definitely the patience for faff decreases once kids come along. If there’s a window for riding and some 20-something turns up late and then faffs because they only got in from the nightclub in time to change and come out again there’s amusement but not much sympathy.

Also see ‘can we delay until later because it’s drizzling’ texts 30 minutes before the agreed time…..that’s one thing that having kids trained me to do – if the riding slot allocated by SWMBO is Saturday and back by midday please then that’s when I was riding and you can tolerate all kinds of crappy weather if it’s that or nothing 😉

As for the late in ride mechanical or why don’t we stop for a coffee and bacon sandwich / quick pint….. at least at that point you can choose to decline and carry on home. In that respect, the group ride is a bit like sex; it’s lovely to finish together but sometimes you just need it over with so you can get home to the wife.

I stopped riding with a local road club because even though I liked the social aspect I just couldn’t bear the uncertainty. It was a bit wild-west though, the only thing pre-planned was the start time. Speed, distance, destination and size of group would all vary widely, often mid-ride.

I pretty much decided that I’m only interested in group riding on the road if there’s less than 5 people at that point and part of that was the multiplying factor of people’s mechanicals and lateness etc.

Having said that I once did a big ride in Yorkshire with a bunch of guys and it was remarked at the start how clean and well maintained my bike was and well organised I was compared to the others who all had bikes with various creaks and rattles emitting from them and were searching for their left shoe under car-seats etc.

Everyone’s bike made it round the whole day apart from mine when the rear mech exploded into my spokes somewhere near Skipton.

Social ride.. the time is when we meet, not when we set off. Though like Duggan I only ride with small groups, not interested in large group rides, as even I get annoyed by the faffing.

We had a “faff” pub once, The Blue Vinny in Puddletown, whenever we met there to start a ride something would go wrong ….

After the worst day at work ever in 35 years, I rushed to pub for the Wednesday night ride only to discover I had left my front wheel at home having removed it to get the bike in the car! Said I would meet the guys later, never did as I went home and opened a bottle of Single Malt instead.

A mate turned up only to find his rear tyre had exploded along with the inner tube, his bike rack was a little to near the exhaust on his Landy. Called a mate who was on route and got him to go home and pick up a spare tyre and inner tube.

Same bloke turned up with a flat tyre and found his replacement tube was actually for his road bike.

Someone else turned up and had left their saddle and stem at home having removed it to get the bike in the car.

A mate who was always late wasn’t there at the appointed time so we rang him, “just finished breakfast and putting the bike in the van”. The ride started 45 minutes late as of course he had some faff to do before we could leave. After this ride we always told him the meeting time was 30 minutes earlier than it actually was. He never knew as he was still late on most occasions!

In that respect, the group ride is a bit like sex; it’s lovely to finish together but sometimes you just need it over with so you can get home to the wife.

Genius…..

Bin dun:

Rule 57: // The Ride Starts on Time. No exceptions.The upside of always leaving on time is considerable. Others will be late exactly once. You signal that the sanctity of this ride, like all rides, is not something with which you should muck. You demonstrate, not with words but with actions, your commitment. As a bonus, you make more time for post-ride espresso. “On Time”, of course, is taken to mean at V past the hour or half hour.

Mmmmm… Purest Green

Oooh, I can notice it! 😊👍