Lets be WAAAAY smarter how we ride

[Plawless]

Ok, I have to make a couple of comments after this morning's ride. I also want to preface them by saying that we are ALL guilty of this on occassion so it doesnt matter who it was this morning what matters is that we stop doing stupid stuff.

Example #1:

DONT CHASE BUSSES OR CARS! Its just bloody stupid. Sure you get a great draft and while I am sure that you are individually more than able to avoid trouble I am not worried about you, I am worried about the rider (lets call him "Peter") who is head down, tongue hanging out desperately hanging onto your wheel. When you chase cars/busses and drag me along you put me in danger. Please dont do that. There is absolutely no upside.

Example #2

DONT CUT OFF CARS WHEN YOU ARE LEADING THE PACK. Kudos to you for making it past the oncoming car and getting onto Hollywood Cres while the rest of us grabbed a handful of brakes.... oh except for the one guy that was head down chasing hard and who was lucky that the car was also hitting the brakes. We ended up being very lucky in this one (in my view) as no one got hurt - but we sure proved to the driver what stupid idiots cyclists are.

So without wanting to flog a dead horse let me be clear: when we ride in a group we each individually assume responsibility for the safety of everyone else. If you arent going to think about the safety of the line of riders behind you when making decisions I dont want to ride with you.

Again we are all guilty of this from time to time so it doesnt matter who it was today. Lets take a moment and look around the group and see if there is anyone there that we really want to see hurt - if the answer is "no" then smarten up. If the answer is "yes" you should go find another group to ride with (and good luck with that!)

Peter

[JohnT]

In my defense, though I don't disagree with Peter's comments, when you are leading the pack, hitting the brakes can be very dangerous. My decision to turn in front of the car was made with the group in mind. If I was smarter, I'd have gone straight, but I was debating the options; turn left or stop (i.e., wait for the car to pass). I selected turn because stop seemed more dangerous for the group. It would have been best to go straight and to shout that plan to the people behind me, but unfortunately that wasn't an option I considered.

John

[Lister Farrar]

We had a similar debate recently in Tristars Training about what to do when braking (for eg a red light) is the legal and safe thing to do, except for the riders behind. Our thoughts so far are that the front riders have to do what's safe for them and the riders behind, i.e. not slam the brakes, but then wait after the red light (for example) for the back half that really does have to stop. Respectively, the back half has to pay attention and brake as necessary for red lights etc, even if the front goes through to avoid slamming brakes on. If the front is in the habit of waiting, the back will do what's safe. If the front doesn't, the back will take risks.

Not sure the situation this am, but it's arguable a race-like tone or mood exaggerates these situations. On the other hand, if we're always looking out for the others, i.e. committed to a group ride (and not 'beating' others), it's easier to think about those behind and their safety.

[Lister Farrar]

I am worried about the rider who is head down, tongue hanging out desperately hanging onto your wheel.

oh except for the one guy that was head down chasing hard and who was lucky that the car was also hitting the brakes.

Accepting people riding head down is not really part of the solution. I think you mean be aware the back may follow, and try to do what works for them, but equally important is the back half watching for themselves.

Maybe think of it as applicable to racing: getting used to watching the front of whatever group you're in, so in races so you don't get caught unaware by an acceleration, or miss the break. In my clinics on drafting I tell people to watch the rider 3 or 4 in front for clues as to what's going to happen, not the wheel in front.

I still think it's notable how seldom the front riders in our groups look back. If this was a habit, we'd have less of the back half taking chances. It's a habit that's also good for racing. Look at the last km of Tour of Flanders. http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozon ... n/1.995643 While in training, you're seeing if people made it through the intersection, in racing you can see who just got fried by your awesome jump, or whether a gap has just opened you can capitalize on, or if a rival is crossing the gap. You can see a lot more too from the faces of the riders behind, than you can from looking at their butts.

[sylvan]

My bus-drafting performance yesterday was a disgrace. I could have shown maturity and leadership by controlling the pace along Henderson, then leading out the sprint once the bus pulled over. Instead, I gave in to the temptation of the cheap thrills of bus-drafting and showed callous disregard for the group behind.