First ride with a club group

johnr76

briantrumpet wrote:

johnr76 wrote:

Which club are you a member of? I'm considering joining one in/around Exeter and not sure which would be best. The main one seems to be Wheelers.

Exeter Wheelers, indeed. Their club runs have got much bigger than they used to be, apparently (I only joined a couple of months ago) - they've been over 30 lately, and have started splitting into two groups, but they weren't really a slow and a fast one - just for not having one enormous group on the road. Typical Sunday speeds have ranged from late Summer 18/19mphish, to 15mph for one a few weeks ago over lumpy stuff out towards Dartmoor. A friendly bunch, though probably not really set up at the moment to cater for slow riders & novices. And cheap as chips at £12 a year. They're more than happy for you to join the club runs to see how you get on - no hurry to join.

Thanks. I'm always out on my own. My main route at the moment is from Exeter through Whimple and up and over Woodbury common. It's only a shortish ride of 22 miles and I'm always averaging between 15 and 16mph so do you think this would be strong enough for one of their rides? The only riding I've done in groups is on The Dartmoor Classic and Tour of Dartmoor so i'm inexperienced in those terms.

briantrumpet

johnr76 wrote:

Thanks. I'm always out on my own. My main route at the moment is from Exeter through Whimple and up and over Woodbury common. It's only a shortish ride of 22 miles and I'm always averaging between 15 and 16mph so do you think this would be strong enough for one of their rides? The only riding I've done in groups is on The Dartmoor Classic and Tour of Dartmoor so i'm inexperienced in those terms.

Yeah, certainly reckon so, given that you'll gain from being in a group, and especially as they're taking it easier and doing a cafe stop as well (yesterday's ride was about 55 miles in the Wellington direction, with a stop at Uffculme) - so a good time to try them out. (Woodbury Common is one of my loops too, so I know it takes a bit of work to keep up a decent speed over there.) It's more about being sociable and just learning to ride in a reasonably disciplined group at the moment. Having said that, if someone could only manage 12mph and 10 miles, they might find it tough going.

On my first ride with them the ride leader asked if there were any new people, so I made myself known - I said I was perfectly happy to make my own way home if I found the pace uncomfortable - and he checked I knew the area we were going to! TBH, I was more comfortable with that than expecting them to ride at my pace, had it been slower than theirs (which it wasn't, I'm happy to say).

johnr76

briantrumpet wrote:

johnr76 wrote:

Thanks. I'm always out on my own. My main route at the moment is from Exeter through Whimple and up and over Woodbury common. It's only a shortish ride of 22 miles and I'm always averaging between 15 and 16mph so do you think this would be strong enough for one of their rides? The only riding I've done in groups is on The Dartmoor Classic and Tour of Dartmoor so i'm inexperienced in those terms.

Yeah, certainly reckon so, given that you'll gain from being in a group, and especially as they're taking it easier and doing a cafe stop as well (yesterday's ride was about 55 miles in the Wellington direction, with a stop at Uffculme) - so a good time to try them out. (Woodbury Common is one of my loops too, so I know it takes a bit of work to keep up a decent speed over there.) It's more about being sociable and just learning to ride in a reasonably disciplined group at the moment. Having said that, if someone could only manage 12mph and 10 miles, they might find it tough going.

On my first ride with them the ride leader asked if there were any new people, so I made myself known - I said I was perfectly happy to make my own way home if I found the pace uncomfortable - and he checked I knew the area we were going to! TBH, I was more comfortable with that than expecting them to ride at my pace, had it been slower than theirs (which it wasn't, I'm happy to say).

Good stuff! I may look them up and give them a go (family life permitting). Sounds what I'm looking for. I'll keep an eye out for the trumpet.

briantrumpet

johnr76 wrote:

Good stuff! I may look them up and give them a go (family life permitting). Sounds what I'm looking for. I'll keep an eye out for the trumpet.

I don't carry the trumpet on rides, as I haven't been able to find a carbon fibre 10 gram model. But I think I am the only professional trumpet player in the club. And the only Brian. If you wear a red carnation and carry a folded copy of The Times I'll make sure to say hello. BTW, I'm sure you'll have found the website, but there's also an open Facebook group.

velocestrapture

I had my first club run today, with mixed sucess and am now deliberating whether to keep going out or to work on my fitness and strength a bit more before going out again.

