jackb

I generally ride alone because it seems that every time I ride with a group the group members are intent on going as fast as they can regardless of the ride description. If I am going to ride with people, I would like to chat with them as we ride, but that's difficult to do if everyone is pedaling as fast as they can.

Bald Paul

That's fine, so long as those who show up to ride know what they're getting into.
Just a bit of insight - not everyone is concerned with getting stronger on a ride. There are quite a few 'casual' riders that are just looking for the comradery and safety aspect of a group ride. The social aspect without the competitiveness. Sometimes, just riding miles in a group that they wouldn't feel comfortable doing solo builds strength, and they find themselves capable of longer distances and a faster pace over time. That's a side benefit, not the goal. If they don't enjoy the experience, they won't be in any hurry to repeat it.

Bald Paul

I wish you could join me in one of my group rides. I recently had a rider contact me before the ride. She was concerned that she wouldn't be able to maintain the slowest pace I had listed, as she had heart surgery last year, and is just getting back to riding. I told her to come along and asked her to ride alongside me at the front. The group would ride at her pace. We chatted the entire ride, and at the end, I checked the average speed on my computer. She was 2 MPH faster than she thought she could be (actually right about the middle of the posted speed range for the ride) and wasn't tired at all.

bruce19

I belong to a group out of Windham, CT called Thread City Cyclers. I've been a member for about 15 yrs. There are no "drop" rides with my club. We are recreational riders and although there are two former pro riders (women) no one is training for bigger things. Having said that, I'm not hot for group rides. These are fine people but many have no idea how to manage an inline, 2-wheeled vehicle. And, our Saturday rides require 3-4 hrs in the saddle. Not what I want to spend my Saturday doing at this point. I love riding solo or with my wife. I also like riding with a select few friends most of whom are younger, stronger and faster than me. But, they know how to ride and have nothing left to prove.

Bald Paul

Believe me, I understand. The ride I mentioned in post #28 was named the "Strawberry ShortCake" ride. Started and ended at an ice cream shop called Strawberry Hill, was just under 19 miles, and with the exception of one climb, the roads were about as flat as one can find in this area - a piece of cake. Strawberry - short - cake! Ride started at 6PM (mid week ride) and we were done before it started to get dark.
As far as the inexperienced or just clueless riders are concerned, well, the best advice I can offer is to have them ride near the back, with an experienced rider with them to give constructive feedback (don't overlap wheels, leave room, signal intentions, etc.) Sort of like driving school for cyclists. If there is someone who just is a danger to the group no matter what, it's best to just ask them not to ride with the group until they can improve. The club last year had a rider that would join the faster rides because he could keep up - on his e-bike - but he had zero bike handling skills, and no idea how to ride safely in a group. No one wanted to ride anywhere near him, and eventually someone had to tell him that just because he could keep pace didn't mean he belonged in the group.

datlas 

Ooh, the e-bike debate. There was some drama in my club recently because of a similar situation above. The ride leader asked the club to enact a “no e-bike” policy. Club leadership responded by saying a ride leader can choose to post ride as “no e-bikes” but asked for inclusiveness as much as possible and educating riders first before kicking them off the ride. I think that’s reasonable. A newbie rider on an e-bike is likely going to be a menace, but an experienced rider who is older or maybe rehabbing from an injury is probably as safe as a non e-bike rider.

Sorry if this derails the thread!

big john

I've never been to that page. I did a short tour with the 3 riders in the center of that picture in 2008.

Sunday rides became a sprint fest some years ago. It got ridiculous. There was a group of us who did a bigger ride on Saturday and Sunday we would linger at the coffee stop talking about the Saturday ride and telling stories, etc. I looked forward to those Sunday rides every week but they are history.

In the early 90s every Sunday we would go to Cafe Casino in Santa Monica. Clubs from all over would show up and there could be over 100 riders there. I miss that, too.

big john

After some newbie/e-bike drama my club banned e-bikes. It was a drama all it's own with the president and one board member quitting and vowing to never come back if e-bikes were allowed. Funny, after they left it was decided to ban the bikes anyway. There are 2 members with e-bikes who are allowed now. They are good riders and have been members for 35+ years.

The worst newbie problems have been from riders with high aerobic ability and low bike handling skill. Some horrible crashes and one knucklehead took down a woman in a group when he panicked.

msu2001la

I have no idea how you keep a ride like this from just turning into an unregulated road race.

We have a few unorganized/leader-less rides like this in my area. The race-like atmosphere around these rides is part of the attraction. No one is in charge, people just know to show up at a certain time/place and every week it's the same route, same distance, same sprints. Some of these rides have been going on for years with no one really running the show. Lots of local racers show up and sometimes the bigger teams will try to assert some authority over the nonsense, but often things can get out of hand (think red light running, attacking through traffic, riding 4-5 wide and even into oncoming lanes, etc).

