It is my great pleasure to introduce this guest article, penned by my long time friend @Rob. I’ve know the lad since we were both in short pants. We both discovered cycling as something more serious than transportation at the same impressionable age. For Rob, his discipline gained from martial arts, his fearlessness on the bike and his innate enjoyment of the pain cave made for a potent Pot Belge* of a bike racer. His cycling career progressed up through the categories, high enough to see the rear wheel of Steve Bauer and throw his bike alongside Davis Phinney.
He has taught me many bike handling skills, including the pleasure of riding shoulder against shoulder in a casually deliberate manner, a skill of mine sadly lost through lack of group riding. Some may even have the pleasure of riding with him at the 200 on 100 Cogal this summer.
Yours in Cycling,
Gianni
—
The Worlds are long over, summer up here is a distant memory and now it is that bitter time of year where the life of a seasonal cyclist descends to the third or fourth level of trainer/spinning hell.
While the late fall kilometers are still fresh in the little gray cells, I would like to remonstrate my fellow riding companions. No names will be used. Many I do not know, many deserve no criticism. I am the first to acknowledge that cycling is not intuitive. One can ride for years, be an animal, comfortable at 29kph for many, many kilometers and still do things wrong – like be in such a bad position on your bike you can never go faster than 29kph.
So what am I exorcised about? I speak of good riding habits or put another way, the Art of the Bicycle. I was taught it by others who showed me and sometimes explained to me but more often I saw that this was the way to do it and only later did the reason and logic become apparent.
One is told, “don’t overlap wheels.” It’s simple- you the overlapper, will find yourself face down as the overlapped happily disappears in the distance never having felt a thing, wondering why it got so quiet behind. You can overlap and sometimes I do -but usually on the gutter side of the road and I’m always ready to bail right into the gutter or deal with my wheel connecting and I’m ready to throw my weight left on the disconnect.
If you have any doubt about what I am talking about or if you are not comfortable riding 2 inches from the gutter or edge of the road and are not comfortable looking 2 -3 bike lengths ahead as you keep your line while doing this, then do not try this at home. Do Not Overlap.
I was not a pro. I am not an expert. I have a long history on the bike and these things are just the foundations of good riding. How do you explain, “keep your line,” “stay close,” “be smooth?” These are the things that all my companions in the summer pace lines should know. Most of them are riding strong and well but there are subtleties that a few are missing.
Eddy, Fast Freddie, hell, even Sean in Ireland with no tracks (I don’t think?) would have learned these things before puberty. I do not blame my paceline friends, they have very little reference. There are so few role models, clubs, tracks, and training races, that they are not at fault. In fact most of them deserve huge praise for being out there at all. I had it easy- I was introduced to a 3 time Olympian and he rode morning training rides with me for the better part of two summers. Tuesday and Thursday training races and later group rides with teammates were constant practice.
If I have any point to make here it is that although I was brought along by others, I still trained myself to be smooth, ride close and keep a straight line. So next time you are in an informal paceline and you’re having trouble with those skills, go home and practice them. If you see the kid/adult next to you in a 2 up paceline who isn’t comfortable and is hanging out in the middle of the road, let the rider know they want to get comfortable next to you, shoulder to shoulder. Perhaps you explain as you ride, that if your shoulders and forearms are touching, it’s OK because that way your pedals or handle bars won’t get tangled, which really would suck.
Learn to ride between the white line and the edge of the road (4-6 inches – easy) better yet- learn to ride on the white line – for miles, casually without effort, because if you have to try, you are still not there. Do you really have a round pedal stroke? No, really? Can you stay smooth as you accelerate? Do you know how to look through the legs, under or around those in front, to be aware of the road even before the guy in front of you is? Can you sprint and look down and back between your legs to see who is coming up on you (or if you’re Cav, who you’re dropping) without changing your line so you do not get DQ’ed?
None of this is rocket science but it is, as I said above, the foundation of our sport. Many here are already one with the V. Pass it on to those guys in your Tuesday night rides who don’t yet see it. One last thing- my skills are still being polished and I do not think it ever stops, because riding has a habit of catching you out when you least expect it. To me that means I will always keep learning. Part of having experience is passing it along to those who do not have it so that. as they say, we can keep the rubber down and be safe.
*Again, a disclaimer from the Velominati Legal Department, the term “Pot Belge” is being used here as a descriptive noun only and in no way is a reflection of @Rob’s cycling career.
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Thanks so much for contributing even more to this place, Rob. Very fun to read.
This article got me thinking about all the characters in the group I ride with.
