Friday B 1 Ride

[wonger]

WTF dudes? Three of us dropped at the top of Caddy Bay. Tried to catch you but couldn't close the gap. I thought this club had a rule about that?

[MDAWSON]

yeah i think it's called rule #5....this is gonna get me in trouble, but couldn't resist....

[mfarnham]

Eek…sorry. Didn't realize that. Thought the group seemed smaller toward the end, but we'd had people heading off on their own earlier in the ride so it didn't worry me. It should have.

Without meaning to deflect blame, everyone should remember to call "steady-up's" forward so people in the front hear them. And repeat them forcefully if the message isn't getting to the front and generating sufficient reaction. I was near the front at the point you got dropped and heard a steady call, but I thought we were soft-pedalling sufficiently to let people catch up.

Sorry Geoff! Shouldn't have happened.

Martin

[barton bourassa]

You Bet Mike! No Drop means NO DROP! Maybe after King George things get fast and furious for the B riders, how ever many groups there might be, but until then, NO DROP.

It is very important for those struggling to holler steady up and for those in mid pack to let the front riders know to steady. A soft pedal might not do it so stop pedaling, especially when going down hill. The quicker riders can get back on the quicker the group can get going.

Something else that is very, very important for the well being, enjoyment and flow of any ride is if you are falling off or if you cannot keep up on a pace line, even a relatively social pace line, stay at the back!!! No body in the B and C groups mind the odd holler of "Steady Up". If you are having trouble pulling thru, don't pull! Hang out at the back.

Happy Riding!!

Barton

[Plawless]

remember "soft pedalling" from the front group - the folks that made it up the hill and burned the folks off the back isn't really SOFT at all.......I know we all think we are going slow but I promise you that you need to go WAAAAY slower. In fact if a steady is called over a hill stop pedalling for bit. Seriously the faster we re-group the better the ride is. otherwise we "soft pedal" for kms, the dropped riders kill themselves for kms to get back and then cant keep up and there is an inevitable second "steady" and resulting cycle of slowness. so if a steady is called - folks on the front - commit to it, hard. then the group reforms fast and we are all away with a smile.

Peter

[Paul C.]

I would agree with Geoff and most of above comments. I came up the hill last with Geoff and with Marcus just ahead of us..I usually ride B1 and we almost come to a stop at top of Caddy hill and look behind us.( see Mike L. post above.)

The 3 of us worked very well together ,taking short pulls and going quite fast. However the lead group was working even better as a group....and maybe assisted by at least one A rider that got dropped by the A's ( the"we will drop you " A ride) However ,no hard feelings .

As usual lots of good comments and reminders of the TRIPLESHOT philosophy. That's we are the largest and best club in B.C.. ...

cheers, Paul

[Paul C.]

Just noticed...kind of appropriate this was posted under * STATS and RACE REPORTS *

[leftcoaster]

I called 'steady' but waiting for the latter 3, I ended up 150 feet behind the group and had to work to catch up.

Don't know how to say this delicately, but with that large of a gap on a hill, maybe self-seeding could be re-examined

[Marcus]

Dave wrote

I called 'steady' but waiting for the latter 3, I ended up 150 feet behind the group and had to work to catch up.

Don't know how to say this delicately, but with that large of a gap on a hill, maybe self-seeding could be re-examined

I like the club's B & C ride philosophy of no drop but I have to say I had an excellent ride today despite being dropped on Caddy Bay. I seem to like trying to bridge up on occasion, especially when I make it back on. I kept trying until the top of the Oak Bay Hotel bump where you went out of sight, and then joined up with B2 on King George for a good ride around Beacon Hill. The oddity with today's ride was that no one seemed to hesitate and look back at the top of Caddy which usually happens. As for the self selection if Geoff and I hadn't come off the front at the bottom and I hadn't assumed a bit of hesitation at the top, I don't think any gap would have existed.

[AJ Neale]

Hi all,

I have to agree with most of these comments, especially Peter when he says the front guys have to slow WAAAAY down whenever a group splits up, particularly on a hill. I was in the middle of the group and passed along a "steady" and noticed a couple of guys looking back .... when I see that I assume they have a good idea where the last riders are, and pick up speed only when they see that everyone is back on.

Being fairy new to the group, I've noticed that most of the communication works very well ( most of the time ) but clearly it didn't on Friday morning. Since the messages get sent up and down the line, would it not make sense for the front guys to slow down until they hear a very clear "rolling" in every case?

Have a great weekend all!

Andrew

[mfarnham]

As one of the ones who turned around to look, I can say that--in the dark--you can't actually see *anything* from up front other than thousands of eyeball-searing lumens from the headlamps behind you.

Even in the daytime, if someone is off the back and your line of sight to them is blocked by a single other rider (high probability if you're in the front and have lots of bodies between you and the back) you won't see them. So assume the people in the front are ignorant of what's going on the back. And yes, keep it slower on the front after steady ups (note to self)!

Martin

[wonger]

Don't know how to say this delicately, but with that large of a gap on a hill, maybe self-seeding could be re-examined

So your solution is that I should be on the C ride?

[John D]

Geoff - I have it on good authority that Dave's comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. That said, we don't want your type sand-bagging our C-rides either!

J.

[JohnT]

Always Go Home with the Lady Who Brought you to the Dance.

JT

[Paula]

Your comment John T made me laugh

It was already stated mildly, but remember the partner to steady up? Rolling. Which I believe is said by the person(s) who has been working hard to get back on. This is especially important this time of year when (as others have pointed out) we can not see as well who is behind (or in front) of us. And 'put a foot down' is not a four letter word (although there are 4 letter words in the phrase).

All this being said, in general I do think we have adapted our riding well to the 'winter' conditions.

Paula