“Drop Rides” ? Is t...
 

“Drop Rides” ? Is that really a thing?

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its only a sport if you are racing

where do you draw the line? Governing body, prizes, professionals?

this is similar to my work colleagues who do a weekly 5 a side. It’s the same 10 blokes (or nearly) every week. They pick teams each week, give out bibs and play for an hour. It might not be premier league but would you not say that it is the sport of football?

getting a bunch of your club mates, going out in a pack on a predetermined route and trying not to get dropped and possibly win a sprint to the line/cafe at the end. It’s not a grand tour but it still seems to be competitive cycling.

that all said, I, thinking a majority of drop rides are not a faux-race simulation, just a group that ride at a similar ability and don’t want one person showing up and ruining their collective morning. Whether that’s a newbie or a regular who is off the pace that week.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:18 am
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for it to be a sport it needs a score and a winner at the end.  without a scoring system its a pastime - so your pals football is a sport but your chaingang is not unless you have a score system for it

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:25 am
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for it to be a sport it needs a score and a winner at the end.

Darts, for example.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:31 am
milan b., tillydog, sc-xc and 7 people reacted
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And an element of exertion / need special clothes

Given we were talking about cycling and football the "element of exertion" I took for granted.  a sport needs those two things - physical exertion and a score/winner at the end

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:39 am
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Can get pretty sweaty playing Counterstrike!

Never done it but I get it. Same as you don't always want to do family ride pace down trails.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 1:12 am
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for it to be a sport it needs a score and a winner at the end. without a scoring system its a pastime

Fastest time (aka first across the finish line) is just about the purest form of sport possible...

And no one is really stating the actual "chain gang" event is a sanctioned sporting event but most participants would view it as "training" just like running a marathon (you don't start out running 26 miles - you start off shorter distances and use a variety of training techniques to build up endurance and speed to be able to reach your training targets.)

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 1:37 am
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As has already been said, the point of the ride isn’t to drop people. It just means that it’s a ride where you can’t keep up, they won’t wait.

Mystery solved 🙂

I’m no roadie so it’s not for me, but it makes more sense now thanks. When I first read it, I just thought “Er… that sounds rubbish”

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 1:50 am
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Cambridge dictionary
sport noun (GAME)<br /><br />A1 [ C ]a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job:<br />Football, basketball, and hockey are all team sports.<br />I enjoy winter sports like skiing and skating.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 8:23 am
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Dictionary

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

sport
/spɔːt/

noun
1.
an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
"team sports such as soccer and rugby"

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 8:27 am
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TJ
Given we were talking about cycling and football the “element of exertion” I took for granted

This is the thing , i honestly think lots of folk are taken by surprise by that bit, hey mtb/cycling looks good, then ohh good lord this is actually hard work.
Right im gonna get fit, gets all the gear...ohh this is hard work , sod this wheres the sofa   and the crisps....

You can see outside all the new year resolutions😁 most will be back in the house by February the 5th

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 8:37 am
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As has already been said, the point of the ride isn’t to drop people. It just means that it’s a ride where you can’t keep up, they won’t wait.

Yea but any roadie worth their salt will try to drop everyone on a climb and then take advantage of a gap. That's the whole point of fast club rides surely? If they wanted to just ride, chat and look at the view they'd be on gravel bikes

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 8:56 am
 Haze
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Different bashes have slightly diiferent dynamics in my experience, though most will largely work and stay together until varying points in the ride where the stronger will push on and try to split the group...again, it's good training (breaks, bridging, closing etc)

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 9:14 am
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Yea but any roadie worth their salt will try to drop everyone on a climb and then take advantage of a gap

Only usually on the last climb of the ride, before then people will mostly sit up and wait at the top of climbs. The fat lads are needed on the flat bits!!!

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 9:28 am
mashr, fasthaggis, J-R and 5 people reacted
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Yea but any roadie worth their salt will try to drop everyone on a climb and then take advantage of a gap. That’s the whole point of fast club rides surely? If they wanted to just ride, chat and look at the view they’d be on gravel bikes

I assume this comment isn't serious, but just in case- no, and no.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 9:28 am
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Right im gonna get fit, gets all the gear…ohh this is hard work , sod this wheres the sofa and the crisps….

