# Should I train with a group?



## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

I have not ridden a "road bike" in over 25 years and a few days ago I bought a very basic road bike from a friend (Giant defy). I live in PV and see quite a bit of cyclist around the area. I took the bike out for the 3rd time and started my ride at the top by Marymount College (I live near there). Took it down PV Dr East to Trump and up PV Drive South to Lunada Bay.....turned around and at Terranea (the new resort or old Marine land) got caught by a large group of riders (about 30)....These guys flew by me by so I pushed it and kept up with the tail end guys. I was surprised how fast these guys are...once we hit Trump I started to catch some of them and then passed about half of them on the way back up to Marymount on the climb....but realized that in that large group they were a different animal.

Can someone tell me the benefits of riding with a group as opposed to by myself? It's obvious that in a group they were faster. I'm obviously new to this....but just love cycling.

Thanks


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

If you are motivated and have a lot of discipline, there isn't too much benefit to riding with a club.

OTOH, if you're like most people, there are a number of direct as well as indirect benefits to riding with a club.

A fast group will ride fast even when you don't feel like it.
Clubs will start at a specific time and place. You're less likely to hit the snooze button and blow it off, particularly if you've told someone you'll be there.
Club lore teaches the quietest roads, locations of water and WCs, interesting terrain.
You will occasionally be exposed to deals on equipment.
Others in the club may be enlisted to share your goal of a century or race, will train with you and ride with you in those events.
Have fun.
JSR


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Adding to JSR's reply ...

Unless you are extraordinarily disciplined, often the best route to becoming a better rider (strength, speed, bike handling skills, safety), is to ride with others who are faster and/or more experienced. A good bike club is a great way to go. A lot has changed in the last 25 years.

Since you live in PV, two clubs in that area include :
www.sbwcycling.com 
www.peninsulacc.org 

Nearly all clubs schedule "moderate" pace rides on their calendar, and they're welcoming to new riders. Try a couple of these rides with a club(s) , and see how well you "click" with them.

Whilke there are a number of non-club group rides in your area (eg, the notorious "Donut Ride"), that's probably not a good way to get back into the sport ... unless you like getting beat-up by 25 yr old pros and 40 yr old recently-retired pros ...


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## ccroy2001 (May 20, 2002)

*I rode by myself for years, now w/club*

Hi,

Like the title says I rode alone for years, since like you I live in a nice area for riding (South O.C.) and can start good rides right from home. No need to drive to a park, drive home like I did when I 1st tried club rides. Riding on my own I could train for and complete a century ride.

About a year ago I got the urge to ride with people again and found a local club: Orange County Rebel Riders, that I now ride with pretty much every Saturday. I have an easy, pretty flat 10 miles to and from the park we start from so I don't have to drive, and riding with other people has made me a much faster rider. My average ride speed has gone from 13-15mph to 15-17mph. Doesn't seem like much, but 15mph over a few hours was a real wall for me.

I think you saw the main benefit on your ride: faster riders went by and you tried to keep up. 

In my experience if you ride alone exclusively you'll settle into a comfortable pace and not challenge yourself.

Most clubs have slow to fast groups. I started with the slowies and now can just hang with the intermediate group. Some times I do the fast group ride because I like the route better, but I get dropped pronto! . 

Clubs are of course, a great way to meet other riders and get plugged in as to shops, rides, used bike deals, etc. has others have mentioned.

At least try it and I'd say try a few, everybody does "club" differently. My club is basically a bunch of people heading to the same coffee stop. Other clubs have more formal dues, rules, and so on.