I had no problem with the distance (36 miles) and was quite happy cruising along on the flat, but the route we took had several long inclines (rather than steep hills) and I have to confess I got dropped off the back each time. I just didn't have the leg strength to keep up.

Having said that, I did really enjoy it, and everyone was very welcoming and encouraging, so I would like to go again, but don't want to do so if I am just going to annoy people by them having to wait for me at the top of every hill. On the other hand, the quickest way for me to get good enough to keep up with the group would be to go out and try to keep up with the group as much as possible.

What's the view of regular club riders? Would you get annoyed by having a slow person turning up regularly?

essjaydee

I too went on my first club ride and really enjoyed it. Did just shy of 70 miles in total with a few climbs thrown in for good measure and a cafe stop.
Loved riding with a group and nice friendly bunch of people, so am definitely going again.
Worst thing was the wet cold toes, and really suffered with this, so will look at improving this (somehow). Had 2 pairs of socks on and waterproof overshoes, which are being returned as only had them a few weeks, but feet have got soaking twice now! I expect wet feet eventually but both time was hardly in a downpour!
Might try some long sealskinz socks, expensive as they are, but if they work then worth every penny ;-)

@velocestrapture..just stick with it...your fitness will improve a lot quicker with a club ride as you will push yourself (and be pushed) more. If they are a good club they'll be sympathetic towards you.

jibberjim

Velocestrapture In general, most clubs will not give two hoots if you can't keep up on the hills, they'll care if you can't keep up on the flat, but hills are generally done at "own pace" (I think the Dutch Eigen-Tempo sounds much better) and people will race up the hills, people who are happy taking it easy on the flat sections on the front will want a good workout up the hill. Obviously if you're well off the back - losing minutes on the next man on a 5 minute climb say, then the group is probably the wrong one for you and they may get annoyed with you. But if they're just at the top chatting then you're probably okay - Just ask them, but I expect they're fine with it and you'll soon be able to stay on.

If you were on the KW ride, what did the leaders say? When I've led (*), and I know others do this, is near the end of the ride if we've had to nurse someone through the ride who really wasn't quite up to the standard needed I've always talked to them about how getting fitter before coming again would be a good idea.

[*] It's been a long time since I've led the newbie ride unfortunately, I'm a bad club man.

briantrumpet

jibberjim wrote:

When I've led, and I know others do this, is near the end of the ride if we've had to nurse someone through the ride who really wasn't quite up to the standard needed I've always talked to them about how getting fitter before coming again would be a good idea.

Sounds like a sensible way to go about it, assuming that most clubs will have some sort of low cut-off point (even if it is quite low for a beginners' group) - I guess that most of the time people would realise when they are properly out of their depth in any case. I guess that most clubs will be accommodating as far as they can be within their own set-ups, but there must a be a balance between newcomers' ability, and the speed/pleasure of the ride for existing members. I'm sure that most clubs will tell prospective members what sort of level of fitness would be sensible before trying out, if you want to avoid being dropped.

velocestrapture

jibberjim wrote:

If you were on the KW ride, what did the leaders say? When I've led (*), and I know others do this, is near the end of the ride if we've had to nurse someone through the ride who really wasn't quite up to the standard needed I've always talked to them about how getting fitter before coming again would be a good idea.

[*] It's been a long time since I've led the newbie ride unfortunately, I'm a bad club man.

Thanks jibberjim. Yes, it was a KW ride. The group leaders were really encouraging, and when I appologised for holding people up, said that I shouldn't worry and should keep at it. We did the less steep route up Box Hill, which is what really sapped my strength. I am thinking I might try the flatter Windsor route before I make a final decision, as I had no problem keeping up on the flat. I am also hoping that I might be afforded a bit of grace to start with, provided that I do make decent progress, as I know they are keen to encourage more women to join.

nhoj

essjaydee wrote:

Worst thing was the wet cold toes, and really suffered with this, so will look at improving this (somehow). Had 2 pairs of socks on and waterproof overshoes, which are being returned as only had them a few weeks, but feet have got soaking twice now! I expect wet feet eventually but both time was hardly in a downpour!
Might try some long sealskinz socks, expensive as they are, but if they work then worth every penny ;-)

First try the more traditional method of tin foil round shoes before putting overshoes on.

essjaydee

nhoj wrote:

First try the more traditional method of tin foil round shoes before putting overshoes on.

