hmm, being a full time Road rider I’d tend to agree that constant wheel-suckers are a pain, especially when combined with showy hill attacks. Remember though that this may have been his first run out with the club, he hasn’t picked up on pack riding etiquette (hand signals, turns at the front). What he wears doesn’t matter, your legs and lungs should do all of the talking!

Ok, I’ll try and explain it a bit more rationally and see if you get it then.

On a long road ride the group tries to cover distance well by taking it in turns on the front. The front is where you push hardest against the air and wind. Therefore the riders on the front do more work than the rest. The general idea is that if you all take turns to do a bit, you spread the effort and the group moves faster as a whole. This works to a lesser extent on the hills but keeping the group together as much as possible helps.

Some riders are not as strong as others and consequently can’t do as long on the front. Being a nice bunch, we kind of accept this and the stronger riders will spend longer on the front to compensate.

So, it’s a bit galling when you have one person who is happy to not help AT ALL but clearly has the energy to sprint up hills. We could chase him down but we don’t ‘cos we know we need to conserve effort to help everyone home. It’s worse when you try to have a civil word and they ignore you. So then you get desperate and rant over the internet at his brethren .. always a mistake. In my mind, he reminded me of how I feel at MTB events when I hear “elite rider coming through”.

Don’t think we’re that miserable at all tbh in the club. Road cycling at speed (20mph+) does need some discipline and proper behaviour. Think of a bunch on the road as a huge communist collective all working to a common goal, apart from the single fascist who has infiltrated 🙂

And you’d be Stalin, DavidB….although to be honest you sound a bit like Smee/Glupton.

I can sort of understand your arguement but I think you’re getting a bit wound up if it was just a club sunday ride.

Yep, you’re probably right so I’ve got the rigid singlespeed out for a quick spin to chill out.

davidb, i ride with a road club
they take great pleasure in leaving me on every climb, they NEVER help with punctures, non of them have ANY sense of direction, they do not have ANY road sense……..
i usually get to the cafe before them, oh and i am going riding in the pyrenees with them in 2 weeks.
i WILL be wearing a peaked helmet and possibly a small camelback.

i like roadies, they remind me how nice, friendly, hospitable and helpfull mtbrs are.

TON…..(closet roadie)…………… 8)

TON…..(closet roadie)

he’s too modest, he’s actually a whole wardrobe :o)

barnes, HOW much fun did we have today??????

how was your walk up helvelynn 😉

Well that’s not so good ton. My lot will even fix my punctures, the knack is to fumble about long enough and one of the old boys will step in and take over. Our lot know every road within a 40 mile radius and most rides are planned on a GPS and they are all good riders. I joined them as a MTBer and did exactly what matey boy did on my first hill. They had a word and now I spend time on the front and give it some on hills as well, you get some grudging respect for that.

Wow, I have been slowly getting into road riding with my daily commute and have been thinking about doing a bit more. Not sure I want to now after reading this!!

Seems very regimented all this club riding.

Serious question – does his behaviour slow you all down? If not then how is it any different to if he hadn’t turned up at all? Why do you even care?

Obviously it’s going to take someone new to road riding a while to get used to the strange rules of the darkside,just like the roadie who you take out on a proper bike ride and insists on standing up on the pedals at every small incline and brings his fluids in a little plastic bottle that falls out of its stupid little cage thing every time you go over a bump!Yes you could get narked at him or you could give him some advice and after a few rides with you it will have sunk in and everyone will be happy just riding bikes :-).

sounds intriuging road club rides, think i may just stick to road rides solo, i can do all the work on the front, climb as hard or easy as i like, avoid all the potholes myself and not worry about upsetting eveyone else. And i assume if i do all the hard work at the front i won’t need to ride for as long on the road as if i was in a group leaving more time to mtb

At the risk of getting lynched i know exactly where the OP is coming from. There was a guy out on our Thursday night run last week, he didn’t do a single turn on the front but thought he was God’s gift winning the two town-sign sprints. More amusing than annoying in this case, but it was only a 30-mile ride.

how was your walk up helvelynn

it just wasn’t my day 🙁

Enjoying a road ride myself (avec baggies, hairy legs, Camelbak, fully finger gloves, peaked helmet and muddy spuds) i’ve read a number of roadie magazines and fora that give advice for newbies apprehensive about going out on a club ride. Without fail, the advice is that you won’t be expected to take a turn on the front if it is your first time because it can be daunting, and it is not the easiest thing to do: there is the route to consider, one has to be able to maintain the correct pace save you go too fast or slow for the rest of the group, and there are all the little hand signals to remember that often take a while to not only learn, but to be able to do when setting a fast pace. Personally i think that is reasonable.

Now, the this newbie was asked if they’d consider taking a turn on the front, “We even spoke to him about it, calmly suggesting that it might be worth doing a turn”. As we know the newbie didn’t feel confident enough with the route to do this. That is fair enough in my mind. Imagine the hullaballoo if they’d got the group lost (they’d be a whole lot of team knickers in a twist then!), not something you’d want when out with a group of people you don’t know.

As it turns out then, even though someone in the group had asked the new rider to take a turn on the front and he didn’t, so the group upped the pace in the last few miles to drop him anyway.

Sounds like a) there was a bit of a communication problem, b) the group are a bunch of asses for deciding to drop him (tantamount to bullying i’d say), c) DavidB should drop the patronising tone, we’re mountain bikers, not idiot and understand basic aerodynamics!

what are all those hand signals anyway……

I’m sure they all make a lot of sense and are very useful, but I think I need to get a set of instructions somewhere….

