Group Riding ! Seems like fighting!

speedjunkie

Im completly new to this huge poleton group ride, is it normal that sometimes it seems that im fighting for my place inside the group, and if i slack just a little bit ( give like 1meter+ from the nearest wheel) someone will overtake left or right or try to take the best lines on the wheels and gently push me aside leaving me unshield. Looks like war to my newbie eyes.

Anyway i loved it

ai_1

speedjunkie wrote:

Im completly new to this huge poleton group ride, is it normal that sometimes it seems that im fighting for my place inside the group, and if i slack just a little bit ( give like 1meter+ from the nearest wheel) someone will overtake left or right or try to take the best lines on the wheels and gently push me aside leaving me unshield. Looks like war to my newbie eyes.

Anyway i loved it

You've got multiple overlapping threads going on simultaneously!
You mentioned in the one linked below that you stop pedalling for breaks when in a group. This will always be a problem. You need to maintain a constant and predictable pace or people will not want to be behind you as it makes it much more risky. When riding with small gaps between riders any change in pace will ripple through any riders behind you as the guy behind you will have to correct to avoid hitting you and the guy behind him will have to do the same, etc.
I suspect they are not trying to declare war on you. They are simply looking to protect themselves from danger. Also if a small gap opens up between you and those in front there's the risk of that gap expanding and splitting the group after which more effort is needed to latch back on. Others will see this and since they won't expect you to be taking a breather they'll assume you're struggling and come forward to plug the gap. Group riding is about cooperation not war. There are reasons for the way experienced riders act in a group. I'm not very experienced at group riding myself but I can see that an inexperienced rider can cause huge difficulty for an otherwise smoothly operating group. I'd suggest talking to those you're riding with to make sure you're not causing them difficulty and get some tips. Once you know why people are acting as they do you'll probably be much more comfortable riding in a group and the others will appreciate your efforts to cooperate.

viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=13027929

speedjunkie

thanks for the constructive criticism!

jgsi

Only just glanced thru but crux seems to be
leave a gap... yes someone will fill it.. so don't if you can avoid it.
sometimes a bunch will be well behaved and stay static... usually after 30 miles in... there you can maintain position.. but probably the race has gone and a break is up the road and your riding next to a fella who says ,, yup "got a guy in the break,mate".
Sometimes the bunch is like its got fleas... and itching...and twitching.. best strategy here is to make sure you are moving 'forwards' all the time, so you are not losing out on position... very important if you have a sharp corner coming up.. you certainly dont want to be at the back end and having to produce 200 more watts than guys towards the front end... just to stay in touch... who just might launch an attack and you are already in the red.