Or buy an e-bike.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 10:10 am
mashr, supernova, EhWhoMe and 5 people reacted
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@ransos, i typed that but deleted it out of fear😃

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 10:20 am
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Yea but any roadie worth their salt will try to drop everyone on a climb and then take advantage of a gap. That’s the whole point of fast club rides surely? If they wanted to just ride, chat and look at the view they’d be on gravel bikes

We have a fast gravel group as well.........

Not sure I agree with TJ on the sport Vs passtime/hobby thing either. Just because you can have a chilled social ride, doesn't mean it has to be. On almost any ride there's competitiveness and bragging rights for being the first to the top (or first to the bottom), he might not be competitive his buddies might not be competitive. But stick two cyclists on a climb together and it's a race, even if the other guy doesn't know it!

If anything the roadies are more chilled and sociable. Rides are organized around an average speed, some people will be joining to push themselves a bit, others will be having an easy day of it, and so working as a group means that all except the two at the front and two at the back are probably discussing cake. Whereas off-road things tend to naturally string out a bit due to narrow trails / only one decent line, so you only really catch up and chat at a break.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 10:35 am
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i typed that but deleted it out of fear😃

Haha! I was going to make the same joke but also didn't want to light the blue touchpaper 😂

If they wanted to just ride, chat and look at the view they’d be on gravel bikes

My ideal gravel ride is more like intervals, chill on tarmac/easy bits, go hard on lumpy or fun stuff, chill, repeat etc. I find some terrain more or less demands 'going hard' on the gravel bike to maintain a bit of tension through the legs/arms/chain, going easy just results in a kicking because you're sat down with no resistance through the legs (a la riding cobbles on the road bike)

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 10:44 am
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We have a fast gravel group as well………

+1

Yep, you can get dropped too on a gravel bike if you pick the wrong group!

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 10:44 am
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Yea but any roadie worth their salt will try to drop everyone on a climb and then take advantage of a gap

Nah, there is a certain pride in being able to ride up and down the hills in nice formation 😉 . It's a skill in itself.

Race simulation means all out, limited discipline, not taking even turns, a bit of carpet bagging, and the hammer down where you can to make a break. Fast drop rides are more disciplined through-and-off (two lines, outside slightly faster with rotations) or bit-and-bit (chainline), until the weaker riders fall off the back. If it's a chainline, the trick is for stronger riders to go LONGER not faster on the front. It's all good stuff and is why I ride in a club with people I trust to handle a bike properly one shoulder's width apart at 40 km/h.

Tonight will see me in Group THREE. No drop, steady, fixed wheel recovering from last night's hard session on the track. No drop, stop for mechanicals, tea and cake at the clubhouse, then beer at the pub for most (although normally a 40 km ride home for me).

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 11:10 am
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My ideal gravel ride is more like intervals, chill on tarmac/easy bits, go hard on lumpy or fun stuff, chill, repeat etc.

This is what our local, mostly roadie, club is liking about the gravel rides. Chill/chat on the easy forest roads without having to think about traffic, then single out for the narrow sections of "foot"path, rinse and repeat. There's still a pain-train group doing road rides but it's inevitably less sociable.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 11:20 am
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Nah, there is a certain pride in being able to ride up and down the hills in nice formation 😉 . It’s a skill in itself.

Isn't that just line dancing on bikes?

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:13 pm
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Isn’t that just line dancing on bikes?

That was last night in the velodrome. SQT sessions are basically any complex means of riding in groups you can possibly think of. Demonstrated first with judicious use of shoes for formation. Great fun 😀

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 12:59 pm
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And an element of exertion / need special clothes

Given we were talking about cycling and football the “element of exertion” I took for granted.  a sport needs those two things – physical exertion and a score/winner at the end

So, my local Premiership football players are only professional sportsmen for the 90 minutes that they actually play a match. All the rest of the time spent training they are just professional pastimers or hobbyists.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 1:20 pm
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We have a fast gravel group as well………

So do we. My favourite ride. Can't wait for the spring.

