How to bike in a group

omma_to_3

I'm considering doing a sprint tri next year. Aside from not drowning, I'm a little worried about how to ride in a group. Right now, I only ride with my kids and husband and they're all usually behind me. I have to say, I'm not exactly a straight rider (drunken sailor comes to mind, though that's frequently because I'm turning around to make sure the kids haven't crashed LOL). Are their unwritten (heck, or written) rules for riding in a group? Guidelines?

Speedtrap

one of the best things you can do is contact some of the local bike shops and see if the clubs run a group riding class,
I know one of the ones near me offered it in the spring and I think they may offer another in the fall.
They teach you the basics of group riding and will usually take you on a few group rides at lower speeds to get use to it.

scott091501

I'd agree that you should maybe google for a local bike club or triathlon club. Most have weekly/monthly rides and it's a great way to meet people with similar interests. That said you don't do a whole lot of riding in a group in a triathlon. They aren't draft legal so you have to stay 3 bike lengths away from the bike in front of you unless passing. All you really need to know is stay to the right when riding and pass on the left. Mount after the mount line and dismount before the dismount line.

mikes99mail

as above, you're not allowed to ride in a group for the actual race, but group riding is a fantastic way to get better, you'll go further, faster, quicker than training alone if you can find a local friendly cycle club.

As to riding in a group, this is quite a good guide: http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/training_bike_riderules.html (might be too UK-focussed, be interested to hear any US differences apart from left / right of the road!)

enjoy!!

scott091501

Yes and no. For the record I train almost exclusively for triathlons. I find riding with people who are faster than me does make me push harder for a longer period of time. When I ride in a group I tend to make sure I don’t draft (although I know how to). I can’t in a race so I don’t training for one. It gives you a poor idea of where you actually stand fitness wise and leads to pushing too hard in a race to meet those numbers. On the flip side I find that I don’t have the will power to go out and ride with a group when I have a long, slower ride scheduled and stick to it. I will ride to the pace of the group. My coach isn’t a fan. So I am very careful about what is on the training schedule when I go out to ride with a group.

Drudoo

My largest strides to date for my cycling fitness I attribute to fast group rides. The increased cadence and speed forces your body to adapt. Many Saturdays I would spend 2 hours on a group ride then 2-4 hours alone. It always worked out.

This helps for races because I force myself to start slow, which leaves a lot of energy in the tank for the later parts of the ride and onto the run. This allowed me to pass a significant amount of people during Ironman Louisville until I was knocked off my bike at mile 95. Started the race doing 17.5 mph, before I was wrecked I has increased to 21.5 and was very comfortable.

Cyclink

The best way to learn any new skill is to get out and do it. If you can, start out with just two or three other people and practice riding single file. If not, jump on into a real group ride :-)

If you google "group ride rules", you will probably find tons of rules for group rides.

The ones that I think are most important:
1) Keep it steady. Ride as as straight a line as you can at as steady a speed as you can.
2) Communicate. If you slow down, signal. If you are turning, signal. If you see a major road hazard, signal. They cannot see what you see and, even if they could, you see it first. If you do anything unexpected, the person behind you will crash and it will probably be your fault.
3) Do not, for any reason, let your wheel get next to the wheel of the person in front of you. If they suddenly move in that direction, they will knock your front wheel out from under you and you will crash.

There are probably 10,000 more, but that's a start.

I realize that triathlons don't allow you to draft, but if you are comfortable at drafting distances, you will most certainly be comfortable at larger distances.

Bonus tip: if someone is too close to you on the side, do NOT slow down. That can push their handlebars into yours, causing you to crash. Instead, speed up and then move in the opposite direction.