Getting Dropped on fast Group Rides.

CyclingObsession

I am in a club that have beginner and fast groups, I can keep up with the fast group for 3/4 of the ride and untill they hit the hills, I end up cycling 20miles home solo each time and I don't enjoy the ride, the beginner is a small group but its too slow for me but I enjoy the ride, I want to get better for the club rides but I hate being dropped all the time, should I stay stay with beginners until I am ready for the fast group? It scares me sometimes to go out with them as my heart rate rockets, I'm pretty fit usually cycle 1200km per month I do hill train nd run lots also. I need some advice as I'm a self taught cyclist

Froomes Edgar

A self taught cyclist? Brilliant.

Mikey23

You're lucky... I get dropped by the beginners group!

MattyyP

Froomes Edgar wrote:

A self taught cyclist? Brilliant.

jordan_217

Stick at it!

Lightning

If the beginner group is too slow for you it can't really be that good for training (if that's you goal). If you want to get faster to keep up with the advanced group you need to train. Whether you do that by yourself or by trying to keep up with the group for as long as possible (and riding solo afterwards) is up to you. I'd probably do the latter if you can keep up for 3/4 of the ride. At least it forces you to push hard

Raffles

All cyclists get dropped at some point , its part of being a cyclist and gives you motivation to get better.

Velonutter

Why not see if your club would like to start an intermediate group, which gives the chance for aspiring riders to get faster and for the fast lads to have an easier ride on one of their off days.

fearby

Getting dropped and getting really sore legs is part of the enjoyment. Or am I missing something?

Calpol

Practice hills?
If thats where you are getting dropped it suggests you need to practice that. Maybe your technique is poor. If its a good club then surely someone could give you some coaching. Sounds as if you are riding plenty of kms so endurance will be good. Is your gearing too high for the lumpy bits? I prefer to be spinning at 80rpm on hills if possible.

danlikesbikes

Your stuck between the 2 groups. One thing is for sure if you don't go out with the fast group and stick with the slow you will very quickly loose fitness when riding at speed.

If you really want to stick with the fast group there really is only one way and that is to stick it out. In fairness it has probably happened to most of use at one time when going out with a club or group that you have pretty good fitness but end up getting dropped. Am assuming from your post that the fast group tend to go hard on the last part of the ride? Are you the only one who gets dropped also? In our club we tend to find that for the last 15 Km's we loose about 20 or so riders but to be fair it is like racing as we loose people the closer to home we get until the last sign and there is one "winner" and one "looser" who gets to queue in the shop for the drinks.

If you've been riding with them for some time I would guess that you should by now be able to handle the pace most of the way through? In which case perhaps you need to look at your current training and look to swap some of your miles for some specific speed training.

amaferanga

How much do you weigh?

MountainMonster

Only way to not get dropped is to ride with them regularly and build your fitness up to match. This is one of my goals for the coming season.

TakeTurns

How much does your bike weigh :?:

Garry H

When you say "keep up", do you mean you are actually participating in a chaingang and taking your turn through and off style?

nevman

Stop looking at the HRM if it scares you.Rely on legs and lungs instead.

CyclingObsession

Bike weighs 19lbs it's full carbon, well I take my turn at the front and I can hold a pace for awhile and they usually weight for people at big hills once at the top but the flats on the weigh back with wind mess me up I just don't have the power the other guys have.

mrdsgs

We have all been there. Velominati rule 20 and obviously rule 5 spring to mind !

smidsy

It's not the actual power that they have (they have what they have, you have what you have, from the start but you keep up for most of it) it is their ability to put out that power after sustained periods. This is something that you need to build. They have a better endurance from being fitter and I'll wager being more experienced cyclists.

We have some Cat2 guys on our Sunday run and they are simply on another planet in terms of endurance. In racing the hard work is often done at the end (just when you want it to get easy). Many races finish on a climb for example.

You need to include some hard efforts at the end of a long ride to simulate that secenario. Also using intevals is a good way of increasing your staying power as it builds your recovery rate so you can still be there at the end.