I get dropped now I'm older and carrying a bit more timber, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 1:29 pm
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i got dropped on a 'beginners group ride'...

roadies are weird.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 2:02 pm
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Fast, experienced chaingangs are way safer than a group of randoms on a social ride!

Poor disciplined group social road riding terrifies me, long straggling groups winding up motorists till the dodgy overtakes become inevitable 😕

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 3:38 pm
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 without a scoring system its a pastime 

Or playing a sport casually. There's probably no reason to be quite so prescriptive about definitions. 

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 3:42 pm
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some people will be joining to push themselves a bit, others will be having an easy day of it,

Yep. For me riding round with the A group feels like a challenge. For the guy next to me with world records to his name that's probably less the case. It's not actually a race however much fun it is to burn off one's mates (tell me that's not fun?)

(Actually been a couple of years since I've roadbiked, but it's the best way to get fit for enjoying rather than killing yourself on challenging mtb rides so I'm going to have to give it another go when it gets a bit lighter. May not go in with the As, though they're steadier than the B1s.)

And actually on the 'we all stay together' thing: a friend was put off cycling full stop and forever after being nursed and cajoled along with a group on a social ride. We have a phrase "well, it's what he would have wanted" from one grim endless headwind etap du dales, when one of the group we'd dragged along had basically disappeared. Sometimes being dropped is an act of kindness versus the misery of trying to keep up.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 4:11 pm
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Sometimes being dropped is an act of kindness versus the misery of trying to keep up.

+1, by the time you've bonked it's too late. Even sitting in a group won't keep your speed up. It's easier and less miserable if you just bail out and find a train, or make your own way back. I don't think I've ever been in a group that's decided not to wait for someone that's dropped off the back, but it's one of those unwritten rules that you catch up and either then keep up or do the polite social dance of "I'll drop off and head to the train station at ......", "no it's OK, we'll wait", "no really, I'll head off, you all probably have afternoon plans", etc.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 5:11 pm
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Fast drop rides are more disciplined through-and-off (two lines, outside slightly faster with rotations) or bit-and-bit (chainline), until the weaker riders fall off the back. If it’s a chainline, the trick is for stronger riders to go LONGER not faster on the front. It’s all good stuff and is why I ride in a club with people I trust to handle a bike properly one shoulder’s width apart at 40 km/h.

This.

A good cooperative group - especially on quiet, smooth roads - is an absolute joy, it's like poetry in motion. You can go way faster than on a solo ride for less effort and there's a real sense of achievement in doing it well, hanging on til the end and so on.

On the other hand, a bad attempt at a chaingang with riders sitting on the front too long or trying to pull out from the middle of the group and charge to the front or surging through when the leader swings off can be a nightmare!

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 5:56 pm
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I don’t think I’ve ever been in a group that’s decided not to wait for someone that’s dropped off the back

We tend to just get to a junction and go 'weren't there more of us' and no one knows quite who dropped off and when etc...

The GPX is on the club website in advance of every ride, so everyone should at least know which cafe to head for...

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 6:53 pm
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Poor disciplined group social road riding terrifies me, long straggling groups winding up motorists till the dodgy overtakes become inevitable

Well the mistake here is riding primarily on the road.

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 7:13 pm
Dickyboy, Simon, Simon and 1 people reacted
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My yearly local club run last time I tried to get dropped but kept catching them up due to mechanicals and a wrong turning by them...bloody nightmare just wanted to ride home at my own pace!!

 
Posted : 16/01/2024 8:12 pm
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Back from our freezing Tuesday night non-drop ride. Only four brave souls, all experienced. So 45km of medium paced four up pace line with some doing long turns and others short. Then Straight-to-pub for drinks and a snack. And a modest 25 km ride home for me.

IMG_3755

We never drop beginners. Never. That can make for some very steady (slow) rides and a few shortcuts off the route to meet the faster groups at the coffee stop. Our ride leaders are all experienced club riders who take turns to lead.

 
Posted : 17/01/2024 1:21 am
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I no longer feel bad about my dubious post ride recovery nutrition strategy.....

 
Posted : 17/01/2024 7:49 am
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do the polite social dance of “I’ll drop off and head to the train station at ……”, “no it’s OK, we’ll wait”, “no really, I’ll head off, you all probably have afternoon plans”, etc.

