1st ride with a club today

supermurph09

I've been riding alone since I started back in August last year culminating in an 80 mile sportive last weekend. Today I went out with the local club on the B ride. Been following their exploits on Fbook for a while and finally managed to get out with them today. Have to say, it was a fantastic experience. Being the B ride it was a little stop start due to waiting for slower riders but other than it was great fun.

We did just under 40 miles on what was classed as a hilly ride, great feeling being in a bunch and you certainly have to be alert. Being behind someone and not seeing the road heightens the experience, it was the least i'd looked at my Garmin on any ride so far. I put in some harder efforts on the climbs as with the stopping I had a lot in reserve, my aim would be to go out on a couple more rides, try the spiralling sessions or the "bypass bashing" and then see how I'd fare with the A riders.

So in summary, if you've been putting it off then give it a go!

Neil_aky

Been thinking about it but what sort of pace were you going at? Hard to know when I am good enough to give it a go...

supermurph09

Neil, the average pace ended up just over 14mph. One thing I was amazed at was when you are behind someone else, so much easier. In fairness I tended to be near the front but the lead rider ensured we stopped at certain points for others to catch up so as long as you can ride somewhere near that you'll be fine.

The ride is badged as slow and steady and not a training ride, that's exactly how it felt. http://app.strava.com/activities/49893993

rick_chasey

Supermurph09 wrote:

Neil, the average pace ended up just over 14mph. One thing I was amazed at was when you are behind someone else, so much easier. In fairness I tended to be near the front but the lead rider ensured we stopped at certain points for others to catch up so as long as you can ride somewhere near that you'll be fine.

The ride is badged as slow and steady and not a training ride, that's exactly how it felt. http://app.strava.com/activities/49893993

There's a reason it's such a big thing in pro racing .

supermurph09

Rick, often seen the figures of 30% easier following someone's wheel (providing you are close enough) but it still surprised me. After watching Liege today it gave me an even greater respect for the pro's and also the respect they must have for each other.

Gizmodo

Neil_aky wrote:

Been thinking about it but what sort of pace were you going at? Hard to know when I am good enough to give it a go...

You can't judge the average speed and distance of 1 club against another - they are all different. Contact your local club and talk to them, they will give you an idea of what their rides are like in terms of speed, routes (hilly or flat), stops and rules on whether they allow riders to be dropped or not.

FlacVest

Supermurph09 wrote:

Rick, often seen the figures of 30% easier following someone's wheel (providing you are close enough) but it still surprised me. After watching Liege today it gave me an even greater respect for the pro's and also the respect they must have for each other.

Yes, but only at certain speeds. If you aren't moving say, at least 21 mph, you're really not gaining anything in terms of aerodynamics by drafting.

http://www.americanroadcycling.org/arti ... sSpeed.htm

Scroll down a bit and look at the charts.

~80 watts at 14.5mph
~200 watts at about 21mph

Exponential growth. But yea, just draft one person and you'll really feel the benefits. With the adrenaline pumping, it'll feel like a tail-wind regardless of speed.