Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Asking to join a ride in progress?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Asking to join a ride in progress?

Old 08-14-19, 07:26 AM
  #26  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by bakerjw
Group rides are hit or miss.
Some don't mind people tagging along while others are of the "We'll yell at you" variety.
Some groups welcome other riders while some do their own things.
It never hurts to ask.

I avoid group rides though as there is too much drama.The only group rides I do is with my wife on our tandem.
As a long-distance lone wolf rider, my observation is that a lot of groups can be very fast for short bursts, but end up stopping so much to coordinate that I don't see how they build any endurance.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 07:59 AM
  #27  
Kapusta
Advanced Slacker
 
Kapusta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 6,187

Bikes: Soma Fog Cutter, Surly Wednesday, Canfielld Tilt

Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2749 Post(s)
Liked 2,516 Times in 1,422 Posts
Heck, just turn around and follow them. See if you can close the gap. It seems to me that if you’re able to catch up to ask them if you can follow them, then you’ve already answered your question as to whether you can hang with their pace.
Kapusta is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 08:10 AM
  #28  
Myosmith
Lover of Old Chrome Moly
 
Myosmith's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NW Minnesota
Posts: 2,949
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 143 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 23 Times in 17 Posts
Just wondering if shouting "Mind if I follow at a distance?" would be against road etiquette I guess... Would you find that rude or strange?
Not rude, perhaps a bit strange, but if you are following at a distance that doesn't interfere with the group, and you aren't interacting with the group, it is probably unnecessary. It's a public roadway and I wouldn't consider trying to keep pace with a group of riders, while maintaining a reasonable distance, "joining a ride in progress". It's just sharing the road. Following a female or juvenile rider could, however, be considered creepy.
Myosmith is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 08:16 AM
  #29  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,050
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18318 Post(s)
Liked 15,271 Times in 7,224 Posts
When I am on a solo ride I sometimes like to toy with other riders.

See, e,g,,:

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...ke-me-mup.html

True story.
indyfabz is offline  
Likes For indyfabz:
Old 08-14-19, 08:23 AM
  #30  
ksryder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,549

Bikes: yes

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by indyfabz
Back in the late 80s a rag tag bunch of we locals rode behind 7-11, and later Coor's Lite, the day before the U.S. Pro Cycling Championship. What a thrill. We kept our mouths shut and kept at a safe enough distance. The teams were in a group and we were stretched out in a long line behind them desperately trying to keep up as they rode effortlessly while chatting.
That's nothing, Kevin Costner's brother beat those guys while wearing a cowboy hat!
ksryder is offline  
Likes For ksryder:
Old 08-14-19, 08:47 AM
  #31  
burnthesheep
Newbie racer
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 3,406

Bikes: Propel, red is faster

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1575 Post(s)
Liked 1,568 Times in 973 Posts
If someone is fast enough to catch a group I wouldn't find it offensive to ask "may I sit in for a bit". Just be observant. If you see they're doing some kind of workout rotation, don't join and screw that up. If they're just cruising at tempo with some pretty long and easy pulls on the front, whatever, won't affect anything.

Not being mean about it, just pointing out a few obvious issues I could see coming up:

-The group has a turn in the route that doesn't match your route while you're NOT on the very back. Thus creating a problem. Or, if you choose to sit on the very back, you'll have to be a really good back door rider to let people in without being an annoyance.

-The group is doing some kind of special rotation you're not used to, but they are.

-You're on a flat bar bike and they're not and they take the t-junction intersection at full bore road bike speed and you can't maneuver as well.

Just things to consider. But again, no harm in asking.

I've also caught smaller groups OR larger B or A minus groups and had the issue of them sucking wheel until a hill. So, now I will sit back about 100 yards and wait for a hill and then surge past. I find it infinitely annoying when a 2-wide line takes up the entire lane and won't squeeze in for me to pass. Making me pretty much pass over the centerline. THAT is ******y. Hold the rotation for a second and tighten the F up.
burnthesheep is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 09:29 AM
  #32  
msu2001la
Senior Member
 
msu2001la's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 2,870
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1455 Post(s)
Liked 1,477 Times in 867 Posts
I occasionally ride with strangers. Sometimes it's a verbal "hey do you mind if I hop on for a bit?" and sometimes it's just a non-verbal situation where I get swallowed up by (or catch up with) a larger group and just start riding with them. This is definitely a "read the room" situation, and I've never had people tell me that I couldn't ride with them, but also there are times when it's obvious to me that a group doesn't want random people hopping on. If you're not sure, ask.

I think the smaller the group, the more important a verbal conversation is. It definitely seems weird and a bit rude to just start riding right behind a solo or small group of riders without saying anything. If your intention is to just ride behind a group at a safe distance to see if you can hold their pace, there's really no need to ask. If you're closer than 2-3 bike lengths for more than a few minutes, it's probably time to either join the group, pass or drop back.

