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getting dropped on club runs

Hello good people. Has any one experinced being dropped on club runs and how did the club cure the problem?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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26 comments

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Kapelmuur | 11 years ago
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People are competitive, I've never been in a cycling club but our Thursday evening 'long slow' distance run with the athletic club always turned into a race.

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Woodface | 11 years ago
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On a club run you should not be 'dropped', our Sunday runs are pretty steady but we have faster groups going out on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. A reasonable level of fitness should be expected though, ask yourself whether you can do around 40-50 miles at 15mph, if the answer is yes then you should be able to keep up with a decent club run. There are clubs that resemble cliques and these should avoided.

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mattsccm | 11 years ago
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If you are regularly dropped then it suggests that you are in the wrong group and as a courtesy to the rest you should go elsewhere.
A newcomer should be made aware of the group speed and maybe a one off allowance made but if they are way out, eg a fat novice on a BSO trying to run with a bunch of first cats, then it should be politely mentioned that they are in the wrong place.

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joeegg | 11 years ago
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I joined a club for the first time about 12 months ago.
Lasted about 6 months as i was tired of being dropped.Not just on hills, but on the flat it was like a race with everyone being strung out.
It wasn't just me being dropped and less guys turned up every week so i packed it in.
A lot of the riders from the club were in a 100 mile event,me as well,but rode it in small groups not waiting for any other members.It wasn't a race and nobody was going to break any records.Ended up doing 90 odd mile on my own and near to the end was passed by a small group from the club.Didn't even give me a glance.Too clicky for me.

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Let's not forget rule #43 either, BB.

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Bobbys boys replied to Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Bedfordshire Clanger wrote:

Let's not forget rule #43 either, BB.

What's "facial hair" got to do with it?  3

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Bedfordshire Clanger replied to Bobbys boys | 11 years ago
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Bobbys boys wrote:
Bedfordshire Clanger wrote:

Let's not forget rule #43 either, BB.

What's "facial hair" got to do with it?  3

Ah, rule 50.
You may be on to something there. Shave the legs but not the face. Aero plus virile, bound to make you faster.

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nappe | 11 years ago
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While it is bad form to drop riders and every effort should be made to keep slower riders in the group, there comes a point when a rider simply has to face the fact that they are not fast enough for that particular group. We've had 2 occasions in the past 6 months when it was clear that a newbie would not keep up at all and they have had to be told and it was "suggested" that they turn back.

It's not being inconsiderate for people to be expected to have a level of fitness that can enable them to keep up with the other riders in that group.

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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@pdows47 - that's pretty much what we do

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Simon E | 11 years ago
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I think it's pretty poor form to drop people and not wait for them. I've known it happen in a number of groups and I think it's very inconsiderate. Isn't the idea that you ride as a group, not clear off to prove how 'hard' you are? It's like going on a pub crawl with a bunch of mates then changing pubs while one guy nipped to the loo then castigating him for needing a pee.

Rule 5? Oh, very droll. You're obviously the brains of the outfit (not)  37

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Bobbys boys replied to Simon E | 11 years ago
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Simon E wrote:

Rule 5? Oh, very droll. You're obviously the brains of the outfit (not)  37

And you are obviously a humourless %$^£.

I'm just off to polish my doctorate.  26

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pdows47 | 11 years ago
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My club do a quick ride, which i struggle to keep up with, but grit my teeth and manage, even if im then useless for the rest of the day. Only hills cause a split, but then we wait at the top and regroup before moving on. if someone gets dropped on a bad day, one of us drops back and drafts them back to the group

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kohakumark | 11 years ago
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My group tend to stay together most of the time but inevitably split on climbs with the varying climbing ability of different members, even the best climbers have bad days!  20
But we always regroup at a suitable place.  39

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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How are your group riding skills? Are you holding a wheel or sitting a way off the back of the rider in front? If you aren't right on the wheel of the rider in front you may be making things unnecessarily difficult. It's a lot easier if you are being towed along.

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Adey | 11 years ago
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tricky one.............the club i ride with usually when everyone knows their way home the 'faster' guys will tend to pull away and leave us 'slower' ones behind - i can also appreciate that on clubruns no one should be dropped or left behind

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SideBurn | 11 years ago
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I would like to add 'The Rules' are a bit of fun. But also they are worth reading and trying to stick to them! As a person who 'moonlights' with a bit of triathlon and ultra marathon thrown in I am pretty f****d to start with but would claim that Rule 5 is applicable! If the club runs are too fast and there is no slower group you could be in the wrong club. If they are just a bit quicker you may improve to their level fairly quickly. But if they do not seem like a sociable lot I would not bother...

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colhum1 replied to SideBurn | 11 years ago
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 16 rule# 42......

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colhum1 | 11 years ago
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and rule #10 and rule # 90 come to think of it  39

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Bobbys boys | 11 years ago
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Rule 5  19

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Gary rb replied to Bobbys boys | 11 years ago
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 7 I've got to ask 'Bobbys boys', what is Rule 5 ?
.....and are there Rules before and after? and do some rules become redundent and therefore dropped  1

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colhum1 replied to Gary rb | 11 years ago
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Gary rb wrote:

 7 I've got to ask 'Bobbys boys', what is Rule 5 ?
.....and are there Rules before and after? and do some rules become redundent and therefore dropped  1

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

Keep to rule # 71 // train properly

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cidermart | 11 years ago
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There is a group out your way, Thames Gateway CC I think it is who meet at Bulphan church I believe, I’ve seen on my travels that have some groups that seem to ride at a more sedate pace so I imagine that they have split as hinted at above. I think they meet on a Sunday morning, don’t quote me on that, as a bloke I used to work with used to tag along with them on their ride outs.

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Gary rb | 11 years ago
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thank you people for your quick responses. A bit of what you all say has at sometime or other been happening at our club. I just wanted to get it clear in my mind that our club was not the only one 'guilty'? of dropping members on club rides. As some one suggested there could be fast, medium and slow rides arranged.I shall be shareing some of the comments with our riders. Again thank you for your time and comments.

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pepita1 | 11 years ago
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I get dropped all the time. Just can't go as fast or push a harder gear. However, I can go for a good while. My club mates are kind and do wait for me. I usually get to them within a few minutes. I do feel guilty for keeping them waiting and as a result, I don't ride with them as often. I am currently working on gaining muscular strength as well as increasing my aerobic efficiency. The latter entails riding within a prescribed heart rate zone which means that I ride solo since riding with my club pushes me beyond my required training zone.

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Parlee-king | 11 years ago
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our club runs over the last 30+ years have been 'kept' pretty steady 15 to 16mph average ... if we had people that couldn't handle pace. Its suggested they start with an easy run which we put on at least once a month and more often in the summer.

interestingly the winter months Jan to March are often the hardest as those that race are err not racing, but training to race.

As we stop at a cafe after 2 hours, those wanting a faster ride can ignore the stop and also do the second 2 hours a bit quicker.

Plus we have a HARD Sat ride

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Gkam84 | 11 years ago
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Couple of questions

What kind of distance is your club doing for you to get dropped?

How many riders go out?

Do others get dropped at all?

The reason I ask these questions, alot of clubs all start out together on a run and then at a certain distance split into 2 or 3 groups. Those being Fast, Medium and Slower.

So if there are others being dropped, it would suggest that there needs to be a second group at a different pace.

If there are all only a handful of riders and you are being left behind. You need to decide, are you going to increase your fitness and pace to keep up or just stop doing these rides and find a group you are comfortable with.

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