TipTopanga wrote:
This thread has been kind of turning me off group riding to be honest. There hasnt been much talk about the positives of riding in a group
Outside of common sense (riding steady etc), it seems like there are a lot of unwritten "rules" which could get you in trouble or even ostracized for breaking...
Are people really that picky and unforgiving towards new riders (new to group riding)?..
Don't let it put you off. Finding a nice group will make it lots of fun and very sociable.
I've been crook so only had my second group ride yesterday with the slow/beginner's 25kph group (I was late by 5 minutes last week and missed the start!), and they're a lovely welcoming bunch. Possibly because it's largely the golden oldies and mums so they're out to socialise, not mimic the Tour de France
For the first ride I sat at the back the entire time and chatted with people about hand signals and what to do in various situations, and that was great.
On my second ride yesterday I moved up through the group chatting with different people, and I rode 25-30% of it on the front of the group.
As my fitness recovers I'll give the next group up a try, but I do these rides to socialise and go a bit further than I might do on my own. Drafting is also nice
Keep it simple and if the group is a friendly one you'll be just fine.
When you are driving your car, you are not stuck IN traffic - you ARE the traffic!!!