Originally Posted by
Spoonrobot
I'm going to +1 this because I got taken down from a rider not paying attention and grabbing enough brake to skid his real wheel on a uphill while we were single-file on Sunday. My front wheel got dinged into his derailleur and down we went. Near as I can tell he was stem staring and panicked, stupid. Also a nice reminder to me not to follow recreational riders I've never ridden with before at friend/racer distance.
I mentioned it because it happened to me a few years ago with a guy I have ridden thousands of miles with and knows better. We were on a brevet at night, he overshot a turn, forgot there were riders behind him, and hit the brakes. Some dinged up bikes in the pile-up, but thankfully nobody got hurt.
@
burnthesheep, probably best for you not to join a spontaneous group on a recreational ride. You'll be really disappointed.