cycling group ride - I Love Bicycling

Drafting in cycling is one of the many benefits to riding in a group. You can go faster than you would otherwise on your own with much less effort. You get the rush from the speed as well as the motivation from all the other riders around you.

Some riders do nothing but group rides where they consistently get to draft, while other riders ride on their own. In terms of what’s more fun; that’s your personal preference. However, getting to experience both can go a long way in making you a better cyclist.

What is Drafting in Cycling?

A group of cyclists will ride in a close line one behind the other, taking turns riding up front (pulling) before peeling off and latching onto the back. When you draft like this, by tucking in close behind another rider, you expend less energy, with up to 27 percent less wind resistance.

The Physical Benefits

You may think that all sitting on a wheel does for you is to allow you to pedal easier. While this is true under certain circumstances, such as sitting on a wheel for an endurance or easy ride, you can also ride much harder while drafting when the group is going full-tilt. You will have more periods of time where you are soft pedaling or coasting, but that will then be followed with pedaling harder than you otherwise would.

If you have a power meter, your power profile will look like your heart beat profile; spiky up followed by spiky down. If you have been riding on your own a lot and then hit up a local group ride or race, you will be able to tell that your legs aren’t used to the high/low effort. In addition to the spiky profile, you will also most likely be spinning at a higher cadence.

The more you ride in a group the more your muscles are going to get used to this type of riding. In addition to getting used to it, you are also going to generate more speed in your legs. You legs will simply be used to pedaling faster. When riding on your own, this translates to faster speeds. Your muscles adapt to the load that they’re placed under. If you ride at a steady effort all day, then your legs will get really good at that but when you try and go harder, your legs aren’t used to the effort and can’t do it again and again. Building the muscle fibers to be able to handle the up and down efforts will help your cycling all around.

The Psychological Benefits

Drafting in cycling on group rides or in races also plays tricks on your mind. Have you ever gone out and ridden on your own, perhaps to a group ride, and felt like you couldn’t push yourself? And then when you get on a group ride, you feel like superman or superwoman? This is because 90% of riding is mental.

Your brain tells your body what to do and your brain tells you how your legs feel. The other people in the group, along with the speed and rush, gives your brain an added jolt of adrenaline and epinephrine which gives you an extra edge along with feeling good mentally. This psychological switch when you’re riding in a group is very difficult to simulate on your own. Up-beat music can get you part way but riding with others will always bring out your best performance.

Should You Include Drafting in Cycling Training?

Because drafting in cycling has such a large psychological and psychological affect on your body, it is recommended that you incorporate it into your riding at least once a week and up to three times a week if you are really looking to excel in group rides and races. If you are training more seriously and doing intervals, they have an important place, but in-conjunction with group rides. You are going to push yourself harder and go deeper than you ever would be able to on your own during intervals regardless of how mentally tough you are. Simply when you start to get tired your body no longer wants to push as hard as it’s capable of but on a group ride you will make yourself go cross-eyed even when you’re past being kaput.

While riding on your own can improve metal toughness and the ability to push through on your own, riding in a group brings out what you never knew was there. Riding around other people in such close proximity at high, adrenaline inducing speeds, allows you to push harder than you ever thought possible. Taking advantage of training on your own while in conjunction with group rides at the right times, even if your particular event is done solo, can bring additional benefits to your training.

If you have ever been on a large cycling group ride, you have probably blocked traffic, ran a red light, or rolled a stop sign. All of these have multiple issues with safety, the image of cycling portrayed, and respect. The problem lies in the mentality of a group versus an individual. Any one of the riders on the group ride would probably obey all traffic laws and not be a problem with traffic on their own. However when in a group, any group be it fans of a sporting event, a group of motorcycles, or a protest, everyone does what the group as a whole is doing and each has the mentality that everyone else is doing it so it must be okay. This mentality quickly becomes a problem in cycling due to riders not wanting to be left behind at intersections or riding harder in the wind in order to stay out of the way of vehicles in the middle of the lane. With the issue being the mentality of the group as a whole and not that of the individual, how do you change it for safer, more respectable group riding?

What Is Proper Cycling Group Ride Etiquette?

This article will go into more detail but in general it is the focus of keeping everyone safe. You ride with the thought of everyone else in mind meaning you ride smoothly with no sudden movements, point out obstacles, signal turns and when you’re stopping, and obeying all traffic laws meaning you stop at red lights and stop signs. Doing so not only leads to safer riding but also a more pleasant riding experience as the constant risk of crashing is reduced. When groups though start to become larger and go faster and faster, these rules start to go one by one with the focus moving toward effort, speed, and riding well, not etiquette.