Thanks
Will give that a try

fish156

nhoj wrote:

essjaydee wrote:

Worst thing was the wet cold toes, and really suffered with this, so will look at improving this (somehow). Had 2 pairs of socks on and waterproof overshoes, which are being returned as only had them a few weeks, but feet have got soaking twice now! I expect wet feet eventually but both time was hardly in a downpour!
Might try some long sealskinz socks, expensive as they are, but if they work then worth every penny ;-)

First try the more traditional method of tin foil round shoes before putting overshoes on.

There's always the even more traditional method of a front mudguard, so the water doesn't spray up from the front wheel onto your feet.

jibberjim

velocestrapture wrote:

Thanks jibberjim. Yes, it was a KW ride. The group leaders were really encouraging, and when I appologised for holding people up, said that I shouldn't worry and should keep at it. We did the less steep route up Box Hill, which is what really sapped my strength.

I'm sure Keith would've said something to you if he didn't think you were up to it, so I think you should come along again, you should make pretty rapid progress, riding with others is a great way to increase your fitness. All the more training you can do outside of the sunday ride all the faster you'll start being one of the first up the hills.

Surprisingly it's generally the flat routes which are the harder for most people who are at the slower end of the pace to keep up, I generally lead the fast ride, and only a few in the club are comfortable on it, most people are going to be like you were on the slow ride, scared of slowing people down. But generally when people struggle it's on the flat, not the hills, the sustained higher pace that totally flat rides go just wear you down much more than the hills where everyone is happy that you get dropped.

Not sure which route you think the steep one up Box Hill is btw?

velocestrapture

jibberjim wrote:

velocestrapture wrote:

Thanks jibberjim. Yes, it was a KW ride. The group leaders were really encouraging, and when I appologised for holding people up, said that I shouldn't worry and should keep at it. We did the less steep route up Box Hill, which is what really sapped my strength.

I'm sure Keith would've said something to you if he didn't think you were up to it, so I think you should come along again, you should make pretty rapid progress, riding with others is a great way to increase your fitness. All the more training you can do outside of the sunday ride all the faster you'll start being one of the first up the hills.

Surprisingly it's generally the flat routes which are the harder for most people who are at the slower end of the pace to keep up, I generally lead the fast ride, and only a few in the club are comfortable on it, most people are going to be like you were on the slow ride, scared of slowing people down. But generally when people struggle it's on the flat, not the hills, the sustained higher pace that totally flat rides go just wear you down much more than the hills where everyone is happy that you get dropped.

Not sure which route you think the steep one up Box Hill is btw?

Chris has PM'ed me and will have a chat with Keith for me.

I may have been unlucky with the route for my first ride- my b/f went out for the first time last weekend, and did the flatter route to Windsor with the newbie group. I thought that one group did it this weekend, but it may have been a much faster ride.

I'm not sure how to describe the route up Box Hill as I have not done it before, but apparently the 'zigzag' route has roadworks at the top, so we didn't do that.

rolf_f

fish156 wrote:

nhoj wrote:

essjaydee wrote:

Worst thing was the wet cold toes, and really suffered with this, so will look at improving this (somehow). Had 2 pairs of socks on and waterproof overshoes, which are being returned as only had them a few weeks, but feet have got soaking twice now! I expect wet feet eventually but both time was hardly in a downpour!
Might try some long sealskinz socks, expensive as they are, but if they work then worth every penny ;-)

First try the more traditional method of tin foil round shoes before putting overshoes on.

There's always the even more traditional method of a front mudguard, so the water doesn't spray up from the front wheel onto your feet.

Indeed - you can't really blame the overshoes for that; they don't stop gravity working!

essjaydee

fish156 wrote:

nhoj wrote:

essjaydee wrote:

Worst thing was the wet cold toes, and really suffered with this, so will look at improving this (somehow). Had 2 pairs of socks on and waterproof overshoes, which are being returned as only had them a few weeks, but feet have got soaking twice now! I expect wet feet eventually but both time was hardly in a downpour!
Might try some long sealskinz socks, expensive as they are, but if they work then worth every penny ;-)

First try the more traditional method of tin foil round shoes before putting overshoes on.

There's always the even more traditional method of a front mudguard, so the water doesn't spray up from the front wheel onto your feet.

Got a full set of SKS Blumens fitted

okgo

velocestrapture wrote:

jibberjim wrote:

velocestrapture wrote:

Thanks jibberjim. Yes, it was a KW ride. The group leaders were really encouraging, and when I appologised for holding people up, said that I shouldn't worry and should keep at it. We did the less steep route up Box Hill, which is what really sapped my strength.

