REPRIMANDED on a group ride. Etiquette question.

[browsielove]

It's February in Upper Midwest - Temps in the low 40s, but somehow a goup of about 12 show up for a Sat AM ride. I know most of them and recognize this to be a pretty spirited and fit group of guys. .
Roll-out is just as any group ride goes. Guys haven't seen each other in a while - a lot of how-ya-beens. We get to rolling hills and the tempo picks up a bit and a couple of guys are pushing a bit at the front while a couple others are struggling on the back. Re-grouping is easy in the Midwest, as the hills are short and the flats are long. Anyway, we get to a road that has a lot of fun rollers and myself and one other guy are having a bit of fun off the front and attacking some hills. We get to the stop-sign at the end of the road and he stops and waits, I keep rolling - VERY soft-pedal - about 11-12mph and wait for the group.
They get back and I get reprimanded for "blowing up" the group and showing poor etiquette - especially for February.
I am not young (42yr), nor am I a group ride rookie, but I like to have fun when the opportunity presents itself.
My question is: does this type of behavior show poor cycling etiquette?

[SlowMover]

I think I would have laughed and said something along the lines of 'lighten up Francis'.

Perhaps he doesn't have his fitness in check and has a wee bit of an ego problem not being able to hang? You didn't ride off for 45 minutes or something and he got lost b/c it was a new route or something right? That guy would last about 2 nano-seconds with our crowd and be a very, very lonely guy. Not b/c of his riding ability, but his attitude. You are not getting paid to do this nor is the fate of the free world hanging on it. Have fun, be safe.

[terry b]

Is it possible to find a group ride that doesn't have at least one of those guys?

[King Arthur]

The group I ride with would tell these wee laddies Harden up.

[MerlinAma]

Wow. When I saw the thread I thought someone did something unsafe.

There's are answers for guys blowing up the ride.

Like don't chase, or take a different road and tell them later they didn't know the route.

[qatarbhoy]

I like to have fun when the opportunity presents itself

Exactly, that's what recreational cycling is for. It's not as if you simply disappeared. Maybe next time stop at the sign with the other guy to show you're not out to 'blow up' the group.

[Peter P.]

Oh; so you didn't know the complainer was in charge of dictating the pace? You owe him an apology!
;-)

This stuff is a crapshoot. Unfortunately, unless there's a pow-wow before the ride and a consensus on the pace, then it's pretty much a free-for-all unless someone owns the rights to the group's plan.

Anyone who's secure in their manhood will let you go on your romp. No one was ordered to follow.

To be fair, you should ask others from last week's ride, those other than the complainer, whether they felt your actions offended them. If the collective opinion is they expected a GROUP ride and knowing how actions like yours can escalate the mellowest of jaunts into a brawl, then 1) you did the smart thing by asking around. For that you will be the wiser rider and deserving of consideration and respect, and 2) you'll play better in groups. Sip some estrogen before your next group ride or when you want "to have fun" as you put it, train alone. You don't need a group ride to test yourself.

[CleavesF]

Drop ride or no drop.

Even with no drop rides regrouping like you did is completely allowed. Sometimes you want to do some intervals and attacking is fun. Unless this was a rule preride, that guy has no right to complain.

Maybe you should have waited with the other guy at the stop sign, but still, what you did wasn't a big deal either.

[tv264@aol.com]

No worries, you did right. You had fun and soft peddled to wait for the pack. Sounds like someone is just having a bad day.

[Lotophage]

And this is why I don't ride with groups...

[cycocross]

I've tried two group rides and it was non-stop yak yak yak both times. The last time, I just left them behind to annoy traffic and discuss how much they hate their kids.

[Wheelspeed]

I'm unclear whether you were the ride leader.

If you weren't, then the situation is laughable. If someone wants to ride faster than the group, then they can ride all the way to Canada if they want.

If you were the ride leader, then maybe I could see a new person getting nervous. I've recently moved to a new area, and joined some group rides to meet people and learn other roads. I don't have a GPS, so I do feel a bit nervous riding with a new group knowing that I have to keep up or may get really lost. However, the way I handle that is to constantly gauge myself, planning to speak up, LOUDLY, if I can't hang and need to ask directions for the shortest way back to my car.

I guess if you're the ride leader and you see some new faces, maybe just say that you may jump ahead on some fun sections, but will regroup before any confusing intersections. That should keep any reasonable person from freaking out.

[BethLikesBikes]

Wait, this doesn't happen on every group ride?? Whenever people go off the front, I don't get pissed. I just sit back and enjoy watching them burn a few matches while I recover. Nothing wrong with what you're doing IMO, as long as you're not rubbing it in other people's faces or riding irresponsibly.

[Elpimpo]

Originally Posted by Lotophage

And this is why I don't ride with groups...