Chris
Laguna Hills, CA


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## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

tom_h said:


> Adding to JSR's reply ...
> 
> Unless you are extraordinarily disciplined, often the best route to becoming a better rider (strength, speed, bike handling skills, safety), is to ride with others who are faster and/or more experienced. A good bike club is a great way to go. A lot has changed in the last 25 years.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the links....the group that I talked about in my first post was the "Donut Ride"...I although I passed quite a few of them on the hills.....I was just in awe on how they rode together in a tight group....and had trouble keeping up on the flats.
I have been racing XC/endurance mountain biking since 2005 and always did all of my training on the trails. Most of the guys that race mountain bikes do 75% of their training on the road....but due to the fact I had access to trails I just kept buying mountain bikes (and SS) not a road bike. I must say that I understand the allure of road biking as it's a different animal and can understand the benefits it will give me on my MTB....I'm hooked


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## terrapin4 (Aug 2, 2009)

ptfmb71 said:


> Thanks for the links....the group that I talked about in my first post was the "Donut Ride"...I although I passed quite a few of them on the hills.....I was just in awe on how they rode together in a tight group....and had trouble keeping up on the flats.
> I have been racing XC/endurance mountain biking since 2005 and always did all of my training on the trails. Most of the guys that race mountain bikes do 75% of their training on the road....but due to the fact I had access to trails I just kept buying mountain bikes (and SS) not a road bike. I must say that I understand the allure of road biking as it's a different animal and can understand the benefits it will give me on my MTB....I'm hooked


as someone who just started road biking this year (long time MTBer), riding in a group is a blast, especially with guys who can hammer at 25+mph on the flats. if you're a strong rider, which it sounds like you are, you'll probably be pleased with how fast you start riding.


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

ptfmb71 said:


> I was just in awe on how they rode together in a tight group....and had trouble keeping up on the flats.


If you might take your racing to the road as well, then consider that including some pack riding in your schedule will of course improve your pack-riding skills (drafting, moving through the field, positioning for sprints, etc.). Also, in addition to, or to refine, the idea that "riding with stronger riders will make you stronger," remember that riding with others forces you to deal with their _relative_ strengths, or at least their perceptions of them. In some of the best group rides I do (where a number of us are trying to break each other, or a few of us may be trying to work together to break the whole group), everybody's playing to his own strength. So even if you know you can take the pack sprint for the town line, you've got to deal with the guys who know their best bet is to try to escape a few minutes before that line, too. Finally, depending on how much time you spend on the bike, sometimes it's just nice to have a social element to it.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

The Donut ride is pretty hardcore, from what I hear.

I would suggest riding with them again, from the start. Do it a few times and see if you like the experience.

And if you do that, I would also suggest doing some searches here on group etiquette. The more advanced the group, the less patience they'll have with poor group riders. In short, hold your line and, unless you're at the very back of the group, don't brake and don't coast. Get a feel for the group's speed and push accordingly when you're at the front, and make sure the length of your pulls is the same as everyone else's.


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## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

DrRoebuck said:


> The Donut ride is pretty hardcore, from what I hear.
> 
> I would suggest riding with them again, from the start. Do it a few times and see if you like the experience.
> 
> And if you do that, I would also suggest doing some searches here on group etiquette. The more advanced the group, the less patience they'll have with poor group riders. In short, hold your line and, unless you're at the very back of the group, don't brake and don't coast. Get a feel for the group's speed and push accordingly when you're at the front, and make sure the length of your pulls is the same as everyone else's.


Yes I have no skills whatsoever in "pack riding" I will ride in the back of the pack of any group I ride with until I develop more....and from the post it sounds like it helps quite a bit. XC is more about climbing and decent no pack riding and not a lot of flats. Stupid question but do the riders in the pack care if I am at the back? Does etiquette say I have to rotate to the front at some point?


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

ptfmb71 said:


> Stupid question but do the riders in the pack care if I am at the back? Does etiquette say I have to rotate to the front at some point?


Generally, in a sufficiently large pack, you should be ok just sitting at the back. There's always going to be stronger and weaker riders in a pack, and the work typically gets sorted out accordingly (of course, there's often some rough correlation between how much work a rider does and how well s/he's received). Depending on the ride and how well the rest of the group knows you, though, if you're going to sit in at the back for 99% of the time, you should consider that some people may not like it if you move to the front to contest sprints. That's one thing that's more tolerated in races than in training.


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