A question for the OP: It sounds like you're interested in finding a local group ride to join. I would expect any organized group of kitted roadies to be a bit suspicious of someone wearing street clothes/shoes and riding an old MTB randomly hopping into their ride mid-way, even if you ask and can hold the pace. You'd likely get a much better reception if you show up at the start.
msu2001la is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 10:30 AM
  #33  
Synack42
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Michigan
Posts: 93
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Liked 46 Times in 17 Posts
Well, if anyone is curious -- They ended up uploading their ride on Strava as well. Was pretty obvious to figure out with the flyby feature.

"You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting" would probably have summed it up if I had attempted to hang with them.

I can handle that mileage, but not at that sustained speed. Definitely a goal now though...

My stats that day:


Versus one of theirs:
Synack42 is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 10:48 AM
  #34  
ksryder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,549

Bikes: yes

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times in 329 Posts
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
ksryder is offline  
Likes For ksryder:
Old 08-14-19, 10:50 AM
  #35  
Elvo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 4,770
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 630 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 369 Times in 206 Posts
I think you can do it. 22 mph on flat ground in a group is like 16-18 mph solo
Elvo is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 10:53 AM
  #36  
superdex
staring at the mountains
 
superdex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Castle Pines, CO
Posts: 4,560

Bikes: Obed GVR, Fairdale Goodship, Salsa Timberjack 29

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 394 Post(s)
Liked 197 Times in 112 Posts
If it's an organized club ride, there is most likely a waiver that each rider has signed prior to the ride (either as part of the membership, or ad-hoc at the ride start). Which makes it hard to join in mid-ride. Anyone here lead club rides and what would/should you do as a ride leader?
superdex is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 10:57 AM
  #37  
Synack42
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Michigan
Posts: 93
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Liked 46 Times in 17 Posts
Originally Posted by ksryder
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
That'd be the metro Detroit area. The entire lower peninsula of Michigan is pretty flat -- Let's just say if I ever encountered real hills I'd be totally unprepared!
Synack42 is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 11:08 AM
  #38  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by ksryder
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
Average speed of 21 mph, and max of almost 31. Might not be any elevation, but it sounds like a pretty good downhill somewhere.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 11:14 AM
  #39  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,050
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18318 Post(s)
Liked 15,271 Times in 7,224 Posts
Originally Posted by ksryder
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
One could ride up and down the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ, numerous times and end up with less climbing than that.
indyfabz is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 11:31 AM
  #40  
bakerjw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: NE Tennessee
Posts: 917

Bikes: Giant TCR/Surly Karate Monkey/Foundry FireTower/Curtlo Tandem

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 169 Post(s)
Liked 84 Times in 62 Posts
Originally Posted by ksryder
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
I was thinking the same thing. Although I live in Tennessee where I can get 1,000 feet on an average commute.

ETA...

Our local road club holds a regular ride and I don't recall ever having filled out a waiver. They do a couple of things that I like.
It is no drop.
The first 15 miles is a controlled pace.
They ask for first time riders and encourage everyone to say hey and talk to them when they ride.
After the 15 mile mark, the route splits. Left is no drop. Right is no holds barred.

One evening on the no holds barred segment, a guy caught up to us and held on riding a mountain bike. He was thrilled and dropped back off after a few miles. He was actually spent.

Last edited by bakerjw; 08-14-19 at 11:35 AM.
bakerjw is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 12:01 PM
  #41  
burnthesheep
Newbie racer
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 3,406

Bikes: Propel, red is faster

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1575 Post(s)
Liked 1,568 Times in 973 Posts
Originally Posted by Synack42
Well, if anyone is curious -- They ended up uploading their ride on Strava as well. Was pretty obvious to figure out with the flyby feature.

"You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting" would probably have summed it up if I had attempted to hang with them.

I can handle that mileage, but not at that sustained speed. Definitely a goal now though...

My stats that day:


Versus one of theirs:
158bpm and nearly two hours on a group ride. Either someone was doing some hero pulling or was cutting their teeth to hang on to that ride. Especially considering they had 20 minutes of non moving time in there somewhere to catch their breath.
burnthesheep is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 12:23 PM
  #42  
asgelle
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 4,514
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1028 Post(s)
Liked 447 Times in 263 Posts
Originally Posted by burnthesheep
158bpm and nearly two hours on a group ride. Either someone was doing some hero pulling or was cutting their teeth to hang on to that ride.
Or heart rate is highly individual dependent. With a threshold heart rate around 173, I can ride at 158 all day.
asgelle is offline  
Likes For asgelle:
Old 08-14-19, 12:30 PM
  #43  
ksryder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,549

Bikes: yes

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by asgelle
Or heart rate is highly individual dependent. With a threshold heart rate around 173, I can ride at 158 all day.
This. Virtually every ride I do I have an average of 150-170 whether I hammer or spin. RHR is about 50 and max is 195. The older guys I sometimes ride with will have HR in the 130s on the same ride.
ksryder is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 12:30 PM
  #44  
bruce19
Senior Member
 
bruce19's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Lebanon (Liberty Hill), CT
Posts: 8,456

Bikes: CAAD 12, MASI Gran Criterium S, Colnago World Cup CX & Guru steel

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1722 Post(s)
Liked 1,272 Times in 734 Posts
Originally Posted by Synack42

Versus one of theirs:
26 ft of elevation over 40.36 mi? How is that even possible?
bruce19 is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 12:38 PM
  #45  
Synack42
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Michigan
Posts: 93
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Liked 46 Times in 17 Posts
Originally Posted by bruce19
26 ft of elevation over 40.36 mi? How is that even possible?
I can believe it. They were following the water for the most part and everything in between is nothing but farms. Really, this part of the state is ridiculously flat. (It's a very scenic area at least!)