You still need to warm down after ofcourse.

saprkzz

I have just joined a new club, they have always been a race team, but have opened their doors to the public. Which means the sunday club runs, are with 2 Cat1's and 3 Cat 2's, most people get dropped, but man is it fun trying to keep up with them... it hurts but that is my goal for this year, to stick with them as much as possible and not too slow them down.

With my old club, they talked me into getting a road bike, and when I eventually got the guts to go out with them, i got dropped 3 weeks in a row, and that was it.. never got dropped again. Keep at it you will quickly gain the power to stay with them.

CyclingObsession

I don't go out regularly with them and I suppose that's my problem I usually go out once a month which probably does nothing for me, I'll try one month and go out each weekend as they do sat and sun rides, it makes u realize how unfit u r compared to some guys, I went out for a group run n was dropped I find cyclists much nicer in terms of comradery. Runners just feck off n don't really care.

bernithebiker

I agree with everything said here, but there is one other slightly depressing aspect to consider;

We are not all made equal. Even if I had ridden my bike 4 hours a days since I was 16, I would still not be in the TdF today, because I simply do not have the genetics for it.

We have 2 Cat 1 riders in our group too, and I can just about hang on to them at full tilt, but they are young and I am over 40 now, and as time goes on they will get quicker and quicker.

I will always be crap at weightlifting, rugby scrums and shot putt because I don't have the body for it. Everyone slots in somewhere and you will have a min and max level at cycling. Of course you can improve with training, but you can only go so far, and everyone has their limits.

carbon337

Conserve yourself, explain to them that you'd rather finish ride together than get dropped so you will do less turns on front through the day.

Most fast guys actually prefer the slower ones to do this, means they get more turns on front and its better for their training.

So hide a bit more and save yourself for those final hills. WHatever you do dont drop down to the slow group.

Bobbinogs

^^ What he said, all of it!

thegreatdivide

On Tuesdays between Spring and Autumn we do two runs – an easy flat 26 miles for new folk/beginners/recovery and a ride for the more advanced where the slower of the fast group get a head start and have to hold off the faster of the fast group – you should get your club to do this.

On Thursdays all club abilities do the hill climb run and nobody gets left behind until the last ‘sprint for the 30’ then it’s every man and woman for them self.

We also allow breakaways on our Sunday runs which is good fun. Balls out efforts at bridging the gap or just pulling them back through team effort.

Garry H

carbon337 wrote:

Conserve yourself, explain to them that you'd rather finish ride together than get dropped so you will do less turns on front through the day.

Most fast guys actually prefer the slower ones to do this, means they get more turns on front and its better for their training.

So hide a bit more and save yourself for those final hills. WHatever you do dont drop down to the slow group.

Might be better for their training, not necessarily for yours though. I'd say keep doing what you're doing, unless you're actually being a danger to yourself and others around you, but try and get out with them more often, rather than just once a month. Your ideal solution though I think would be to try and get an intermediate group together, if possible. Your club's current set up of euther very fast or too slow may not be catering for all.

jonomc4

bernithebiker wrote:

I agree with everything said here, but there is one other slightly depressing aspect to consider;

We are not all made equal. Even if I had ridden my bike 4 hours a days since I was 16, I would still not be in the TdF today, because I simply do not have the genetics for it.

We have 2 Cat 1 riders in our group too, and I can just about hang on to them at full tilt, but they are young and I am over 40 now, and as time goes on they will get quicker and quicker.

I will always be crap at weightlifting, rugby scrums and shot putt because I don't have the body for it. Everyone slots in somewhere and you will have a min and max level at cycling. Of course you can improve with training, but you can only go so far, and everyone has their limits.

^^^^^

This needs to be taken into account - some people can do hills well, others the flat - look at Cavendish - he gets dropped on the hills all the time - but is a bullet in the sprints. You have to accept sometimes there is a genetics factor involved. The people I ride with leave me for dead on the hills but on the flat I find myself holding back so as not to get to far in front.

