The club rides are officially underway in our area and as much as this may sound surprising, I finally participated in my first club ride ever. Would it be a good experience? Would I embarrass myself? These were only a few of the questions swirling around my mind in the moments before actually showing up. I was doomed to back out, every excuse disintegrated as the stars aligned, my evening was completely open and the ride was to start only four blocks from my house. I checked the Facebook page for the Magic Valley Chain Gang just to verify the details and even checked the Facebook interested button to make my first stage of commitment. I read down the page and noticed they had about fifty riders show up for their last ride. Surely I could blend in among fifty riders, keep my nose down, and find some riders of my level. Gary and Bobby at work kept up with the invites, constantly asking when I was going to come out and ride, and now all my excuses had run out. “You know, I just might show up at this one, “I spouted off nervously as if my brain and mouth couldn’t agree on an answer. I almost had myself talked out of going moments before the ride and I am pretty sure the clock was speeding up as I tried to figure out what to wear, how much water I might need and then the reality of how to ride in a group. I’ve only had a road bike for eight months and there’s a lot about the cycling culture that is a little intimidating. Until now I have been able to cleverly navigate my way out of big group rides and happily go about my solo ways, when all of a sudden I found myself rolling up to a group of people that would make up my first club ride.
Bobby and his tandem
Five Feet
I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a few familiar faces that were equally surprised to see me joining the group.
Gary awaiting the start of the club ride with a little advice to “hang loose”
It was only a matter of minutes when the organizer called out the start as all bikes magically pointed the same direction and began to head out. I kept reminding myself this was a social event, I’m here to have fun, maybe even meet some new people. My shoes clipped into my pedals and I was a pretty excited to be finally participating. It was a glorious five feet, yes five feet and my front tire went flat. I could not believe it, I quickly announced to my buddy Gary that I was out, sending him on his way as I grumbled about just walking home. It just wasn’t meant to be as I dragged my bike up on the curb to get out of the way. I seriously labeled the attempt a fail and had no desire to even try to fix the flat. The riders continued to flow out of the parking lot when an old friend, Mike who used to own a local bike shop, popped out of the crowd offering to help. I had heard stories about how nice people are to everyone on these rides and willing to stop and help but I really didn’t expect anyone to interrupt their ride to stop and help me out. Mike immediately jumped in and helped me swap out the tube and immediately offered to hang back and we would have our own ride if we couldn’t catch the group. My hope in humanity has been restored, the stories are true!
Goat Heads
Goat Heads I pulled out of a tire
So the culprit to my flat tire is a common one around here, the dreaded goat head. Call them puncturevine, goat head, sometimes known as ground bur-nut, caltrop, bull’s head, Texas Sandbur, Mexican Sandbur, whatever you may know them as, they are notorious as a murderer of inflated tires. Apparently the goat heads had taken out a few others before the ride and they were able to fix the flats before the start, mine waited for the perfect time to sock me in the gut. These goat heads are terrible because people tend to spray them after they have already grown out and if the plant has already produced a bur it will dry up hard, fall off and wait for a cyclist to come along. So lesson number one on the group ride: apparently there is a sealant at the bike shops known as Stans No Tubes Tire Sealant that can be used on tubes as well. I’m pretty sure I will be trying out a little Stans in my tubes before my next ride because these goat heads are lurking everywhere. As a matter of fact the goat heads struck again about five miles out and this time to Mike, now that’s injustice. As much as this was frustrating, there was another good group ride moment about to happen. As we were teaming up on the fix, two other stragglers caught up with us and we now had a four person group hitting the open road.
Kind of a Group Ride
So we knew the group headed out south of town to the open country roads, and our foursome was back on track for a ride. After a few more miles we came to a decision to take the long way or the short way and of course most of us decided on the long route, because technically we were just getting going.
