I rode a "tour" this weekend, 100 miles each day. On member of our group was a very skilled and strong cyclist who was more than happy to take endless pulls. It was only at about mile 50 on day two that he finally started to take periodic breaks from the front. Following this guy for several hours was like a graduate course in cycling skills. I've been riding for a while but I learned some valuable stuff this weekend.

Riding in a group does improve your skills. Even better, if you are riding in a group that is going fast enough that you need to stay in the draft to keep up, it is literally like having electrodes hooked up to your legs ready to shock you if you slack off. Those "little" 12 - 18 inch sprints to get back on a wheel are painful and thus some of the best teaching/training tools available to a cyclist. Even if you don't learn, at least doing 30 or 40 of those over the course of ride will make your stronger.

Nice Tom, I have had similiar experiences with my students, watching somebody intuitively "get it" is a very rewarding experience.

Last friday I was working with a young set of twin boys, they are 7 or 8. I was teaching sparring skills to them, working with one, then the other. These boys started as average students and have gotten to be some of the better student of their age and rank simply through hard work. I was working with one boy as the other watched intently, suddently the boy on the sideline started waving his arms and bouncing up and down to get my attention. "Master Jim, Master Jim" he yells "this is why we do the footwork drill, and the spacing drill" and on and on. He had done something I had never seen a student his age do. He had understood. Understood that the drills or games we do ALL directly related to what I was teaching that day, he made the connection. Most students that age treat all the drills ands skills we work on as a game. This student realized the importance of them.

That was one of the best moments of my career doing this, and one of the reasons I will be sorry to leave.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

I always enjoy your editorials, Tom. They give me a window into a world that I've not experienced.

The only "commentary" I can give is a question: What happened to your editor?

Tom-
As usual a good and worthwhile read .
And you're right about all the facets and protocol in learning to ride with a group.
A great roadie once told me,before you leave your house, make sure you give the bike a good once over,bring your helmet,some money,and make sure you leave your ego at home.

"Wax on...Wax off " Mr. Miyagi circa 1980's

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Seeing him in deep torment, I said. " You can have my last GU , but its been down my pants for most of the run". - John Hirsch

Take care of your body, its by far the coolest thing you're going to ever own.- Can't remember who told me this, but I love it.

Great article and have to say I go through almost all of these situations weekly. you really nailed down some issues we deal with as well. well said!

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Lee Zohlman, Lead Coach/President
BodyZen Multi Sport Coaching
http://www.bodyzen.com

A - I think Zabriski's skills are probably excellent compared to the average cyclist, even though he admits its one of his weaknesses. Don't compare a single paceline on a training ride with a bunch of 180 in a race !

B - It seems you do all your training rides between 25 and 28 mph !

You're right. I tried to use language to kind of convey that the demands on Zabriskie are enormous and the learning curve much steeper. Maybe I should have just said that....

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Sounds like Zabriskie would have made a great triathlete. :)

Group riding rocks IMO, but the truth is some people "get it" and some people just don't. It involves a certain skill, awareness and common sense that even some experienced roadies that have been riding in groups for years just don't have. Others have an inate ability to pick it up fairly quickly. When you ride regularly with a group and get to know the riders there are people you feel very comfortable in close wheel proximity with and those that you just don't.

Tom,

Nice article. I love the taoist quote! My favorite book of all time is The Tao of Poo. I try to read this once a year, just to keep the feet grounded.

Come up to Petoskey/Harbor Springs for a group ride sometime. Nothing like some hills to break up the comfy 25 mph paceline!

Gar

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"Why do they keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity" -

I prolly couldn't hang up there.... I'm a flatlander. I do appreciate the invite though!

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Don't be modest, you would represent the 'hood' just fine. Are you racing the mark Mellon. I have never done it, and am thinking about giving it a go.

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"Why do they keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity" -

Mark Mellon is a truly great race. The bike course alone is reason enough to do the event. It is five stars.

I've written off '05 for racing. I got a sinus infection that lasted 6 weeks. Nightmare. So much for that.

So for me, I am back to the drawing board and already preparing for the '06 season.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Sorry to hear about that Tom. I, have been preaty unmotivated myself this year. I have only done three races so far. Hopefully 2006 will be better. I will be moving up to that fast 40+ age group and wondering where my youth went.

Maybe I will see you come cyclocross season. I think I will try a few races in your area to see if I like it. I love my cross bike and ride it more than the saber now.

gar

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"Why do they keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity" -

    Reading your article reminded me of when I started doing triathlons in the 80s and a tri-friend and I went on some group rides out of the local bike store (30-40 riders). First of all, they treated us like aliens because we had aero bars - we weren't true bikers.
We would ride at the end of the group, about 10-15 yards in back of the pace line. This seemed to bother the bikers and the bike store owner would drop back and try to get us to join the pace line, which sometimes we reluctantly did.
I told the bike store owner that, as a triathlete, I had no interest in learning peleton or pace line skills since I was never going to ride in a bike race or be a "true biker." I simply wanted to have a good training ride which was made more interesting by following the group of bikers and trying to keep pace. I also was not "stealing" anything from the bikers by not participating in the pace line. Their ride was going to be the same whether I was there or not. Besides, I had no interest in placing my life in the hands/wheels of a 20-something year old biker dude.
I understand that, if you are a group bike rider, fair play/common courtesy dictates that you take your turn in front. Sort of like when you are shooting baskets with a group you should take your turn rebounding. If someone is content with riding behind the group, however, they are not doing anything harmful to the group and should not be derided for it (which I am not suggesting you did in your article).

Interesting article, as usual. I wonder what Zabriskie's going to do to improve his riding skills, if anything.

But that Taoist proverb is quite stupid.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Thanks man, I think....

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com