Reluctant to keep up?
jgsi
Posts: 5,038
I took a few novice riders out yesterday evening.
I had one 'unfit' roadie on the comeback, to keep a very sensible pace at the front for me.. I mean very sensible as well.
I gave a few pointers about group riding but main aim was to keep things chilled and enjoyable.
Issue is... and I am advanced in years so I have never gone through this modern process of being an adult and taking up cycling... so I am struggling to understand why new riders fail to even try to keep up?
Huge gaps appeared and I was falling back and chasing up trying to tie things together.
Is it:
fitness.. but the pace was really gentle,emphasis again
fear
or something else in the mindset?
They are all keen, but if they actually did venture on a club run, they'd be a liability at the moment.
So, new riders, tell me why you dont like following wheels when you are perfectly entitled to do so in this scenario.
I had one 'unfit' roadie on the comeback, to keep a very sensible pace at the front for me.. I mean very sensible as well.
I gave a few pointers about group riding but main aim was to keep things chilled and enjoyable.
Issue is... and I am advanced in years so I have never gone through this modern process of being an adult and taking up cycling... so I am struggling to understand why new riders fail to even try to keep up?
Huge gaps appeared and I was falling back and chasing up trying to tie things together.
Is it:
fitness.. but the pace was really gentle,emphasis again
fear
or something else in the mindset?
They are all keen, but if they actually did venture on a club run, they'd be a liability at the moment.
So, new riders, tell me why you dont like following wheels when you are perfectly entitled to do so in this scenario.
0
Posts
It is not as if they are doing it to make money or anything - it is supposed to be fun.
When I re-started 18 months ago (after a 20 year absence) it was all I could do to turn the pedals when it was anything other than pan flat. They may have been giving it all they had.
However, the first group ride I did I wasn't happy tucking in close behind when further back in the group - I could keep the pace, but being used to solo riding meant I was unsure about not seeing what's in front. But I "only" dropped off a bike length or so.
I know one riders attitude to sucking my back wheel is that if they sit there then I'll speed up (even if I dont) and if they drop off and I slow down to allow them to catch up, they'll make no attempt to close the gap as the pace will increase as soon as they're back on.
Btw - your idea of a gentle pace may not be theirs ...
These guys... both sexes, have done a lot of Spinning classes and they realised soon enough the gulf between that and actual road work is actually wider than the Gulf of Mexico.
My aim is for them to , yes enjoy it, but at the same time, to improve, as that is also their stated aim.
I again - emphasis on the gentle pace... 10mph gentle enough?
As I said I know only too well that even places you think of as flat are far from it when it involves hauling yourself up and over the damn stuff.
I regularly see speeds in single figures when going up hills.
It aint called the Cheshire Plain for nothing ,guys! honest
Could it be a combination of not understanding the benefits of keeping on someones wheel and a bit of fear of it? I remember my first group rides years ago I started off leaving a good bike length of space as that 'felt safe' (visibility, change of pace, etc), but then one of the experienced guys would drop back beside me and encourage me to get right on the wheel of the guy in front.
It can be the sort of thing, that especially as an adult, can feel a little un-nerving at first, and maybe they don't want to show their fear?
http://app.strava.com/activities/46811990
So in January, I went on my first club run, just to see what it was like.
I didn't have any particular difficulty keeping up (it was the easy group), but I did feel distinctly unsafe close behind a wheel above about 15mph or thereabouts. Below that I was happy but as the speed picked up I would drop back to a bike length or two.
There were two reasons for feeling unsafe that I could identify. One was just proximity at speed - I don't like tailgating people in a car since it's basically dangerous, and I couldn't shake the same feeling on the bike.
The other was the fact that I couldn't see ahead, and I didn't like that either.
I expect it's a familiarity thing, but in all honesty, although it was great meeting the other riders and chatting at the cake stop, I didn't enjoy the group riding all that much.
So it was one of those "gentle paced" rides, which was banging along at 16mph and wondering why people can't keep up?
On an unsuitable bike, on very hilly terrain, 10mph can be unachievable by many. That being said if I couldn't keep 10mph I wouldn't go on a group ride.
Either the pace should be adjusted so everyone can stay together, or slower riders should form their own group, or adult individuals can choose to drop back alone.
The advertising / description of the ride should be explicit about what to expect for pace & hills.
A 'training ride' should also explain the pace and that drafting is expected.
Some people just like to go slowly, like a leisurely walk, but on a bike.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA
Never mind average speed, how did you manage to do 115.4 mi/h max speed? :shock:
I returned to road riding at 50 after quite a long absence. That was over 5 years ago and for a solo ride in undulating terrain my average speed remains stubbornly fixed at 14.6 mph. In April I joined a local sportive, hopeful of a speed increase from drafting. Instead I seemed to spend the entire event being overtaken. Average speed for 86 miles? You guessed it; 14.6 mph
A few years your junior - last year I had an average speed of 15mph ... short/long ride, flat or hilly didn't matter ... same avg speed ... fortunately I've broken that now ... sometimes it's slower!
Indeed - a definite glitch on that ride which I am told may be due to using navigation and recording on the Bryton.
It's a basic Halfords wireless jobbie, but sadly accurate. I suspect it's me that's rusted up!
The local club does a circular TT which goes past the house and is just over 11 miles. I've looked at their results online and some of them do it in 25 minutes. I take 45. Which, you've guessed already, is 14.6 mph
Has as been said,ask the riders about there ride and how they feel about it.
Is a very good point.
I have only been road riding for about 4 years now (but another 15 MTB'ing prior) & sometimes its hard to get your head around pack riding & also getting used to the trust needed to ride on someones wheel.
Firstly, I have to admit that basic fitness is the overriding factor in the capacity to 'keep up' on faster rides.
However, I was very very focussed on keeping a totally mixed ability group within their comfort zone.
These guys like the idea of road training rides and actually the feedback given to me afterwards was very positive.
It is just this 'allowing gaps' to happen that I'd like to address - we are NOT talking about being dropped!
I need to give them a mental magnet to keep latched on - again I am not talking super 'chaingang' close either, but enough to take some respite and relax about it all.
They have all signed up for the following week, so something is making a connection somewhere.
I have still a few other people who have road bikes gathering dust in garages.
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
Goddamit..I will pay more attention next time
Plenty people cheat at spinning classes. Can't hide on the road.
The OP actually backs this up. 10mph over a long ride is not a slow pace for a real newbie.
From talking to him during and after the rides we've done and my own thoughts, I think regular cyclists, whilst meaning to keep a slow pace, struggle to do this, especially on a long drag of a km or so at 2%- factor in the affect of headwind and beginners not being comfortable on the drops and it's easy to see why people do drop off. Trying to coax that it of extra effort out of someone is hard when they are not confident in their fitness is difficult as they can be very concerned about pushing and not making it back easily, so they purposely keep a bit in reserve. My dad has said at the end of the rides how he feels like he could've gone further/faster.
Ultimately, if someone doesn't have a sporty background then it's a case of giving them confidence in their fitness so they will put more effort into going faster, or further
edit: average speed 13 mph not kph
Merida