Our own club ride
We lost one more from the group on a legitimate excuse; he needed to get his food started for the potluck after the ride. That’s another component of some group rides, cycling, social, and potluck all blended together in one event. And then there were three! If you noticed the sky in the adjoining pictures
More rain to the south?
you’ll notice we are under stormy skies to the south and now past 7 o’clock. A few groups of riders had just passed us heading back, including Gary who offered up the option of heading back. I couldn’t turn my back on the loyalty that had formed with our trio as I continued with my smaller group only to realize Mike and Logan were quite possibly worried about arriving late for the potluck. We climbed a large butte and hit 32 miles per hour down the slope and pretty much pushed it for the rest of the ride. I was fading at times but they never dropped me and gave me moments to catch up. We made it a little over 22 miles despite the constant distractions and I was thankful for the guys I had met and most of all getting over the fears of group riding. During our ride they were great to offer up etiquette pointers, explain hand signals and other good suggestions for group rides.
About Group Ride Etiquette
Sure I missed out on the experience of nearly fifty riders all heading the road, but maybe this was a better way to introduce myself to this sort of thing. As one of the seasoned group members posted on the Facebook page in regards to their last event; where it should have been a glorious sight to see 50 cyclists rolling down the road, it actually looked ugly. He was quick to note that the group impeded traffic in a major way holding up drivers that were getting annoyed trying to get around. Here are a couple of highlights from Rick’s post:
“We need to be courteous to the drivers on the road. Remember, “Share the Road” goes both ways. If we want motorists to respect us and extend courtesy to us out on the roads, then we should be doing the same. So, on the way out of town, ride no more than two abreast or single up in traffic, except if you are passing when it is clear to do so, and we’re much more likely to have peace on the roads with the drivers.
A couple of other reminders for all of us:
Ride in a predictable manner so that we don’t have accidents within the group. Look around you before making a move to pass so that you don’t cut off a fellow rider or collide with someone. Ride in a straight line. A crash ends the fun real fast.
Point out road hazards to your fellow cyclists. That pothole or piece of debris in the road is easy for you to see if you’re on the front, but those following need your help to know there are hazards so that they can be avoided.
Call out “car up” for approaching traffic out there on those country roads and “car back” when you become aware of traffic approaching from behind. This helps keep us all safer out there.
If you hear “car back,” move over to the right and give the traffic room to pass and if you’re riding a few abreast or in an echelon, single up the line, or get it down to two abreast at most, and let the traffic pass. The drivers will appreciate it and will be more likely to extend us some courtesy out there.
Remember, we are all ambassadors for our sport and how we conduct ourselves out on the road reflects upon ALL cyclists in the eyes of most drivers.
The Dark Side of Club Rides
My initial experience with the club ride was very positive. I saw people genuinely proactive to share the road respectively and offer helpful suggestions when riders strayed from order. The reality is that even when a cyclists and a vehicle are operating legally on the road, there is still chance for misunderstandings.
According to Richard Fries in his article on the people for bikes web site, he contends that until group rides are conducted in the following manner, they risk damaging the reputation of the cycling community:
“We ride 2×2, stay 2×2 when we stop, put the tough guys in the back instead of the front, the weak guys are moved up, and we go easy when it’s hard and hard when it’s easy.”
Not all may agree: however cyclists do need to be good ambassadors of cycling whenever they are on the road and around other vehicles whether in a group ride or not. I was just out riding last night and thinking about the vehicles that were coming up on me. I was trying to stay to the right but the road was full of debris from gravel, broken vehicle parts, and frost heaves that kept me dancing around obstacles. It made me aware of something I read earlier in the day about a marked traffic lane not providing enough room for a cyclist and a vehicle keeping the lawful 3 feet of separation. Overall I’ve seen an increase in vehicle etiquette and I believe that I have become better at being predictable.
I’ll Be Back
I am still not sure I can say I fully participated in the group ride experience. I do know I am ready to try again for next Tuesday, equipped with some sealant and a few more tubes of course. The guys I rode with loaded me up with everything I need to know about hand signals, verbal warnings, and etiquette in the group. If you’re an experienced group rider, hopefully you’ll consider mentoring a new rider into the group and know they probably have a ton of questions on what to wear, how far the ride will be, the pace, and even what to bring for the potluck. May the road rise up to meet you, free of any goat heads, and may you form great friendships in your cycling community.
