Group riding etiquette 101: Stick with the plan.

Have you had this experience?

Your group ride started out at an easy pace. Pretty soon, someone riders to the front and picks the pace up. Your little ego demon says “he’s not faster than me!”, so you follow suit. So does everyone else. Then someone else ups the ante. Pretty soon, everyone’s heart rate is pegged out, white knuckles threatening to bend your handlebars and you’re coughing up little bits of your lungs.

What did you everyone say in the parking lot before the ride starts?

“Easy ride today.”

And this group delusion was followed by “I’m toast from yesterday’s hundred miler”, “I haven’t been on by bike in a week”, “my program calls for a recovery ride today” or “I’m tapering for a big ride/race this weekend”. All the pre-torture fest excuses that signals that everyone knows that no one is going to stick to the “easy ride” plan.

What would have happened if one person (just ONE) had said “hey, dude, dial it back. This is an easy day.” when that first knucklehead had picked up the pace? Everyone would have given a deep sigh of relief, because they really DID want an easy day. They just knew the group would have no self discipline. That egos would have gotten involved and the response to someone amping it up would be to amp it further. A response of “Take THAT” is a lot easier on the ego than “Slow DOWN”.

But easy rides are an essential part of training. You can only ride really hard on hard days if you’re rested. If you ride hard on days that are supposed to be easy, all you’ll manage on the hard days is to ride a little (but not much) harder.

If you want to be fast, keep your easy days really easy so that you can make your hard days really hard.

And what do you do if the dude that amps it up DOESN’T slow down when asked? Before the ride starts, agree that anyone who amps it up will be ignored. Then, when Mr. Macho picks up the pace, tell everyone “let him go”.

And the fool will ride up the road on his own.

David Laporte