As a ride leader of predominantly social to fast social (same ethos but faster) groups, we're doing the dance slightly differently; we know we have to say 'No, it's OK, honestly, we'll wait and regroup' but inwardly we're hoping you're going to put your foot down with a firm hand and demand to be allowed to skulk off to the station 😉

 
Posted : 17/01/2024 8:09 am
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Nothing against road riding per se but not for me. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, as in giggle fun, like in MTB where you have obstacles, challenges, opportunities to cock up, jumps, berms, etc etc etc.
It all sounds quite serious and trying to emulate pro riders, and mostly failing.
It sounds like pure fitness, which I can sympathise with of course, but for me fitness AND fun go hand in hand. I play tennis a lot and it's also a laugh.

I can't remember seeing a road rider laugh while riding 😂.

Also you eventually end up with a weird body shape 😂

 
Posted : 18/01/2024 7:46 pm
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Training through hard road riding means more miles/climbing/descents MTBing. Pretty simple payoff for me.

There are many, many opportunities to cock up when you’re so far into the red you can barely see. Every one of those opportunities would likely to end up in a lot of pain, helps focus the mind.

 
Posted : 18/01/2024 8:12 pm
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Also you eventually end up with a weird body shape

Yep, not obese

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 7:35 am
mashr, Duggan, fasthaggis and 5 people reacted
 Haze
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Yes folks, to be having fun you must be seen to having fun…including laughing your tits off in the middle of a chain.

And no amount of training and getting fitter/faster makes it any more enjoyable.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 8:19 am
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I play tennis a lot

Tennis 😂

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 8:55 am
 mert
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Tennis 😂

It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, as in giggle fun, like in MTB where you have obstacles, challenges, opportunities to cock up, jumps, berms, etc etc etc.

I'm sensing a theme here...

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 9:24 am
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It sounds like pure fitness

When you're fit, the fast rides are fun. And its as true in reverse.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 10:36 am
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Everybody just loves riding with the fun police.

Riding fast in a group is thrillingly fun, like playing in an orchestra but with your heart rate bouncing off the ceiling. Each rotation through the group is unique. It’s quite rare to do shared tasks with the kind of synchronicity you get in good through and off. Yes, the end of the ride degenerates into a battle between those who want a sprint for the last sign and those who want to gap the sprinters, but that’s fun too.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 12:13 pm
ayjaydoubleyou, fasthaggis, J-R and 3 people reacted
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Also you eventually end up with a weird body shape 😂

Ahh, I see you're getting confused with e-bikes.

An easy mistake to make, the slow roadie groups and e-bikes are both limited to a 15.5mph average, and both eat a similar number of bacon sandwiches and cake.

Everybody just loves riding with the fun police.

These threads always descend to the same logically falacious point.

1) I'm self declaring myself to be fun
2) I can't join a fast roadie group
3) This must be because it's incompatible with 1, no other reason.

Thankfully this generally means that the fun police don't actually turn up.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 12:37 pm
ayjaydoubleyou, scotroutes, J-R and 3 people reacted
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Isn’t that just line dancing on bikes?

No, that's gravel riding - checked shirts, beards and beers.

😉

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 12:39 pm
crossed, fasthaggis, MoreCashThanDash and 3 people reacted
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No, that’s gravel riding – checked shirts, beards and beers.

👍

I'm quoting this because I'm too tight to renew my membership 😂

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 12:48 pm
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Sorry I didn't mean to upset.

By body shape I meant the tiny torso super skinny thing.

I accept there are loads of ways of having fun and that suffering can be fun so apologies.

I meant fun as in laughing / smiling, which I quasi never see roadies do. I am in Lanzarote this month and quite a massive sample. All seeming miserable, sorry.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 2:07 pm
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Yes folks, to be having fun you must be seen to having fun

It's possible to laugh just because you're happy and without caring what anyone else thinks.

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 2:09 pm
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By body shape I meant the tiny torso super skinny thing.

XC racers are no different to road cyclists , nor cyclocross. Runners are likely even leaner.

On the subject of build types, it might be the "You don't choose your sport - the sport chooses you" thing though..