When Your Cycling Group Ride Blocks The Lane

One of the first issues to arise when a group starts to ride unruly is that they drift out into the lane of traffic often blocking it completely. This arises for a few reasons. The first is that as the wind comes more and more from the side of the road, the better draft is further toward the center of the road. The rider following the first rider will naturally ride slightly further into traffic to get a better draft. The riding following him/her will then do the same and before you know it, the riders behind are all the way to the yellow line with no one wanting to be the rider riding in the wind further to the side of the road. A second reason that riders will ride all the way to the yellow line is that the pace has slowed, say on a climb, and riders will fan out covering the entire lane. A third reason that riders will take the entire lane is that there are other slower riders or other obstacles on the side of the road. This forces the first riders further into the lane and the riders behind follow suit. A fourth reason for riders taking the entire lane is two-fold. When a group or individual is riding at the speed of traffic they can move out and take the entire lane because no one will pass. A lot of group rides will have sprint points and the speeds are often closer to that of traffic so riders will take the entire lane. The problem here arises when they are going full tilt but are not actually faster than traffic and then just impede it.

How To Correct It

If a group is riding in the wind and starting to ride more in the lane of traffic, all it takes to keep riders to the side of the road is a rider riding in the wind to the far side of the road to create another echelon behind the first group. If every 5th rider or so (depending upon the strength of the wind) rode to the side of the road and rotated through with those 5 or so riders, traffic would not be impeded and no riders would be left behind fighting in the wind on their own accord. The issue here is that many riders don’t know how to properly ride in an echelon. Make sure you do with this article. The second issue is that no one wants to take charge. Take charge and just do it yourself creating another echelon. Riders behind you will follow your wheel to the side of the road. With the other issues of ridding to far into the lane, riders simply need to be disciplined enough to stay to the side of the road and not move up when the speed slows and unless the group is going as fast as traffic, never sprint fully in the lane.

When Your Cycling Group Ride Runs A Traffic Light

Intersections are difficult with large groups particularly if the time the light is green is short. The issue here is that the riders who make it through the light first keep riding regardless if the tail of the group makes it through or not. Not wanting to be left behind, the tail of the group continues through the red light forcing the rest of traffic to wait. With a large group, this can be a considerable amount of time.

How To Correct It

To correct this, it is two-fold. First, the riders in the front need to ride slowly and wait for the tail-of the group to catch up after they wait for the light. The second is that riders mid-group need to stop when they see that the light has turned yellow and wait. Everyone will be much more apt to do this knowing the group will wait.

When Your Cycling Group Ride Rolls A Stop Sign

Stop signs are also difficult with a large group particularly if it’s crossing a busy road. Four-way stops are easier in that once the first riders go, the rest follow forcing traffic to wait in the opposing directions. This can be inconvenient for them but is safer as if the group tries to stop mid-way across to let other traffic go, some riders may still trickle across the intersection making for a dangerous situation. A two-way stop with a busy road to cross can be one of the most dangerous scenarios in group rides. The front riders may go across because it is clear but a car can quickly come up to the intersection and may not slow for riders still in the road crossing. The same situation applies with a traffic light where riders don’t want to risk being left behind so continue to cross despite the risk.

How To Correct It

The same approach applies to stop signs as traffic lights. The first riders through a stop signed intersection need to wait until the group has all safely crossed the intersection and rejoined. With a busy two-way stop, riders mid-group need to keep aware of upcoming traffic and loudly announce “car-right/left” and “stop” so the riders around are aware and stop abruptly. Once it is clear both ways, the group can continue crossing the intersection.

How To Prevent Traffic Problems – The Pre-Ride Talk

Once a group is already in a certain mentality during the ride, say riding in traffic, rolling stop signs, and running red lights, it becomes very difficult to change the group mentality toward safety and respect for traffic. This is where before the ride, something needs to be said relating to all of the above. It doesn’t need to be a full lecture but just a note on each so it is in everyone’s mind at least at the beginning of a ride. It probably won’t be remembered by all throughout but when one of the above begin to occur, someone saying something quick results in people actually listening and doing it because it was already stated and everyone was on the same page. When someone just tries to call one of these out mid-ride, it becomes difficult for a change in action to take place. Typically there are always more experienced riders on large group rides. They should be the ones who take charge and say “Hey, quick note on ride safety.” to everyone. Some riders may scoff at this but this should be an every group ride practice. Stay safe and ride smart as a group.