...I also envy the apparent 20 minute bakery stop...

Synack42 is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 12:58 PM
  #46  
caloso
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
Originally Posted by bruce19
26 ft of elevation over 40.36 mi? How is that even possible?
Riding along a beach?
caloso is offline  
Likes For caloso:
Old 08-14-19, 01:03 PM
  #47  
caloso
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
Average speed of 21 mph, and max of almost 31. Might not be any elevation, but it sounds like a pretty good downhill somewhere.
More like sprinting for the county line sign.
caloso is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 01:05 PM
  #48  
OldTryGuy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,604

Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1063 Post(s)
Liked 771 Times in 499 Posts
Originally Posted by ksryder
Where tf do you ride 40 miles and only get 26 feet of climbing?

And I say this as someone who lives in Kansas.
Originally Posted by superdex
If it's an organized club ride, there is most likely a waiver that each rider has signed prior to the ride (either as part of the membership, or ad-hoc at the ride start). Which makes it hard to join in mid-ride. Anyone here lead club rides and what would/should you do as a ride leader?
Originally Posted by livedarklions
Average speed of 21 mph, and max of almost 31. Might not be any elevation, but it sounds like a pretty good downhill somewhere.
Originally Posted by burnthesheep
158bpm and nearly two hours on a group ride. Either someone was doing some hero pulling or was cutting their teeth to hang on to that ride. Especially considering they had 20 minutes of non moving time in there somewhere to catch their breath.
Originally Posted by asgelle
Or heart rate is highly individual dependent. With a threshold heart rate around 173, I can ride at 158 all day.
Our Sat. morning LBS ride (no waiver) is 40 miles with around 30' elevation ONLY BECAUSE we ride over some canal "humpback bridges." About 1 mile or maybe 2 miles at a controlled speed after leaving the bike shop and then there are a few riders who get antsy and let it rip. A good MPH Average would be 23mph to 24mph with the faster guys finishing a bit sooner.

Before my cancer slowed me down the best ride I was on we averaged 23.8mph for the 40 miles with the fast guys being no where in sight after 12 miles into the ride.

Last edited by OldTryGuy; 08-14-19 at 01:09 PM.
OldTryGuy is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 01:27 PM
  #49  
burnthesheep
Newbie racer
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 3,406

Bikes: Propel, red is faster

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1575 Post(s)
Liked 1,568 Times in 973 Posts
Originally Posted by asgelle
Or heart rate is highly individual dependent. With a threshold heart rate around 173, I can ride at 158 all day.
This misses the point. In a group ride you should be going over and under the avg HR depending on how long and how often you pull. You can infer what I did because you know it's a group ride and you know you typically have time on front and time sitting in to average out.

I'm not arriving at the idea by thinking 158bpm is high. I'm arriving at that knowing it is an average of higher and lower numbers.

Even if they pulled half the entire ride, they'd have to be a good bit over 158 when pulling to bring the average up to 158 from the HR they were at sitting in.

Think about for a second if you assumed they only pulled for 1/4 of the ride how high their HR during a pull would have to be. Pretty darn high.

The only logical conclusion (to me) is either lots of pulling or having a hard go at it one way or another.
burnthesheep is offline  
Old 08-14-19, 01:32 PM
  #50  
ksryder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,549

Bikes: yes

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1281 Post(s)
Liked 643 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by burnthesheep
This misses the point. In a group ride you should be going over and under the avg HR depending on how long and how often you pull. You can infer what I did because you know it's a group ride and you know you typically have time on front and time sitting in to average out.

I'm not arriving at the idea by thinking 158bpm is high. I'm arriving at that knowing it is an average of higher and lower numbers.

Even if they pulled half the entire ride, they'd have to be a good bit over 158 when pulling to bring the average up to 158 from the HR they were at sitting in.

Think about for a second if you assumed they only pulled for 1/4 of the ride how high their HR during a pull would have to be. Pretty darn high.

The only logical conclusion (to me) is either lots of pulling or having a hard go at it one way or another.
Nope. People are different:

Originally Posted by ksryder
This. Virtually every ride I do I have an average of 150-170 whether I hammer or spin. RHR is about 50 and max is 195. The older guys I sometimes ride with will have HR in the 130s on the same ride.
ksryder is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.