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 3:55 pm
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You can't really compare the roadie world to MTB

Watts, KOM, Strava, aero socks, gel drinks, integrated cockpits, carrying things in a funny pocket that's impossible to reach, not having a sun visor, 80psi, proprietary seat posts, getting dropped, carbon rim brakes

vs

Sending it, endos, stairs, gnarl, loam, berms, mud, rocks, slack

It's apples and oranges

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 4:10 pm
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XC racers are no different to road cyclists , nor cyclocross. Runners are likely even leaner.

On the subject of build types, it might be the “You don’t choose your sport – the sport chooses you” thing though..

All very true. I find a day at the bike park inherently far more fun than a day sharing tarmac with cars but I probably need to stop viewing things from my probably narrow personal prism. And perhaps I should try S&M too 😂

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 5:10 pm
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I probably need to stop viewing things from my probably narrow personal prism.

That will never catch on here on this forum!

And perhaps I should try S&M too

Don't knock it till you've tried it

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 8:22 pm
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I meant fun as in laughing / smiling, which I quasi never see roadies do.

I mean; I don't quite get how your supposed to judge the mood of a bunch of people riding at 25-30kph unless you are riding alongside them; and I guess you weren't ?

I ride with a road club; I also mountain bike. I've met great people on both sides; and the notion that roadies are all miserable barstewards is just totally wrong.

I think what is most baffling is the people who don't like the idea of road riding seem adamant that it *can't* be fun; rather than accepting that maybe it's not for them.

It'd be like me whinging about people doing massive drops and jumps and how it can't possibly be fun because it's terrifying and makes me feel faint. I just ain't built for that !

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 9:09 pm
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I ride with a road club; I also mountain bike. I’ve met great people on both sides; and the notion that roadies are all miserable barstewards is just totally wrong.

90% of the roadies I see are grimacing not smiling.  75% will not knowledge me because I am not wearing the uniform.  I really does not look like they are having fun

A smiling roadie that waves is a rare thing indeed

 
Posted : 19/01/2024 11:49 pm
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does not look like they are having fun

Why do you think they do it then?

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 8:26 am
imnotverygood, J-R, imnotverygood and 1 people reacted
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Not read all the way through, but drop rides have been a thing for generations on road, it's high level stuff though, but no different to group rides in mountain biking where folk drop off as they're not up to doing hills, or the DH runs, you have the option of stopping and returning to base.

It's all hobbies for different mindsets, i've never been much of a road rider, same as when i used to run i couldn't do pavement pounding, i've not got the attention span for it, i need stuff to keep me refocusing, otherwise i'd be in the back of a car every week 😂

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 8:36 am
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Roadies are just 'different', probably why I prefer to ride off in a small group. 

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 8:44 am
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It’d be like me whinging about people doing massive drops and jumps and how it can’t possibly be fun because it’s terrifying and makes me feel faint. I just ain’t built for that !

Fair enough Steve. The drops and jumps don't have to be massive, just start small and learn.

If we ignore the cars/vans/trucks and the fact that the road doesn't offer much variation in levels of grip (which off-road is a great source of fun/hilarity/, what does road riding offer that MTB doesn't?

Sheer speed? Acceleration? The challenge of twisty descents on skinny tyres?

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 9:08 am
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Sheer speed? Acceleration? The challenge of twisty descents on skinny tyres?

Well, yes.

And faster access to scenery than heavy draggy MTB

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 9:11 am
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Isn’t that just line dancing on bikes?

No, that’s gravel riding – checked shirts, beards and beers.

Sound a helluva lot more fun than riding to max heart rate watching the arse of the guy in front for multiple hours.... I'm in!

😉

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 9:59 am
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It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, as in giggle fun, like in MTB where you have obstacles, challenges, opportunities to cock up, jumps, berms, etc etc etc.

Try bombing down a fast alpine road descent some time.

Guess what, you can enjoy mountain riding and also enjoy road biking. Not line dancing though.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:10 am
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Well, yes.

And faster access to scenery than heavy draggy MTB

Fair enough. Didn't think of that as my access to scenery off road is 150m away. That prism again 😂.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:12 am
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Try bombing down a fast alpine road descent some time.

