tips for when the neighbours invite you to tea

[mfarnham]

To a visitor on today’s ride:

Tips for when the neighbours invite you to tea.

1) It’s polite to bring something.
2) Don’t upend their coffee table. That may be how you do tea at home, but when you’re a guest of the neighbours, do tea the way they do tea. Pinky out if necessary.
3) Don’t go out of your way to trip their kid, just because the kid gets a bit in your way as you’re reaching for the cookies. Go around the kid…there’s room. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get the biggest cookie.

In case you’re as bad at metaphors as you are at manners…

1) Pay your dues if you’re riding regularly with a club. Pay your share for the benefits provided to you. I will do that if I ever find enough time to ride with your club, because if your club hosts me on a ride you all deserve a little more beer at your Christmas party as thanks from me.
2-3) Ride according to the culture of the club you’re riding with. If you come from a club where zooming up closer than necessary behind a slower rider while sticking your finger in their face and yelling at them is considered appropriate behaviour (and I’d be surprised if that’s the case), then either stick with that club or stick that behaviour in your jersey pocket until you’re done visiting a club that does things differently. Winning the sprint is not the most important thing on the ride, and neither are you.

I should note that Tripleshot is—almost always—delighted to host riders from other clubs. It adds to the fun, competitiveness, and supportive camaraderie that drives us to ride even on dark, cold, rainy, and windy mornings like this. Riders who show that kind of spirit are always welcome.

Martin

[John D]

Damn randonneurs!

[Stéphane Tran]

As a long-time club member and Tripleshot/Wheeler "dual citizen", I though I would respond to this post on behalf of my fellow Wheelers. It seems that every so often there are issues with "A" rider behaviour. Things are sometimes said in the heat of the moment when blood is pumping to the legs and maybe not so much to the brain. Ideally, these situations can be resolved and diffused in person post-ride, but this is not always possible. As I was not on the ride, I am not sure who was involved, but Martin's reminder to "respect the ride" is a timely one. Tripleshot has, over the years, developed a positive, welcoming culture to riders of all abilities and members of other clubs. This culture is what draws new riders to the sport we all love, and conversely, agressivity is what can potentially drive them away. I know I speak for all my fellow early-riser Wheelers when I say that we appreciate the TS rides and want to maintain friendly interpersonal and club-to-club relations with Tripleshot and its members, and indeed many of us are members of both clubs. So, I will remind my Wheeler club-mates to keep all of this in mind when out on the best early-morning rides in town. I will also remind them if they have made Tripleshot rides a regular part of their cycling life, they should become a TSC member.

Sincerely,

Stéphane

[Alan]

For those visiting A riders, let me translate our president's florid metaphor, and
Stephan's conciliatory explanation into one bit of shorthand.
IF you chose to ride with us, you only have one other choice:

[Rolf]

Johnny “Mr. Gratuitous” Tyre take note: Alan’s use of a gif here is exemplary. It injects wit, while pithily distilling and reinforcing the thread’s thesis.

[JTyre]

Alan, excuse me for borrowing your gif but my ex-friend Rolf needs a little blowback. (And Rolf, I agree, this is one of Alan's best offerings. Now, back to the topic at hand, one hopes.)

[mfarnham]

Just to follow up...

I've spoken to several stalwarts of the A ride who made clear that every effort will be made to keep this from happening again. It's generally a very well-policed ride and I expect the finger waver has got the message. Discussions of other things A riders can do to help covered things like neutralizing if a pass looks sketchy, and calling "riders back" as early as possible.

Upon reflection and based on conversations with others, we in the slower group also could have done some things better. Getting right fast is important when there's a call of "riders back". There are times to hold your line (like in a sprint) and times to move right, and a "riders back" situation is generally a time to move right. Also groups should make every effort to "keep narrow" up lower Henderson because it's a narrow road, especially with parked cars in the picture, and there's a curve limiting visibility up and down the road.

How do you keep narrow? Start by turning right from Lansdowne onto Henderson staying in the right side lane on Henderson. The whole reason we single up on Lansdowne is to stay in our lane as we turn onto Henderson, yet even now people tend to cross to the wrong side on Henderson. There's no reason to cross the line on any B ride if we're single file and cornering sensibly--it's sloppy riding. Safety permitting, approach corners wide so you're not forced to exit them wide.

But more to the point of what happened last Tuesday, if your group is riding 2-up (as we were), then you should be re-forming a 2-up line on Henderson and holding that line all the way up the hill and well past the merge before the people on the front drop back. Don't go 4 wide on lower Henderson and don't do it on upper Henderson with a car/bus back. If you're a weaker rider in the group, then hang out toward the back on Lansdowne, so that you don't end up having to do a long pull up the hill in the front. Stronger riders lead on Lansdowne and do the climb at a pace that holds the group together.

Better yet, if you have a reasonably skilled and evenly matched group, stick to a rolling paceline (aside from the single file bits), as it keeps a lower profile throughout the ride and is a good skill to practice. There will be times when it makes sense to ride 2-up (like in a diverse group), but don't have riders dropping back on lower Henderson.

While we're discussing safety on the box, remember that we're singling up on the turn from Cedar Hill Cross onto Caddy Bay.

Thanks all for sharing thoughts on this and helping us run a tight ship out on the roads.

Cheers!
Martin