I'm happy to let 'em go and ride my own ride. But it's funny how often you end up with a group following you.

Mike Willcox1

I notice we haven't anyone was has admitted to being a wheel sucker yet. From my experience of club runs there are more of these than any other category.