Sounds like fun if you live in the Alps although cars etc?

Also, how does the impression of speed compares to going down the same mountain off road on a MTB I wonder? And which will be more fun? (if you have the technical skills and are not terrified by drops and jumps of course).

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:16 am
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https://flic.kr/p/2ptkBV1
https://www.instagram.com/stories/ukgravelco/3284330192485654700?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=MTBsNGlqeDhmYm04ZQ==

I feel an idea for a new sticker coming..

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:26 am
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Most of this thread comes down to a lack of good faith in other people's choices.

- that person is doing something recreational
- at the point in time I perceive them, they do not look to be enjoying themselves
- they are miserable
- their choice of leisure activity is bad

There's certainly an overt seriousness to some riders on the road I dislike - it does not cost you watts to say hi - and I can't do much about that.

But: talk to those grumpy looking riders at the end of the ride, sit in the pub or cafe with them, and you'll find it harder to believe that whatever they just did wasn't fun.

And whilst this thread started out about drop rides, it's descended into general distrust that road cycling can be enjoyable at all. I am never going to be athletic enough to enjoy a drop ride - not least for the co-ordination a chain gang requires - but I also made peace with it being something another person can enjoy.

And road riding isn't all just grimacing out watts. It's casual social rides with friends, it's early morning hill climbs and laps, it's 200km+ audax rides, it's touring, it's going from my front door in a city to rolling hills faster than public transport, it's hill climbs and TTs and a miniature world run on Windows XP, church halls and custard creams.

(Just like riding off road is trails and XC and gnarr and DH and enduro and entertaining drop bar bikes and Big Mountain Days and local bimbling and ultras and messing around in the woods)

I don't like everything on either list, at all, in some cases. I don't distrust that somebody else does, though, even if that somebody is a straw man I have invented. "It's not for me," isn't a sentence that needs qualification.

Bikes are great, and so is what a human body can do on them.

- that person is doing something recreational
- clearly there's something in it if they'd rather do that than something else
- obviously it's not for me but go them
- maybe I'll go do the thing I enjoy doing later
- god, bikes are great, aren't they?

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:33 am
ahote, imnotverygood, MoreCashThanDash and 5 people reacted
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Also, how does the impression of speed compares to going down the same mountain off road on a MTB I wonder? And which will be more fun? (if you have the technical skills and are not terrified by drops and jumps of course).

Which is better chocolate cake or fudge brownies? Assuming you're not terrified of chocolate of course. Or a dog...

If you really want to know, why not give it a try? I've done both from the same lift station, both a hoot, just different. 

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:35 am
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my access to scenery off road is 150m away

The problem with local trails is that there aren't many of them by definition. Eventually if you live somewhere long enough you end up riding it all over and over again. Of course this happens to everyone, but being able to ride further always opens up a bigger area on either type of bike.

Also, how does the impression of speed compares to going down the same mountain off road on a MTB I wonder?

Depends how fast you are prepared to go.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:41 am
 kilo
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What about when you do through and off on a mtb ride, winding the speed up on a flat section - should there be self-loathing or not ?

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:45 am
infovore and infovore reacted
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What about when you do through and off on a mtb ride, winding the speed up on a flat section – should there be self-loathing or not ?

Probably just giggling ime. Particularly if you catch an innocent roadie in the process 🙂

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:51 am
 J-R
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@infovore - good post.

I do MTB and road riding, both are great fun in their own different ways. I don’t do downhill but I’m sure people who ride that are great guys too and have a lot of fun, however unappealing I find it personally.

In terms of personal experience, when I’m riding the MTB and wave to a roadie I find they usually wave back. Maybe roadies in the SE are just nicer?

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:53 am
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variation in levels of grip (which off-road is a great source of fun/hilarity

Not for me. I hate sliding around, it ruins rides for me.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:55 am
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FWIW if I'm riding with a group of folk on the road I'd prefer they kept their hands on the bars. If anyone waves at me (a rare occurrence) then I'll usually just nod back. I'm not sure what all this waving thing is about anyway. I certainly don't acknowledge every cyclist I see when out on either road, gravel or MTB because there are just so many.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 10:57 am
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 I’m not sure what all this waving thing is about anyway.

