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@hexhamstu never say never, I have made bad judgements in the past. Who hasn't? Usually when I've been under some form of stress and not thinking calmly. Thankfully no one has been hurt and I hope I've learned from it.
RoterStern Free Member
The policy of the ride is it’s all inclusive, which I think is the main reason for its popularity, the ride is at a steady 28kmh and no one is dropped (unlike some chain gang organized rides round here …one in particular left two riders lying in the road after a crash last year).
That's not a great reason. Fast and medium groups go at an agreed pace and try and work for all, within reason. Slow group is "no drop" so everyone has a nice time and finds their place. If you choose a group that's too fast for you you've always got the safety net of the slow group.
I did exactly what you mentioned and a van driver still tried to get past – he started to dive in then realised he wasn’t going to make it past me without hitting the island, so swerved the other way and went round the island on entirely the wrong side of the road.
I've had the same. It hasn't stopped me taking a primary position to prevent overtaking where I deem it unsafe to do so.
I also agree that Rule #1 solves most issues. Where I'm clearly causing an issue for following traffic such as on a long stretch of narrow road, many bends, poor nightlines, I will pull in when I can to allow vehicles past.
Personally I think that should be the rule anyway though, when overtaking cyclists you always go fully into the other lane.
I agree, it's what I do when driving anyway.
Nay.
Used to but way too many punishment passes. Its not worth it.
Will go two abreast on a quite lane with no traffic about, but as soon as im aware of a vehicle its back into single file.
I assume the driver was doing something really important to be breaking lockdown....
Yup, I'll quite happily ride two abreast and in fact when I'm with Mrs B I ride behind and outboard of her to protect her from cars behind us.
I'll move in if it's safe to do so but I expect cars to pick a safe overtake and carry it out without being a dick.
Basically, the section of road that I happen to be on at the time is my section of road. It's up to cars to pass me safely when they get the opportunity. They don't have a monopoly on road use.
Will go two abreast on a quite lane with no traffic about, but as soon as im aware of a vehicle its back into single file.
Don't forget to doff your cap as he passes 😉
Will ride two a breast when I deem it the safest action for myself, the person I'm cycling with (often my kids) and the traffic around me (to try to prevent dangerous overtakes on bends ect).
Like said above, it often pisses folk off so will try to avoid busy roads and pull-in every so often as required on narrower roads.
It's trendy these days to demonise "cyclists" so I try not to give "drivers" any extra reasons to pick fault with my riding. I try to be courteous, sit in line at traffic lights, don't ride up the inside of traffic, indicate at junctions etc, thank good driving and generally try to smile and be happy.
I try not to p*ss car drivers off and if it annoys them, then I'll try and avoid conflict. Dopesnt matter who is right or wrong. It wont mean much in a hospital bed.
However, I dont ride a road bike and will very rarely be in a line of bikes together - usually just me and someone else. If I were in a serious club ride, then I'm not sure at the moment.
the ride is at a steady 28kmh and no one is dropped
28kmph seems quite quick to me, 25kmph is my general hacking along pace. Maybe it's very flat where you are.
28kmph seems quite quick to me, 25kmph is my general hacking along pace. Maybe it’s very flat where you are.
is that solo though? even with only the fitter ones taking their turns in this "steady" group you would expect to be much much quicker for the same effort.
Am I remembering 5mph quicker over a long distance? 5kmph?
is that solo though? even with only the fitter ones taking their turns in this “steady” group you would expect to be much much quicker for the same effort
You would but wrangling a big no drop group round any route with hills is going to be very tricky. If I bust my balls on a group ride I might average 30kmph and as a rule in any group of say 12 you usually only see 3 or 4 riders at the front unless it's a chain gang type ride.
No matter I am just surprised a huge group going steady and no drop could do about 28kmph
If that’s advertised pace rather than measured average then I’d wager they aim to hold 28 (via garmin) on the flat, climbs done at the speed of the slowest (or go up and regroup), descents over 28kph at freewheel/bravery limit.
This will (almost certainly) result in an average of below 28kph.
Last time I roadied seriously, only the rich guys had garmins. Normal folk had those cat eye things with the magnet on the wheel, so by necessity we ended up doing the above. Just as Strava for smartphones was coming in, you could then see after your ride what the actual average speed was.
My club the B group is a no drop policy and aims for 18mph. The A group can be a drop policy ride dependent, anything from 18 to 21mph. This can be 60 to 100 miles, at this time of year it’s approx 60 miles and 19.5mph with 3500 feet of climbing.
We try and keep to a max of 12 riders in each group. The A group doesn’t get that many, maybe 8.
I prefer riding in a smaller group, 6 to 8 riders. We stay 2 abreast as much as possible. But we will pull over if we are causing an issue, genuinely this is quite rare though. We tend to ride in our group rides on a Sun morning and finish by 1pm.
We are mainly all experienced roadies, I can’t think of one rider who doesn’t have at least 10 years of regular riding with the group. Guess we are fairly lucky with drivers as I’d say we have no more than 3 incidents a year with shouty drivers, close passes are also fairly rare.