I'm really surprised by the responses from a bunch of cyclists. I routinely ride with 10-20 team riders - not usually 30+. It's not only a good workout (fast pacelines), but I feel "safer" than riding by myself. My biggest harzard is not the vehicles (they see us), but other riders going down in front of me (happens on occasion). We ride both single and double paceline depending on the road, and we obey traffic laws, including stopping at stop signs. Very rarely do we encounter angry drivers. Wearing team kits, our reputation is at stake.

Michael

The whole reason I am looking for a good group is for safety. There are some great roads around me, but I don't feel comfortable going out by myself. I was very surprised by some of the behavior as well. By no means was it a huge deal, but I'm the kind of guy that will wait at a red light even if there are no cars around, and I won't just blow through stop signs if I don't see any cars. Other's not so much, and when they get the group mentality going, I think everyone thinks it's just okay to do it.

This. A fast group ride is so much more challenging, and rewarding, than training on your own. Best way to get faster? Ride with people stronger than you and hang on for dear life. The wheel in front is like a carrot that is way more motivating than a "target power number." And like others have said, your bike handling improves greatly.

One of my best experiences with a group was when we did a border run (Chicago to Wisconsin and back), and on the way back south we had 16 guys doing a double rotating paceline - you only put your nose in the wind for about 5-10sec at a time because you're basically either moving up one side of the line or dropping back on the other. We were doing about 30mph for about 30min (we got lucky with timing the lights, probably because we were basically doing the speed limit), and it was one o the most the most exhausting, challenging, and fun 30min I've had on a bike. By design, I probably spent 95% of the time in someone's draft but I set a new 30min power record - takes a lot of work to make sure you don't let gaps open up. It also requires concentration, confident bike handling, and good communication between riders.

Group riding has made me a better cyclist, no doubt about it. But not all groups are created equal. Find a fast group ride that is well managed - not a Wednesday Worlds ride - where the goal is to ride hard (safely), not "win."

Though I ride plenty alone, and with one or two other riders, I don't think solo rides are necessarily a "better" workout. Aside from the group riding skills, a group ride can be a very intense and focused workout, if that's the objective; just make sure the group ride fits into your training plans.

Yes!

As much as it would be an annoyance, I think regularly re-sitting drivers licences would be a good idea. Far too many people think they know the rules, but don't.

For example, a number of years ago, a guy in a van cut me off, jumped out of the van and started hurling profanities at me. Among other things he screamed "cyclists have to ride single file". I shot back with "The road Code says cyclists shall not ride more than 2 abreast". He reached into his glove box, pulled out the Code and said "where does it say that?". I nervously flipped through the book, found the page and pointed to the printed line, below the picture and read out "Cyclists shall not ride more than 2 abreast" and handed back the book.

This was closely followed by his wife in the passenger seat saying "I told you" to her husband.

The van driver took off, showering us in gravel. I'm not sure who won that one, but I bet it wasn't his wife when they got home :-(

As I've noted before, you can be right, but dead right. Regardless of the rules, ride to get home alive.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

As I've noted before, you can be right, but dead right. Regardless of the rules, ride to get home alive.

In light, I'd rather have my headstone say "Dead Right" than "Dead Wrong".

While I get your point, I'd rather skip the headstone and keep cycling, knowing the rules, following the rules and riding to stay alive regardless of the rules.


I used to cycle commute to high school for 9th and 10th grade, in Canada, as long as there wasn't too much snow on the ground. It was from one town to another and was 20km each way. That was back in the 1970's and I rarely ever saw another cyclist. I don't recall seeing anything in the road code about cyclists, when I got my drivers licence in 11th grade. There were no helmets back then, but my mother did insist on me having a high viz fibreglass pole with high viz flag. Unsurprisingly, I had very few friends in high school. LOL I had plenty of close calls and to be honest, I count myself lucky that I'm still alive to tell the story. Even back then I followed the rules of the road, and rode as safely as possible.

I started riding regularly again in my 30's. Ocassionally I'd cycle commute 40km each way to work and back (still in Canada). the traffic was so dangerous that I eventually gave it up. I vividly recall one day on my way to work. I heard an 18 wheeler slowing down behind me. On a lo-loader he had a giant bulldozer. The blade was sticking out about 4-5 feet either side of the trailer. For some reason I actually looked around. I saw the problem right away. While he was slowing down, it wasn't nearly enough to pull up behind me. I was doing about 55-60kph down a slight hill. I immediately headed for the gravel on the side of the road. The bottom corner of the bulldozer blade passed within inches of my head as I tried to stay upright and the truck passed at about 80kph. Eventually I came to a halt, thankful to be alive. *$&% truck drivers.

Now I cycle commute 13km each way each day. It's a cycle lane much of the way, but still dangerous enough (New Zealand has notoriously narrow traffic lanes).

Sure, there are risks with cycling, but there a risks with eating Dorito's as well. There are risks with driving too. For me, in my location and my situation, I have assessed that the benefits of cycling to work outweigh the risks. Plus it's fun. I do understand that not everyone is in my situation and that different people evaluate risk in the same way. To each their own, but if you choose to cycle, cycle safely.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I meant that in jest.

Pink then? or emoji? :-)

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"