These rides (especially the weeknight rides) are notorious for being very hard and also having lots of crashes. There are splinter groups that have formed to start just before or after the main rides to try to avoid some of the chaos.

big john

Often they do, at least for several years they did. Since covid, when our schedule was shut down, turnout is lower and you never know what you're going to get.

When I joined in 1989 I befriended a guy in his 50s who was strong but very steady. He had a group that followed him and I had many rides with them and they watched out for each other, etc. He didn't always lead but if he was there I could count on him for anything.

A friend of mine was riding 20K+ miles per year and he gained a small group of followers which was different than the first group. He would usually stay at the front and his minions would line up behind him for the whole ride. I joined them eventually. I would sit in until the first climb and wouldn't see them again until they stopped to wait for me or get a snack. Despite the flogging I took these were some great times and great memories and I still see the leader once in a great while, though he doesn't ride anymore.

The unregulated races and running red lights, etc. started happening more often sometime in the later 2000s. Sometimes it got nuts and if you got dropped, which I did, you were on your own. Certain guys were responsible for blowing up the rides and trying to drop everyone they could, as if there was a prize. I started wondering why I did the "A" rides because it just wasn't fun anymore and a lot of people felt the same. Eventually there wasn't even a "B' group.

I joined a different club in 2018 or so and all their rides are advertised as no drop, unless otherwise stipulated. There are fast people but they will wait at regroups and never do stupid stuff like running red lights. The only problem is their Saturday rides are sometimes too short and the schedule is inconsistent. So I end up with the other club anyway. I even ride solo (OMG) sometimes now.

bruce19

And, this is another thing I don't like. I'm not interested in going to a doughnut shop or coffee shop. Nothing wrong with it if that's what you like but not my cup of tea (or coffee). I hate getting warm and in a rhythm only to shut it down and have to crank up these old legs all over again.

Maelochs

This is much more common. The general pace of the ride is posted. If you cannot keep up, you can fall back. If you are close and trying hard, the group might wait at the top of hills or something .... but you need to be responsible for yourself. have a map, have a garmin, use your phone, whatever .....

Yup .... Again, one must be responsible for oneself .....

urbanknight

Ooh this sounds good, what did I miss?

urbanknight

It’s a casual club and few of the members actually race. Those who do usually belong to an additional club since ours isn’t affiliated with any sanctioning body, and thus their more serious training is done with that club instead.

As John mentioned, there are multiple route options every Saturday, and even those start together but often eventually break up into smaller groups based on speed. You might find yourself with a handful of riders (or even just one) and not see the rest of the group until the next rest stop. There generally isn’t a big tight pack, and some members aren’t comfortable sucking wheel a few inches away anyway.

Maelochs

There was a group not near enough to my home (too far a drive to ride with them often) who were very serious about not riding seriously. No drafting, no pacelines, no one going faster than the posted pace---ride off if you want, but no one will follow, or if they do ... see ya.

People would chat, ride over to someone else, ride along and chat .... Everyone knew what was up and since there were plenty of Fast groups in the area .... people who wanted pacelines and challenges and stop-sigh sprints and such, had those options.

msu2001la

I'm not sure how you do a group ride longer than 30-40 miles without a planned stop. People need to pee, refill water bottles, grab a snack, etc. We're not talking about ordering brunch here - it's a shot of espresso and a muffin. We're usually in and out in 10 minutes or so.

big john

I missed most of it because I don't go to board meetings but it was when Maria was president. I don't know who was in favor of e-bikes but she was against and she quit. Stephan also quit over it and some others I don't know. I don't know what the big deal was, there were only a few e-riders and if they are unsafe you can just ask that one not to come back.
Were you around for the in-line skater who came out for the Sunday rides? He was a menace. I don't think he took anyone down but there were some close calls. He could catch up at stoplights on those short rides and he wouldn't listen when asked to leave. Finally, one of the larger men threatened him with grievous bodily harm.

msu2001la

Did that get the job done?

big john

Haven't seen him since! It would have been cool with us if he was safe about following but having him mix with bikes was just all wrong.

msu2001la

Yeah, this sounds crazy and super dangerous. I have passed in-line skaters on solo rides on MUP's and am always surprised at how much side-to-side space they need when in full-stride. Plus there is the whole no-brakes thing... and tiny wheels...

bruce19

My club rides end up being a 1/2 hr stop not 10 minutes,

Bald Paul

Maybe direct him to a gravel ride?