EBCC

I suggest that this be required reading for all who participate in our group rides. http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/02/news/road/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske-group-ride-etiquette_394605

Here's something fun. Pick an EBCC group ride from the Strava group. Click the "Flybys" and see if the ride stays together. Pretty telling. (The 9 AM Sunday Ride from Avon definitely gets the Hershon Seal of Approval.)

It takes everybody watching to ensure we stay together. I think the new A, B, C format will help but even better is to have levels within a given ride. This could also help us ride in smaller groups which also improves the whole "take up the road" syndrome which I know I am a proliferator of at times. Why not just hold generic group rides and plan to have all the groups supported? The way we have it now if you can't do a given pace then there's no ride for you on certain days/nights. Just a thought.

Both of those articles are really good...especially Maynard's (phew..there's a name from the past!).

I don't fully agree with him that it's the ride leaders ego and motivation which results in a DCC. At least not from my experience with our local rides, our ride leaders are very good. The breakdown occurs when the individuals within the group all have different expectations and are all riding as individuals with their own goals/egos/motivations/agendas. Not too many are even considering the group around them as a whole.

What needs to happen is the ride leader needs to set and reset what is expected from each individual in the group. AND just as critical, the individual must share the responsibility to carry that expectation from themselves to the others around them. The more fit and experienced riders in the group, need to take on more of that responsibility....because the newer/less fit/less skilled riders are looking at what you are doing...you are the example in the group. That's what being part of a group is!! A group is ONE.

Perhaps before each ride, the ride leader sets the standard by stating, hey...we're all here to ride, have fun, socialize and improve ourselves but each of us have a responsibility to look out for each other. We're a team today and we have to watch out for and take care of each other. If you see someone get dropped...yell out to the group to ease up and/or drop back to help. Think to yourself...'would I want to ride alone if I get dropped? Is that any fun?' ....blah, blah, blah... I think you get my point.

I think the same holds true for the group to be a learning environment. It's always good to see and understand why and how a more experienced rider does what they do. If you're a less experienced rider you have a responsibility to ask and engage with the more experienced. And if you're a more experienced rider, again you have a larger responsibility to teach and set the example when you're part of the group. If you see someone in the group who can benefit from a tip or pointer...ride alongside and make that suggestion. Similarly, poor behaviour in the group needs to be checked. A small improvement in the less experienced riders will actually contribute more significantly to the groups effectiveness (FUN, faster, fitter, skilled, safer, etc) then a slight improvement in a much more experienced rider...what's the adage...you're only as good as the weakest link. And regardless of how long one's been riding, just like everything in life, you can never stop learning.

Anyway, enough of my rambling.

Pat, since this also translates directly into safety as well, would it make sense to have this topic at the spring kick-off...not to make a long discussion out of it, but rather to get folks to think about it going into the new season and put it in the forefront of everyone's mind as they head out on group rides?

Just my .02.

Read both articles. They both make excellent points. That said, the things I enjoy about group rides are: 1. the social aspect and, 2. the competitive aspect.

To me the social aspect is embodied in chatting with other riders before, during and after ride. Getting to know one another to a greater depth than what kind of bike they ride and how fast they are. Even building real friendships. To me another part of the social aspect that combines with riding skills is the cooperation of a group working well together. Basically, pace line riding. I especially enjoy this when the group as a whole is riding faster than I could do myself. This lines up with one of the articles pretty well.

To me the competitive aspect is trying to see how well I can do in the group ride, up a hill, hammering to the end. There are times during the ride where the group breaks up when several riders (usually including me on Tuesdays but never including me on Wednesdays) race to the top of the next hill or through a particularly fun and fast section of road. There is always a re-group at the end of these efforts.

Some of the comments here seem they may be suggesting that the entire group stays together in a pack for the entire ride. Is that the goal? Or is it OK to have a few bursts of action that split the group for a while followed by a re-group? IMhO an SP ride should probably stay together through the entire ride. But the IP, RP rides?