X2

Bring him a cookie and tell him to grow up.
THEN, don't ride with him again.

[pulser955]

What kind of a ride was it? I stopped doing the winter "Base Mile" rides here for this reason. Every time I would go out on one they would be all nice and keep the ride at 16 or 17 till we were well out in the middle of nowhere then BAM they would kick every one in the teeth and take off. If it was not stated before then your OK. But I think its bad etiquette to attack or drive the speed up when the ride is a winter training base mile ride.

[superflylondon]

Originally Posted by Wheelspeed

I'm unclear whether you were the ride leader.

If you weren't, then the situation is laughable. If someone wants to ride faster than the group, then they can ride all the way to Canada if they want.

If you were the ride leader, then maybe I could see a new person getting nervous. I've recently moved to a new area, and joined some group rides to meet people and learn other roads. I don't have a GPS, so I do feel a bit nervous riding with a new group knowing that I have to keep up or may get really lost. However, the way I handle that is to constantly gauge myself, planning to speak up, LOUDLY, if I can't hang and need to ask directions for the shortest way back to my car.

I guess if you're the ride leader and you see some new faces, maybe just say that you may jump ahead on some fun sections, but will regroup before any confusing intersections. That should keep any reasonable person from freaking out.

I can speak for all of canuckistan when I say welcome! Oh and bring warm clothes.

I see nothing wrong with what you did if it was just a couple of guys who jumped away leaving the main pack for mile on a straight road. Someone was power tripping! I would seek that guy out on every hill and make small talk why he huffs and puffs...everyone hates that! I know I do when a couple of our local top-Enders show up and chat while I'm the one suffering.

In all serious I'd chat with the guy to see what his real issue was I hate tension.

[Hughsdad]

It sounds like a really fun ride, which you were enjoying to its best. Was it more than one person giving you a hard time? If so, then I guess you might have to bow to group consensus. But that would be too bad because a good spirited ride on great roads like you describe makes for a perfect Saturday morning. If the majority really wants a more sedate all-together group pace, then it really is up to the ride leader to make this clear. It doesn't sound like this was the case - you were not the only one off the front after all - and someone was just being a bit of a dork.

[Creakyknees]

lolz... there was a guy like that this weekend... first he calls a pre-ride lecture, then he tells everyone where to ride in the group, then calls a pee break, then a mechanical.... which his own clubmates ignored him and kept on riding.... I was a guest on the ride, and I was "hey, should we wait?" (they look back briefly) ... "naaaaah he'll be dropped soon anyway."

It was hilarious.

[carbonconvert]

Just because riders decide/can't hang and fall off the back on a climb or a strong pull
doesn't mean you can't be inspired to flex a little. Its a riding a bike..get over your testosterone and keep up the next time. Unsafe moves,bad bike handling and not obeying the road rules are the only things a group ride should be concerned about.

[gordy748]

This happened to me on a ride in the UK once. A cold, wet (WET) Sunday ride, and we get to a hill. I just cycled up at a speed I was comfortable with, stopped at the top, then got told off by the group leader that I had taken off too fast.

I don't see the need to go slow when it's cold and raining. Neither should you. You'd end up freezing and seizing up, right?

[dclnmurray]

I ride with a really good group that is friendly and not really a club scene. I would have said meh, meet me at the coffee shop.
In our group many riders ride off the front, doesn't faze anyone in the slightest.

Dave

[scottzj]

I get this a lot when riding multi-level team training rides. We have everything from Cat2-5 in the rides. I get up with a fellow Cat 3 team mate and we end up busting some knarly hills, only to slow down to hear the group yelling out our names haha. Funny thing is, when they yell scott...we both point at each other, since we are both named scott haha. But understand during out rides, its more a training session to get used to riding right next to other rides bumping elbows and doing a smooth clean paceline.

[Touch0Gray]

Originally Posted by browsielove

We get to the stop-sign at the end of the road and he stops and waits, I keep rolling -

I read this as you not stopping for the stop sign, was that the case?

[ZoSoSwiM]

I do a weekly no drop ride most of the summer.. Its common to drop people in sections when we pick up he pace but we always bring them back. Hell sometimes we send out helpers to bring them back. This lets the newbs ride without fear of being lost.. lets them push their limits but also allows us to stretch our legs. Best of both worlds. However you will always get someone complaining..

[Jay Strongbow]

Each group has their own etiquette. I've never ridden in one where going off the front is considered a breach of it though. Although most of the groups I ride with consider bad form to do that right out of the gate when everyone is settling in. Generally it's saved for the second half of the ride although no one would get reprimanded for doing it sooner. THat strikes me as childish. It's easy enough to just let them go if that's not what the majority is up for. I do wonder why some people bother joining group rides if they spend the majority not actually riding in that group but it's not like it really matters.