What does keeping your line mean?

Alexkf

I keep getting shouted at for not keeping my line. WTF, I'm proper into motor racing like, and know what a racing line is.

What am I doing wrong?

Slimbods

What you're doing wrong: taking the racing line.

You'd cut up people if you did that in a bunch, so hold your line through the corners in relation to the other cyclists.

SteveR_100Milers

If you're riding in a group, then you need to be aware of who is beside and behind you with an overlapped wheel. If you keep moving around in front of them, you are going to cause a major pile up, so look over your shoulders and just be aware of riders around you and don't cut them up.

Homer J

Think of it as if you where cycling down the road and about to turn right you would check to see if anything was coming first. Same thing in a race.
ps: you didn't happen to be at Goodwood? There was some very inconsiderate riding.

craigenty

If you're in the bunch and heading for a corner - take the line a Scalextric car would take.

Lillywhite

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

If you're riding in a group, then you need to be aware of who is beside and behind you with an overlapped wheel. If you keep moving around in front of them, you are going to cause a major pile up, so look over your shoulders and just be aware of riders around you and don't cut them up.

What he said.

racingcondor

craigenty wrote:

If you're in the bunch and heading for a corner - take the line a Scalextric car would take.

Great example! The racing line in motor racing is about the fastest way around the track and works because you don't have 3-4 vehicles abreast. In cycling if you start a corner 3 feet from the curb you need to stay 3 feet from the curb the whole way through if you're in the bunch. You don't do that then sooner or later you're likely to put someone in hospital.

Good on you for asking, there are many who wouldn't.

dennisn

For me "hold your line" means do not make any sudden changes in the path you are following. People on either side or following you should have the confidence in YOU
that you will hold to the line that they see you traveling in. It's not really very hard. If you're behind someone and you watch them as they go into a turn you can get a picture
of what their "line(route)" through that turn will be, or at least should be. You'll also have an idea of what your line will be and hopefully it will be the line that people around you are taking into account for their lines through the turn. Smooth, with no real sudden movements, direction changes, or hard braking. You must plan you line and speed through the curve and not just go into it "balls to the wall", to h*ll with the other riders, and hope you come out the other side.

hells

So if you must always stay in the exact same position how do you move up through the bunch or make an attack? What happens if the person in front cant keep up with the pace? What if you cant keep up with the pace and need to fall back?

I have my first race on sunday (womens racing) I am only hoping not to crash or cause anyone else to crash, I'm sure I will not be able to keep the pace because I have been told all categories race together in womens racing, which dosnt seem very fair to me but hey ho.

I have done abit of group riding in clubs before but they were just social rides and people were not as close together as I imagine they will be on sunday.

jibberjim

hells wrote:

I have my first race on sunday (womens racing) I am only hoping not to crash or cause anyone else to crash, I'm sure I will not be able to keep the pace because I have been told all categories race together in womens racing, which dosnt seem very fair to me but hey ho.

Is it the team series at Windsor? as otherwise I suspect the field will be small and you'll have little problem doing whatever as they'll only a be few other women in the race and they'll quite rapidly get split up, as you say the all cats together makes a difference.

The team series event will be a different affair I'm sure as the field is full, and with some very strong riders in. It'll likely still break up to some extent, but with a full field, it's much easier to sit in and hide. It's a shame you didn't make either of the London Womens Team Series events as the first one was a 3/4 so no super fast Elites and 1's in it (although there were some very strong people in it) and then the large field at Hog Hill.

If you need to move up, you have to wait for an opportunity, check there's no-one where you need to move to, and move there, holding the line is about not making unpredictable moves, particularly in corners. Basically concentrate, no sudden moves of any sort, always check the space is clear, and don't try and make up positions on bends.

meanredspider

racingcondor wrote:

and works because you don't have 3-4 vehicles abreast. .

I take it you've not done much motor racing?

The principle in motor racing is exactly the same - I can't take the racing line if there's a car alongside me. There's subtle differences and it's less frequent that there several cars abreast (esp in F1 but not so in single-make club racing) but it would end at least as badly if we just took the racing line.

SteveR_100Milers

meanredspider wrote:

racingcondor wrote:

and works because you don't have 3-4 vehicles abreast. .

I take it you've not done much motor racing?

The principle in motor racing is exactly the same - I can't take the racing line if there's a car alongside me. There's subtle differences and it's less frequent that there several cars abreast (esp in F1 but not so in single-make club racing) but it would end at least as badly if we just took the racing line.

Off Topic: No-one seemed to ever explain this to a certain M Schumacher though, it's a relief he hasn't taklen up competitive cycling....

hells

Yes it is the team series at Windsor. The only reason I am starting racing is because I did a winter training camp in snowdonia with the army and they said I did well enough to go on the newly formed race team. I have had my road bike for 10 months now and I work 8 out of every 10 weekends so I have not had much opportunity to ride with large groups of people.

Id like to do the london one next year, depending on if I like this team series. I don't think the army would enter it though and most club fees seem expensive especially if you are like me and can only go riding with the club about 3 or 4 times a year.

racingcondor

Yeah you got me. No motor racing but if you assume I mean F1 after the first corner then it's generally few vehicles involved and unlikely to be more than 2 abreast on the corner. I wasn't thinking about go kart's etc when I wrote that (or M Schumacher!). Poor example .

I think the point essentially still stands though as does dennisn's 'be predictable' advice. Stick to the wheel in front and if you want/need to change line then glance to check your flank and indicate that you're moving over.

jibberjim

hells wrote:

Id like to do the london one next year, depending on if I like this team series. I don't think the army would enter it though and most club fees seem expensive especially if you are like me and can only go riding with the club about 3 or 4 times a year.

Club fees expensive? I don't know of any that charge more than 40quid, which doesn't seem much, that said you don't have to ride the LWCR as a team member, you can just join as an individual for 5 quid, so it'd hardly break the bank! And there's no reason to wait until next year, you can join now, only the best 8 results count anyway I think.

dennisn

hells wrote:

So if you must always stay in the exact same position how do you move up through the bunch or make an attack? What happens if the person in front cant keep up with the pace? What if you cant keep up with the pace and need to fall back?

There is not so much an exact position, that you must be in all the time, as there is more of a, don't make any sudden changes in the path you're traveling(hold your line). Don't suddenly make a quick position shift to the left or right when you are in a somewhat tight group of people, especially in turns. If you do want to move up toward the front or to a position on the outside or inside you need to be sure that you can do this without interfering with or taking down another rider and then if you see an opening you can SMOOTHLY move into it(nothing jerky or super abrupt). If you need to drop off the pace toward the back, sit up a bit, SLOWLY start drifting back while still pedaling(easier). Nothing abrupt. You do this after you figure out where people are around you. Other racers can usually tell from your body language(sitting up, soft pedaling) that you are contemplating dropping back and will do what they can to avoid you(while keeping their line). Whew

meanredspider

racingcondor wrote:

as does dennisn's 'be predictable' advice. .

And that's the key point from my POV - exactly the same applies in motor racing - especially passing backmarker traffic.

Monty Dog

To reinforce the point, consider an s-bend - on your own you'd take the most direct line, apex-to-apex. However, in a race, you may be on the inside for the first bend, but because there are two riders outside of you, you have to leave sufficient space between yourself and the two rides on the next bend. It's quite common in the 3rd/ 4ths racing at Thruxton where on the first lap, some numbtie forces someone over the kerb.