Originally Posted by
vane171
No drop rides strike me as necessarily being an undemanding 'social rides' on some ability level, where the point is to stay together, where most participants can't expect to ride anywhere near their abilities most of the time.
Anytime people want to group ride to improve their riding ability, fitness, it should be unorganized, everybody is a free meat. Free market approach works much better than being too organized, you have much less bad blood, arguing and 'political' discussions.
Most of the No Drop rides I’ve been in on haven’t been like Rydabent’s ‘keep everyone together and adhere to a rigid speed limit’.
It’s more of a ‘No sprints or attacking’. The group might speed up or slow down depending on terrain and who’s on the front, but it’s a tempo ride, not a race. Don’t deliberately try to shred the group.
There may or may not be a sweeper, but if you can’t hang on the last wheel, be prepared to make it to the rally point on your own.
They’re also usually the B- and C-groups, the ‘Full Gas’ ride is the every-man-for-himself hammerdog you think is the only way to ride.