Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
I can hear ya on that.
I've got kids. I get only a couple shots a year at choosing wisely what events to do. It has to be a mix of fun, competitiveness, and convenience.
The caveat emptor on the competitive group rides is that they need a strong ring leader. Someone fast enough to be in the main/lead group AND a strong personality as a leader.
I've shown up to a local one twice, and twice had folk flagrantly breaking every rule in the book to keep the pace up. Both times I rode it, we went the wrong way up the road at a T-junction around the island divider to avoid having to slow up for a harder left turn. What if a car is there approaching?
Also, every time someone is a sorry communicator or wants to shave seconds in a turn and doesn't look more than 100 yards down road..........and comes a car leaving the rest of the group to slam on brakes. No communication.
Eff that. If you're on the front of a small break or the main group, call that **** out. Make the bigger person's call to stop the group or slow the group for a proper turn. If you're actually that strong, it shouldn't matter anyway.
Oh for sure! There are some "race rides" that I absolutely will never do because they are notorious for breaking the rules of the road and ignoring basic group ride etiquette. Even the "good" race rides have their bad days. I was in one once where the group decided to swarm a car in a corner. The group was turning right and so was the car. Some riders ended up in front of the car, others behind, and others on either side. Total mess, dangerous, and give cyclists a bad reputation. It was a corner where a selection is often made because it immediately goes up hill, so nobody wanted to open even the slightest gaps and let reason go out the window.... yeah, I pulled out of that ride. Better to live to see another Tuesday night than "win" that week :-)