-The hairy little ape-man who gropes his noisy machine with his elbows poking out like a football player and climbs out of his bike when he's off the saddle-scares me
-the Rule 59 breaker I hate getting stuck next to or behind but who is strong and pips me from time to time (pisses me off to no end),
-the old nostalgic who's a decade older than the oldest dude in the group but is a true aesthete, Velominatus, and fun to lead out because he gets it and it makes him feel that old spark,
-the local hardman who truly is hard, a Velominatus, and does more than his part in organizing echelons and time at the front,
-the evolved ape-man who's just like the above guy but is Rule 33 compliant,
and various other sundry types. It's a good group and I'm honored to ride with them every Tuesday.
@Marko
Wonderful article. Many of the articles here at Velominati are geared (no pun intended) to how important it is to look "pro" at all times. Rob's comments are priceless for those who are relatively new on road bikes, and sometimes forget there is more to being "pro" than just looks.
thanks rob superb article, as the first race of the season looms on to the horizon it's easy to be distracted from the art.
All that we can do is put in the miles on the road, the place we are most comfortable and get a bit more comfortable
@mcsqueak
Amen. Too bad the folks I have up my way to group ride with mostly fall in the knuckle head category. They are also "old timers", my age but with a few more miles in their legs. Unfortunately, they focus more on riding side by side to gossip, and stringing out a line so motorists trying to pass get pissed off. Much safer to ride alone, or with my son where we are able to focus on holding a line and and devloping that smooth transition to taking a pull. Besides, the token "chick" on the group ride is a dog magnet. Have been riding a route for the last year and never known all of the dogs that live in the backyards until the 1st time I rode with her. An eye opener to say the least but a good opportunity to get in some sprint intervals. Still, I miss the opportunity to ride frequently in a grupetto so it is nice when I get on the meteric ride and find a compatible group for an hour or so. Merry Christmas everyone!
I'm always amazed at how hard it is to correct for speed in the paceline smoothly so that one isn't braking and drifting into the wind to slow back down. All those hours in the dark basement on the trainer working on threshold and muscular endurance and all that shit doesn't do anything to teach that art. A 4 hour ride losing a little by little from over-compensating adds up. I love me a sufferfest hour, but...
One thing I wish I had been taught early on, is that you don't have to blether when you are in a 2-up line - as a newbie, I assumed it was rude to rumble along and ignore the guy or girl beside you - in fact, I eventually discovered that riding in silence, and fully concentrating on maintaining your position accurately, is the essence of the sense of involvement
I've found with new folk, just like I did, they seem to feel that need to chat, which doesn't help their line - I wonder how one can help them relax and focus on the ride, as a road to inclusion? Not easy to do - some elders seem to feel barking instruction is the way to go - that nearly put me off
All part of the process I guess, bit like the first day at school, or a new job
@Marko
That is a beautiful image, OK, a funny image beautifully rendered.
Many a funny moment spent on club rides with George, the LBS owner, ex-racer, who actually raced against Rob. He was always drilling us in the double paceline, how to meld back into a single paceline when traffic was coming up. When someone didn't do it right he would pull us all over and curse at us, again and again. He was highly frustrated and I was highly amused. Oh I miss that.
I hate to inflate the egos of @Marcus and @kiwicyclist, but Melbourne has an incredible cycling community with tons of people who know how to operate a paceline (single or double) and keep a steady speed as a group.
On almost any morning of the week, you can join a ride that operates with almost military precision.
In contrast, Spring in Seattle is full of clueless teams who occupy the full width of two-way bridges and are generally oblivious to the other riders coming at or past them.
@GottaRideToday
Yeah, and that's not to say I wasn't one of those stupid riders myself - we all start at some point, and I'm certainly still very young in my "cycling life". But eventually after a summer and fall of group rides, I started getting annoyed with people who couldn't (or wouldn't) signal or point things out, who couldn't keep up with the a relatively normal pace (16-18 mph average) on flat ground, things like that. And as I would get to know people and actually trust them and feel comfortable riding with them, new people would join, they'd leave or whatever - and then I'd be riding with a whole new set of folks who I have no idea if they can handle their bike around me or not.
What I did like was the old guys who would lead the groups, and one dude in particular who I'd try to ride with. Always fast as fuck for being 60+ years old, and always ready to yell if someone was being an ass or give a complement if they were riding well.
I think group riding is certainly important aspect to growth as a cyclist, but finding the *right* group can be a challenge.
ALL - THANK YOU. I was very nervous about this post, as a newbie to the written word on cycling, you have all been very gentle and kind!
I am not able to give proper replies now to your thoughts and comments but will do so in the next day. I look forward to it and again, thank you.
Every one have the most peaceful and joyous Christmas with a new bicycle as a pressie and to those of us who get the 8 days of Chanukah I hope every day has cycling gear/kit!