-)

CaptJon – thanks ..made I laugh

CaptJon – thanks ..made I laugh

*imagines maniacal supervillian laugh*

I try to explain the difference between roadying and mtbing here if you can be arsed.

ianc – I think the hand signal on this thread is a closed fist waved up and down in a rhythmic manner and directed at me

Oh God, a blog. I tell you Dave me old mucker, i’ll imagine all the differences between mountain bikers and road bike riders and assume you described them in the most witty of ways. That way it will save me reading about how you like to ride both on and off road, and how – and i’m guessing here – one helps enjoy the other.

blog – how dare you – it’s a showcase for my published work.

Ahhh, this is great. A thread that reaffirms my opinion that roadies are humorless, ignorant, road hogging poseurs who are bitter and jealous of people who ride proper bikes on challenging terrain and who posses actual bike skills. 😀

So, you’re either a freelaner or a wannabe writer? If the former you probably enjoy being bent over and royally, well, you know. If the latter, you’d better lube up boi, those publishing houses – unless you’re very lucky and/or are willing to sell your soul – are gonna make you feel like the lad you dropped today. Only after the publisher dropped you miles from home, you got gangbanged by Billy Bob the badger and his pony mates.

You must admit though that mtb-ers on road club riders aren’t as bad as triathletes.
We used to know one that couldn’t unclip and would run off onto the verge and fall over every time the group stopped, admittedly they couldn’t go round corners either.

ARGGG HE SAID TRIATHLETES

Roadies aren’t perfect,

I was working Saturday-I cycle and i’m a courier in a van!

A mixed group of about 12 were cycling towards Loggerheads in Shropshire. They were 3 deep across the road and the “lady” at the back held tight onto the centre line, making it really difficult for me to get passed.

I gave them plenty of room, but i wanted to more than 10mph! Didn’t gesticulate or vent until i pulled along side. Then it was a friendly, pull in a bit love.

Got my goat……B*******s

😈

http://www.phased.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=13

seriously, wtf.

😉

hahaha!!

No, honestly, on a complete change of thought, that was really quite amusing, it made me laugh anyway!

This thread has reminded me how much I love riding on my own.

Road riding etiquette is there for a reason, I agree with most of what the OP has said. Life is simpler and more pleasant for all concerned if a few basic rules are followed when riding in a group, anyone turning up and breaking those rules is usually given fairly short thrift. It’s not rudeness, it’s partly down to the fact that, to an experienced roadie, the etiquette is second nature and you’d only break it intentionally (ie if you were trying to split the pack or drop someone or wind another rider up). People are more than willing to explain and demonstrate group riding etiquette to newcomers but if they’re not going to listen or if they think they know best the usual answer is just to drop them.

It works in a similar way in MTBing too. Imagine a newbie turns up to your regular riding group and insists on pushing to the front on every descent in spite of the fact that they’re the slowest. Imagine how annoyed you be if everytime you got to a ripping descent, they pushed in front and minced down it holding the entire group up. Same sort of thing…

Imagine how annoyed you be if everytime you got to a ripping descent, they pushed in front and minced down it holding the entire group up.

has this ever happened ?
Failing to help pull everyone else along hardly seems to be the same

Nice trolling Dave 6/10 but seriously moaning about MTB’rs on a road ride on an MTB forum? Did you expect ANY sympathy??? I suggest you get out for another lap of fun on yr road bike or better still get out on yer SS MTB – sounds like you enjoy it more than yr road bike.. 😉

Dave I think the natural progression for your sporting/social life is a good private golf club.

Quite an entertaining thread you’ve kicked off all the same.

Weren’t they taking a turn at the front on the climbs? Roadies are weird (I have a road bike btw and ride it most days).

Dave, you are wasting your time; the hairy knuckle draggers are like Americans, in that ‘not doing irony’ kind of way…….

I’d rather have a shit in the woods and fall backwards than go on a road ride. You could add nettles into the equation over my desire to go on a club ride.

Imagine how annoyed you be if everytime you got to a ripping descent, they pushed in front and minced down it holding the entire group up.

i wouldn’t be annoyed, i’d pass them….

Crazy legs, the scenario you describe does happen, no reason to get annoyed about it, just stop and give them a bit of time or overtake if you can. I’d never drop someone from a ride, that’s just rude.

Question for you, how do all these roadies get “the knowledge”? Does it come in a book? Surely at some point everyone is a newbie and needs to be educated, not dropped. Personally, I’ve never ridden in a group before on the road and would definitely not be confident at the front. I do have bottles though. I am assuming that some roadie clubs are less interested in this stuff?

DavidB – name your club. Highly unlikely it’s one of the three I’m thinking of joining but if it is, I’d like to know.

A real shame the op didn’t present his point better in the first instance, but I expect the usual anti-roadie prejudices would have come out.

I’m not new to road riding but new to riding in a group. If/when I turn up for my first club ride I will avoid time at the front, not because I’m a free-loader but because I don’t know the rules. As and when I pick up the rules, I’ll do my turn.
Except DavidB would have burnt me at the stake in the meantime.

And I go up hills at my own pace. I get in a rythmn and I go. Most of the time this is slower than the people I ride with. But if it’s faster, it’s because that’s the pace the suits me, it’s not me showing off.

And I’ll carry my water how I like, thank you.