As a runner I was the fastest at 100 and 200 meters but long distance many others could beat me - even though I was probably twice as fit. Yes I was better than I would have been over long distance by being fit but still genetics played a large part in different disciplines.

Yes we can all improve - but everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

philbar72

don't worry about it. I get dropped on some climbs ( the longer ones) but can catch up on descents and through ability through the twisty stuff, it sounds likely that the recomendations of others (see if there is an intermediate group seems to be a good option) or practice your hill climbing technique and vary your training. I've just started interval training and its helped with my base fitness immensely. that and easing off the beer and eating more sensibly. also try varying the intensity of your ride, and listen to your body, don't risk injury!

t4tomo

CyclingObsession wrote:

I am in a club that have beginner and fast groups, I can keep up with the fast group for 3/4 of the ride and untill they hit the hills, I end up cycling 20miles home solo each time and I don't enjoy the ride, the beginner is a small group but its too slow for me but I enjoy the ride, I want to get better for the club rides but I hate being dropped all the time, should I stay stay with beginners until I am ready for the fast group? It scares me sometimes to go out with them as my heart rate rockets, I'm pretty fit usually cycle 1200km per month I do hill train nd run lots also. I need some advice as I'm a self taught cyclist

Dear Mr Cavendish - why not get someone with car to wait near the hills and get a tow up them (if anyone is watching pretend your having a graze dressed). This climbing malarky is beneath such a fine gentleman as yourself. Keep your energy for the final run to the line.

AK_jnr

jonomc4 wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

I agree with everything said here, but there is one other slightly depressing aspect to consider;

We are not all made equal. Even if I had ridden my bike 4 hours a days since I was 16, I would still not be in the TdF today, because I simply do not have the genetics for it.

We have 2 Cat 1 riders in our group too, and I can just about hang on to them at full tilt, but they are young and I am over 40 now, and as time goes on they will get quicker and quicker.

I will always be crap at weightlifting, rugby scrums and shot putt because I don't have the body for it. Everyone slots in somewhere and you will have a min and max level at cycling. Of course you can improve with training, but you can only go so far, and everyone has their limits.

^^^^^

This needs to be taken into account - some people can do hills well, others the flat - look at Cavendish - he gets dropped on the hills all the time - but is a bullet in the sprints. You have to accept sometimes there is a genetics factor involved. The people I ride with leave me for dead on the hills but on the flat I find myself holding back so as not to get to far in front.

As a runner I was the fastest at 100 and 200 meters but long distance many others could beat me - even though I was probably twice as fit. Yes I was better than I would have been over long distance by being fit but still genetics played a large part in different disciplines.

Hahaha this is brilliant. You are talking about the ELITE level. No weekend warrior has fully exploited their potential so please ignore this!

Daithi

CyclingObsession wrote:

I don't go out regularly with them and I suppose that's my problem I usually go out once a month which probably does nothing for me, I'll try one month and go out each weekend as they do sat and sun rides, it makes u realize how unfit u r compared to some guys, I went out for a group run n was dropped I find cyclists much nicer in terms of comradery. Runners just feck off n don't really care.

It sounds like you know what the problem is. If you can, try going out with them each week and you should see an improvement, even a small improvement should give you the motivation to go along the next week & see if you can hang on a bit longer. Also you mention you get dropped on the flat rather than the hills & it's the wind that you struggle with. In that case try practice riding on the flat into a headwind when you're on your own. What I found worked for me was to use a close ratio cassette (i.e. 1 tooth jumps in the cogs) & a flat stretch of road & just ride along it into the wind in the hardest gear I could sustain for say, 30 minutes, so at time-trial pace or threshold heart rate but keeping a high cadence. You can then find a gear & speed you can maintain & experiment with how long you can hold the next gear up. If you use a heart rate monitor you can use this to check you're trying hard enough but don't let it cause you to back off if you feel you can keep trying.

Above all, if you enjoy going out with these guys just keep doing it. I'm not as fast as I used to be but I still get a buzz from a chaingang even if I have to drop out early more than I had to when I was younger.