I'm sure Keith would've said something to you if he didn't think you were up to it, so I think you should come along again, you should make pretty rapid progress, riding with others is a great way to increase your fitness. All the more training you can do outside of the sunday ride all the faster you'll start being one of the first up the hills.

Surprisingly it's generally the flat routes which are the harder for most people who are at the slower end of the pace to keep up, I generally lead the fast ride, and only a few in the club are comfortable on it, most people are going to be like you were on the slow ride, scared of slowing people down. But generally when people struggle it's on the flat, not the hills, the sustained higher pace that totally flat rides go just wear you down much more than the hills where everyone is happy that you get dropped.

Not sure which route you think the steep one up Box Hill is btw?

Chris has PM'ed me and will have a chat with Keith for me.

I may have been unlucky with the route for my first ride- my b/f went out for the first time last weekend, and did the flatter route to Windsor with the newbie group. I thought that one group did it this weekend, but it may have been a much faster ride.

I'm not sure how to describe the route up Box Hill as I have not done it before, but apparently the 'zigzag' route has roadworks at the top, so we didn't do that.

Maybe they went up from Epsom way, which isn't too bad, if anything I think it might be more gradual than the zig-zag route. There was a Windsor ride that went at 8.30am labelled up as 'training ride' so maybe you mean that one?

Agree with Jim that its the flats where you can be exposed, we picked up a chap abuot ten miles in on that training ride I mentioned and he was blowing straight away and within about 10-15 miles he had to turn off, but had there been hills I think it would be a bit more matched, most people can't continue to ride at 20 mph up a hill, and even people who can maintain a fast speed on the flat (I could probably stick one of Jims rides if he didn't throw in too many/any hills) can be nowhere on a hilly ride, prime case being myself, fine on flat, slower by some margin in hills.

But one thing I'd say is to keep getting out, and pushing yourself, I've come from very low miles and pretty slow all together to being able to stick with some pretty decent riders, and that has all happened in less than 12 months. You'll be amazed at how fast you improve if you keep putting the efforts in, a lot of people I think give up too easily with cycling.

Chriscommuter

The non "zig zag" route up Box Hill is called Juniper Hill. Headley Road on a map.

The 8.30 ride is a serious training ride for thsoe who either are racing or want to race. It is not a "social" Club Run.

okgo

Juniper doesn't realy go up the hill as such though, more round it.

Its billed as that yse, but in reality its a fast club run with just as much social aspect as any other ride that goes out.

keithwheeler

Velosestrapture - if people turn up on a supermarket mountain bike in normal clothes and a rucksack (as someone did in the summer) then i would have a word. There is a limit and the members are out in their free time to enjoy themselves as well. There were seventeen on what is our normal "newbies/short ride" and most of them i'm sure were faster up the hills than me. No club ride, especially one of that size, would arrive at the top of climbs together so nothing to worry about there. Ideally groups would be less than ten but we try not to be too formal about the organization. The alternative Box Hill climb is indeed Juniper but the sting inthe tail is Tot Hill - the final 400m up to Headley Common - its steeper than any section of the zig-zags so thats why you found it tough going. Glad you enjoyed it.

velocestrapture

Right. Decision made. Everyone has been very encouraging and welcoming, so I will be back for more! See you all soon.

velocestrapture

Yay! Went out again today and joined the slowest of the slow group (although the average speed was only about half a mile per hour slower than last week). I have had a bit of a cough for the last few days, so was almost thinking about not going out, but I decided that if I didn't go, I would set myself up for always making excuses as to why it was not a good week to go out. So I took a large dose of WTFU, and I am glad I did.

I got dropped a couple of times going up Juniper, but not by as much, and not as long as last week. I wasn't even the slowest in the group, by quite some way! My legs felt quite a lot better when I got home as well.

I still have a lot of work to do but at least I know it is doable.

Thanks again to all the lovely KWers for the encouragement.

jibberjim

velocestrapture wrote:

I still have a lot of work to do but at least I know it is doable.

Good, good! You should be in the pub at the awards evening right now (I had to leave early with the 6month old who was getting tired after eating all the food) but glad to hear you had a happier experience, and was right that you weren't really wrong for the club, you'll soon get fit enough for the tougher rides, it's amazing how quickly you improve when you ride with others. 3 years ago I was being dropped my wife as she "warmed up" in the park, now I can survive any ride.