I read an interesting piece about saying hello to people, strangers, who you encountered and how it was a positive thing to do because it basically sends out the signal that the world isn't such a dangerous, hostile place. Just smiling and nodding does the same thing.
I suspect the flipside of this, for some folk, is that being 'ignored' by another rides is a sort of low-grade hostility. Bear in mind that we're talking sub-conscious, visceral stuff here, not logical, rational level reasoning. Being blanked when you say 'Hi' to someone is similarly a little jarring, even though you know rationally it's not personal.

Personally I tend to say hello to people / smile / nod / maybe a gentle raise of the hand, not so much because it's profoundly important, but because if it makes someone else feel generally more positive about the world, then that's a good thing.

It's more problematic when there are lots of people - ever ridden the opposite direction to a sportive or some charity mountain bike challenge, you stop bothering pretty quickly or turn into some sort of nodding dog - and there's definitely a cultural norm thing going on too. Say hello to someone you don't know in London and you'll likely be arrested, here in the Peak, it's quite common, especially in the outdoors, though not quite the norm, not far off though.

I used to ride with a guy who'd weaponised saying 'HELLO!!!' incredibly loudly to the point where people looked genuinely surprised and borderline scared. That seemed a little excessive,  but was also quite funny to watch.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 11:20 am
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It’s more problematic when there are lots of people –

Definitely an issue around here. Away from the honeypot areas I'm more likely to chat to other outdoors folk, be they biking, walking, working, whatever. In fact, on Thursday I bumped into a guy who was with his husky, sledding between bothies. We had a good old chinwag about fatbikes, temperamental dogs etc. I think it's maybe that the clannishness means little to me, so I don't feel the compulsion to acknowledge everyone who just happens to be on a bike. 

There's a similar vibe when driving on single track roads too. A wave to acknowledge someone who stops in a passing place is generally accepted practice, though it gets a bit old when you are, for instance, driving anticlockwise on a section of the NC500 in Summer 😀

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 11:36 am
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I always thought the “miserable roadie” stereotype was just a low level cliched bit of internet banter, which is fair enough, but interesting/amazed to see that some people really believe it.

More interesting that those same people still refuse to accept roadies might enjoy the pastime they undertake voluntarily, despite:

A) Loads of people on this thread saying they enjoy it and explaining why,

B) the entire history and concept of road cycling the world over- which, let’s face it, is in terms of participants, is likely several factors larger than mountain biking.

It’s a pretty wild take.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 11:44 am
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 Haze
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It’s an inferiority complex 😂

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 11:52 am
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Duggan
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I always thought the “miserable roadie” stereotype was just a low level cliched bit of internet banter, which is fair enough, but interesting/amazed to see that some people really believe it.

More interesting that those same people still refuse to accept roadies might enjoy the pastime they undertake voluntarily, despite:

A) Loads of people on this thread saying they enjoy it and explaining why,

B) the entire history and concept of road cycling the world over- which, let’s face it, is in terms of participants, is likely several factors larger than mountain biking.

It’s a pretty wild take.

I don't know who you mean by "some people" but while I can totally see that fun can take loads of form, I think the likelihood and opportunities of having fun off road seems greater unless of course, as someone said it involves an unacceptable level of injury risk or fear, and in which case then I can see why staying on the road is the obvious choice if someone doesn't want to develop the skills to access the fun that can only exists off road, like sliding, jumping etc (I am not talking about massive jumps here, that basic fun can be achieved very easily and progressively, no need for an inferiority complex). So again, does the sheer speed and Alpine descents offsets for that?

I accept the subjectivity of it of course but probably only up to a point. I don't think my perception of roadies tending to be more grumpy is fair however. They may have more restraint in displaying how much fun they're having, nothing wrong with that.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 12:22 pm
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Lol no I don’t see why I should deconstruct why I personally find road cycling more fun than mountain biking- just accept that some people do, it’s a demonstrable fact.

I personally cannot see the appeal of caving, it looks to me  like something that would happen in a nightmare. I accept that lots of people love it and even dedicate their lives to it though.

 
Posted : 20/01/2024 1:17 pm
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