Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
If I had to fault local group rides and hammer rides, it is simply because they lack an identity and leadership. Nobody ever owns them and sets the rules. Nobody before each ride really stands up and says "this is the XYZ group, we do 30mi at a 20mph pace, rotating line, steady, all together". They don't do roll call to see if they have a new rider with them. When you don't have any set ground rules for a ride and no ride leader............yeah, chaos may reign. Even hammer rides need this. A veteran of the hammer ride needs to stand up before the ride and say "welcome to.........we're here to have fun and workout, not die......so xyz will not be tolerated.......etc....". Nobody does that.
In my experience with these types of rides (which were a large part of my training diet in my racer-boy days) there is a fair amount of self-policing going on, even without a defined leader. Experienced riders of the group will call out riders who are riding dangerously or doing things that are out of character for the type of ride, and direct them on the correct behavior (sometimes more tactfully than others).