Rule #1 of group riding: It is never hard work. You either keep repeating how easy a ride it is loudly or you talk about how tired you are from your training the day before. If you get dropped, pretend you had a flat or dropped your chain or that you forgot your oven on at home.

I think you just described every 10+ person group ride that has ever occurred. That many riders will always turn into a semi-race at some point.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

In every group ride I do (and they get fast), there are 3 types of people:

1. Fast guys who want to work hard and suffer. This is usually 3-5 guys, who end up gapping the group a bunch of times. They dictate the group tactics.
2. Not as fast as number 1 but will work their hardest to stay with the leaders. When they get dropped, they smile, shrug it off, and work harder next time to not get dropped.
3. Same talent/speed as number 2 or slower, but get pissed off when they get dropped or aren't in the lead group. They rarely go to the front and do any real work (wheel sucker). They bitch and complain that the fast guys are "racing".

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blog

Your group rides sound better than mine, because mine will have a 4th group of people:

4. Those that haven't ridden in a paceline before (they were either already out on the road and jumped into the group, or were there from the start). I'm not talking about newbies to cycling and can't hold a straight line. I'm talking folks that have decent fitness and can ride a straight line, but they aren't used to riding in groups. Even within this group, there are two subgroups:

4a. Those new to group rides and want to learn and are open to and listen to whatever the group is instructing them to do or not to do (don't overlap wheels, rotating clockwise or counterclockwise depending on wind direction, not accelerating or slowing down when you get to the front but rather holding pace steady while you rotate through and over, etc.). I love riding with these folks because of their positive attitude and it reminds of why I love to ride with others...the "brotherhood factor".

4b. Those new to group rides and won't listen and are not open to learning. They still try to do their own thing in the group. They'll rotate up front and up the pace or slow down the pace to their individual pace and stay up front completely disrupting the flow. They don't understand that when they up the pace to their individual pace vs. the pace of the group, and hang up front, they are leaving the previous person dangling in the wind. To be clear, I'm good with upping the pace, but announce it to everyone in the group so that there's consensus and people are clear on what the GROUP is doing. Those close to their limit can hold back on rotations if needed. Similarly those that slow the pace down disrupt the flow and in the case of going slower, they increase the odds of wheels crossing and causing a crash.

There is nothing better than a smooth paceline with friends that know what they're doing and you know are safe riders (so you can ride really tight on a windy day).

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Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.

2. Not as fast as number 1 but will work their hardest to stay with the leaders. When they get dropped, they smile, shrug it off, and work harder next time to not get dropped.

I'm usually "Up-Riding" - Just hanging in there as long as I can with fitter faster riders. I'l take a pull when I can, but when the heat is on, I am looking for wheels! :)

Our club has a real range - from National Master's TT & Road Champions to folks with just decent fitness. Generally speaking our long groups rides with the fast group, of 10 - 20 riders, are reasonably disciplined. Good rotation. Good work sharing, but also an acceptance and understanding that some ( the fitter/faster) will be doing more of the work.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I like that :)

jaretj

We occasionally get that 4th type but they don't last long. They usually get dropped very fast and never come back. Our group rides are pretty intimidating, so a lot of people won't do the group rides (which is a good thing as it's too big already). They are not for the weak (not just fitness level). You need to have thick skin to deal with what goes on. Speeds are usually 27-30 mph depending on wind.

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I have also found that if you have a good attitude about it, stronger riders are surprisingly tolerant of slower riders and love to help them out. Early on I established that I welcome input and I will basically ride until I fall over from exhaustion (which did happen in one early ride that was supposed to be for beginners, but I was the only beginner who showed up), so a few much better riders have taken me under their wings and done some great training rides with me. As I have gotten more experienced, I have been trying to help new riders out it return.

When I am training for an event though, I am picker about who I will ride with. If I want a hard training ride, I go out alone or with other people who are looking for a similar ride. If I want a relaxed, hang out with my buddies ride, I do one of those and don't expect much out of it. So if you don't like the way the people you are riding with are riding, don't ride with them.

I have also found that if you have a good attitude about it, stronger riders are surprisingly tolerant of slower riders and love to help them out.

There is a lot of ripping of roadies here, and elsewhere that they are a bunch of arrogant asses. I had early experiences as a cyclist of sitting in a group and riding a decent amount with a former Pro rider who ounce wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France - you could not rider with a nicer guy! Very accepting and easy going.

I sense a lot of the negativity when people are talking about this, but as you point out it's often mostly about a miss-matching of the rider and the group. The triathlete showing up for the roadie group ride, and expecting the ride to go his/her way. The dude meeting up with the group on their hard day, when it's his easy day etc . . .

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

"Ok" - nice replies with varied opinions. What about the second issue: road debris or too narrow a travel lane? 40+ miles @25+mph is fine, but roads in the DMV aren't as forgiving.

There certainly are roads, or road conditions, that are not safe for group riding. And there are definitely groups which are not very good about navigation marginal roads while keeping everyone in the group safe.

One of my pet peeves that I have decided not to be silent about anymore is when with the guys who go to the front and are more than happy to pull hard but they seem incapable of giving any thought to what is going on behind them or how their actions affect the group.

I guess the basic definition of a good group ride is that no matter who happens to be on the front, they'll slow down or otherwise keep things safe when the group hits a bad stretch of road or some other hazard. Or, they don't attack yellow lights ;-0

Well, there is not such thing as an 'Easy Group Ride'. There are Training Rides, and then there are Recovery Rides.

Training Rides are what 'Easy Group Rides' become when there are more than four riders present. That is to say the foursome is riding to the meeting spot of the Training Ride.

A Recovery Ride is being in the small chainring for all (or nearly all) of the duration. Recovery Ride means you only breathe thru your nose. If you have to open you mouth to breathe, shift down and slow down.

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Anne Barnes
ABBikefit, Ltd
FIST/SICI/FIST DOWN DEEP
X/Y Coordinator
abbikefit@gmail.com

No matter whether group training rides or race pelotons, it is always good to alert others (loudly) to road debris, pot holes, gravel, signage, etc. Failure of lead/pulling riders to communicate road hazards (shouting, pointing...) puts the entire group at serious risk. Nothing is worse for group dynamics and cooperation.

Very good summation. Myself and my riding buddies don't mind new people, but you better be willing to learn if you want to be invited back. Nothing worse than the guy who thinks he has everything figured out, does his own thing and won't listen to constructive criticism.

I was new to group cycling in 2013, didn't do much of it, got more seriously into it in 2014 and did just about nothing but group rides in 2015. I said from the beginning I am here to learn, and I decided I would welcome getting yelled at and take it as a learning experience. I figured out who the leaders of the groups were and asked them what I could improve in before they had a chance to correct me. Result was I learned a ton and I get invited back to ride with really solid groups because they trust me to do what I am supposed to do and they know if I need correction I won't get pissed off and will actually make the correction.

Agree with your last line big time. Nothing like riding with guys you can trust, makes the suffering so much fun. Only takes one idiot who won't listen or won't make adjustments to ruin the ride for the whole group.

"Ok" - nice replies with varied opinions. What about the second issue: road debris or too narrow a travel lane? 40+ miles @25+mph is fine, but roads in the DMV aren't as forgiving.

If a group rides on roads you deem to be unsafe or in an unsafe manner, there is nothing keeping you from opting out of the group.

Phew, thank god for time trialing - no talking or having to ride with anyone.