Bailed on a club ride

[mjr]

Tell 'em to shove their membership...

Riding solo is more 'liberating', IMO, but if you want to ride in a small group, see if there are any CCers near you who might want to go out for a regular ride.

Why's 'liberating' in scare quotes? Is it because it's not?

I ride with a group twice a week in summer. Freewheeling not racing. Guided not led. Been a while since we lost anyone completely. Had a couple of failures to meet up en route, though.

 

[rikki]

Typical tribal clubby behaviour. There aren’t many ‘clubs’ that aren’t like this in my experience. Some try and pretend to be all ‘nicey nicey’ but they are pretty much all the same in the end. ‘Tree house politics’ and the like really makes me laugh.

‘Tree house politics’ - Thank you. I'm borrowing that term.

 

[screenman]

In 50 years of club riding I have never had that happen to me. We have been known to give some half wheelers a hard time though, but only if they deserved it.

 

[Swanage53]

I don't tend to do clubs at all for any of my interests! I'm afraid I am a bit of an antisocial git when it comes to clubs and hate the politics and egos that they generally seem to attract. Don't get me wrong though I am always sociable with other cyclists and enjoy meeting people, it is just that clubs are not for me which says more about me than clubs I guess. And if clubs are for you then that is great.

I must admit that there are times when I would like a cycling buddy, I generally fly solo since my regular partner moved a hundred miles or so away, and I got fed up with the bullsh*t and egotistical nature of the other guy, which is a bit of shame.

So if there is anybody in the NE corner of Hampshire who is happy to do 25miles or 50 or 60 etc as the mood takes and averages about 15mph then more then happy to meet!

Perhaps I shouldn't have put that last paragraph in, it might make me sound like a weirdo (which incidentally I am)

 

[byegad]

It happened to me on a York Cycle Show ride a few years ago. Classed as Slow, we set off at a gallop shedding riders left right and centre. I made the lunch stop, by dint of knowing where it was from previous years. After lunch they did exactly the same thing, so a friend and I took the direct route back to the Knavesmire, arriving a few minutes later than the remnants of the ride who had taken the scenic route! They had lost over half the starting number by then.

I don't ride except alone now when at the Rally.

 

[mjr]

Those of you who have been dropped on rides advertised as none- left- behind, did you complain to the group or organisation? Complaining on here and sulkily professing to ride alone because groups are all meanies isn't going to improve things.

 

[Dogtrousers]

When I was riding with a club, nothing like that ever happened to me. I think the reason was that they ran 6 or 7 different levels of ride. I picked a level that went at a pace that was fine for me. I think picking your ride so you are 100% sure that you can stick with them is important. Of course for smaller clubs that don't have sufficient members to run so many levels this isn't necessarily an option.

I did on one occasion try a higher level and when we hit the hills I often fell off the back but they always waited. I was a bit embarrassed that I'd bitten off more than I could chew in stepping up a level, but they were reluctant to let me just bail. "Listen, I know these roads really well. I know exactly where I am. I can find my way home." "No, we are a no-drop ride. Stay with us and continue suffering". I did escape in the end I returned to the level where I knew I was comfortable and all was well.

You could always volunteer to lead a slower ride (if your club is big enough to accommodate it that is) Edit. Just read the whole thread properly. You already do this.

 

[mjr]

When I was riding with a club, nothing like that ever happened to me. I think the reason was that they ran 6 or 7 different levels of ride. I picked a level that went at a pace that was fine for me. I think picking your ride so you are 100% sure that you can stick with them is important.

Sometimes it doesn't matter and the club is just badly-run, continuously allowing those who suffer rushes of blood to the legs (and away from the brains) to keep disrupting rides. I've heard of groups where the 12mph no-drop "beginners" ride has repeatedly gone at 16+mph average and consequently blown apart all over the hills with no attempt to regroup - no seriously bad consequences yet that I've heard of, thankfully.

I think groups need veterans on the ride with cool heads who will stay with the group and let the hot-legged show-offs ride off the front into the sunset in some pointless demonstration of machismo (if they're so good, why ain't they riding with the flat-out training group? Oh yeah, it's often because either they can't or they've been flicked for repeated bad riding) rather than try to keep up with the fools.

 

[Shortandcrisp]

Those of you who have been dropped on rides advertised as none- left- behind, did you complain to the group or organisation? Complaining on here and sulkily professing to ride alone because groups are all meanies isn't going to improve things.

This^

Can’t help but think that the OP’s reaction is a very English (British?) response. Not having a go, I’d be exactly the same. Realise that something isn’t being run properly, get pissed off, grumble internally for ages, get even more pissed off, say nothing, then piss off without saying a word whilst muttering to yerself that they can go f*ck themselves.

Because I’ll be riding in the States in July, I follow a couple of US clubs. It’s noticeable how they’re more than willing to call each other out on the spot if things are going awry; and I’ve seen posts from ride leaders outlining, point by point, how the previous evenings ride could have been better. One rider even observed that there were too many bum cracks on show and it had to stop!

 

[Dayvo]

Why's 'liberating' in scare quotes? Is it because it's not?

I find it liberating, others may not. Hence the 'quotes'. It's not a fact, just what I experience.

 

[mjr]

I find it liberating, others may not. Hence the 'quotes'. It's not a fact, just what I experience.

"It's rather daft to quote oneself," said mjr "but if you aspire to be like another famous self-quoter, crack on!"

 

[ColinJ]

I think groups need veterans on the ride with cool heads who will stay with the group and let the hot-legged show-offs ride off the front into the sunset in some pointless demonstration of machismo (if they're so good, why ain't they riding with the flat-out training group? Oh yeah, it's often because either they can't or they've been flicked for repeated bad riding) rather than try to keep up with the fools.

I was on a cycle training camp holiday in Spain... (Not because I was training for anything in particular; mainly because it was nice riding in the sunshine in March when the weather at home was crap.)

I chose a group aiming for my kind of comfortable pace and we all set off together.

After a good warm-up, Super-fit Triathlete Woman said goodbye to us and time-trialled off the front into the distance and then out of sight.

We continued steadily on our way but I found myself drifting off the front every time we came to any slight ascent. I did it one time too many and Grizzly Veteran Ride Leader rode up behind me and barked "Oh, so you think that you are effing fit and can split the effing group up on every effing hill, do ya...?" I felt a gnarly palm on my back, and he shoved me so hard that I almost went over the front of my bars! "Well eff off up the road after Super-fit Triathlete Woman and see how you get on with 'er!"

I was really embarrassed and felt that I had no choice so I set of in pursuit of S-FTW. I chased her for about 10 kms, half-killing myself to catch her and by the time I did I was a spent force. It didn't matter anyway because she didn't want me messing up her training and she ordered me to go back to the group!

I drifted along until the group caught me up, sheepishly apologised and sneaked to the back ...

 

[cyberknight]

I was on a cycle training camp holiday in Spain... (Not because I was training for anything in particular; mainly because it was nice riding in the sunshine in March when the weather at home was crap.)

I chose a group aiming for my kind of comfortable pace and we all set off together.

After a good warm-up, Super-fit Triathlete Woman said goodbye to us and time-trialled off the front into the distance and then out of sight.

We continued steadily on our way but I found myself drifting off the front every time we came to any slight ascent. I did it one time too many and Grizzly Veteran Ride Leader rode up behind me and barked "Oh, so you think that you are effing fit and can split the effing group up on every effing hill, do ya...?" I felt a gnarly palm on my back, and he shoved me so hard that I almost went over the front of my bars! "Well eff off up the road after Super-fit Triathlete Woman and see how you get on with 'er!"

I was really embarrassed and felt that I had no choice so I set of in pursuit of S-FTW. I chased her for about 10 kms, half-killing myself to catch her and by the time I did I was a spent force. It didn't matter anyway because she didn't want me messing up her training and she ordered me to go back to the group!

I drifted along until the group caught me up, sheepishly apologised and sneaked to the back ...

i would be reporting the ride leader to the organization for at least dangerous behaviour if not assault .

 

[cyberknight]

This^

Can’t help but think that the OP’s reaction is a very English (British?) response. Not having a go, I’d be exactly the same. Realise that something isn’t being run properly, get pissed off, grumble internally for ages, get even more pissed off, say nothing, then piss off without saying a word whilst muttering to yerself that they can go f*ck themselves.

Because I’ll be riding in the States in July, I follow a couple of US clubs. It’s noticeable how they’re more than willing to call each other out on the spot if things are going awry; and I’ve seen posts from ride leaders outlining, point by point, how the previous evenings ride could have been better. One rider even observed that there were too many bum cracks on show and it had to stop!

contacted another ride leader who was on the ride and the club founder and no response as of yet .

 

[Lee_M]

Those of you who have been dropped on rides advertised as none- left- behind, did you complain to the group or organisation? Complaining on here and sulkily professing to ride alone because groups are all meanies isn't going to improve things.

I complain on our club rides and get a load of crap about it -- and I'm on the committee!

Leaving people on hills and regrouping at the top is fine in my view as everyone does hills at a different speed, but on the flat it's not on.

2 weeks ago it happened on a 6 mile Strava segment. I held back to guide someone and when we all finally regrouped and I mentioned it I wasn't even backed up by the person I waited for.

At that point I said I was having nothing to do with leading or planning rides in future.
Apparently that means I'm being childish.

So my childish reaction is to take over membership secretary duties and I'm carefully removing all those with access to club FB and Strava who haven't officially rejoined.