GROUP RIDING by Tom Kellog
All of us can be better riders. As we learn and improve as riders, we become safer and can
enjoy our riding more and more. As long as I have been riding and racing (32 years) I still
need to be reminded by my betters when I do something stupid and/or dangerous on a bike.
Earlier this season at the Liberty High School Criterium, a rider I respect a great deal told me
that I was riding erratically. My first reaction was to make excuses and become defensive, but
after the race was over I started to think about what he had said to me. And of course, he was
right. I had gotten so used to my ability to make extremely quick maneuvers and to shoot
through tight holes in the pack, that I did it just because I could, not because I needed to.
Although I am a very good bike handler, and I enjoy out cornering and outmaneuvering other
folks, I had become enamoured with that ability and had forgotten that those around me were
annoyed and sometimes endangered when I pulled those stunts. That was the end of that.
While I still use those skills, I use them only when I NEED to, not for the fun of it. Thank you
Chuck.
Most of the dangerous riding done in groups is a result of ignorance or a simple lack of skill,
not a result of a rider being a jerk (except in my case). For the purposes of this article, I want
to discuss aspects of group riding that many folks have simply not had the opportunity to
experience or learn. It is not my intention to be a coach (someone who can improve your
skills) and in any case, if you are one of those jerks, I can't help you anyway.
In the Lehigh Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania, we have been blessed with a consistently high
calibre of riders for the last thirty plus years because of our proximity of the Velodrome. Back
in the day ('75-'76) the mentors were Jack Simes, Dave Chauner and Phil Petrick. Now the list
is much longer, ranging from the old men (Marty Nothstein, Paul Pearson and Jack Simes) to
the young Pros like Kyle Wamsley (Navigators) and Alejandro Borrajo (Rite-Aid). It may seem
odd, but a training ride with these folks is often easier than rides without them. How is it
possible with so many world and national champions in the area, that the big boys make rides
easier?
The obvious reason is that these folks usually DON'T ride very hard. They do most of their
miles at a steady, but fairly slow pace. Most of the time they spend on the bike, they spend
just trying to get more time on the bike, not working on their power or speed. Riding with
these guys when they are working on power or speed is really no fun at all.
The more subtle reason that riding with the pros is easier is that they keep things steadier,
tighter and they simply don't abide riders riding erratically. A few years back, I was on a
winter training ride. Kyle Wamsley (Navigators) and Josh Taylor (Rite-Aid) were on the front
riding at a steady pace. As we started a climb, a young rider made an "attack." Kyle signaled
to Josh to keep the same steady pace, rode up to the young rider and had him back into the
group in short order. It was made clear to that rider that there were times to go hard and
times for steady riding. Tearing a ride apart does not accomplish anything beyond tearing the
ride apart. Those who know Kyle know that he has a way of helping riders without being
harsh. He let the young rider know that while his attack was something he was clearly capable
of, at that time of year and early in the ride, he would be better off just spending "time in the
saddle." Lesson learned.
So, what are some of those lessons that can make each of us better, safer and more capable
group riders?
1. In a general sense, the most important thing to keep in mind on a group ride is that you
are on a GROUP ride. Anything you do as an individual that will make it more difficult or
unpleasant for the group to stay together is counterproductive. If you arrive at the start of a
group ride with the intention of getting in some hill intervals or sprint training, wave goodbye
to the others and meet them at the coffee shop later.
2. If a few of the riders in the group are getting dropped on the hills even though the pace is
not hard, it is to everyone's benefit to wait at the top of the hills. Those who are struggling will
get much more out of the ride since they will keep trying harder instead of noodling home in a
funk. The stronger riders will not only get a rest day, but they will get more time in the saddle
(and a better tan) and they will have gained more respect from others as well.
3. Towards the end of many group rides, things can get frisky. As long as everyone on the ride
knows their way back home and none of the struggling riders are beginning to bonk, this is
the time when the stronger riders can get a bit of speed work in. On the other hand, if a rider
is truly struggling, it is up to the strongest riders to stay with him, offer him some gel and
something to drink. Experienced riders will recognize bonk before the bonking rider has a clue
what is going on. It is the responsibility of the best riders to make sure that the weakest make
it home.
4. Half wheeling - one of the most annoying, rude and disruptive things that can happen on a
ride. Half-wheeling occurs when one of the two riders at the front of a double echelon seems
to always be a "half wheel" ahead of his partner. Most chronic half wheelers are not aware of
what they are doing. Half wheeling comes from an unconscious urge to be in front
(testosterone?). The result is that the slower partner is constantly trying to catch up, which
results in further half wheeling surges and increasing speeds. The slower partner is eventually
riding at an uncomfortable or above LT rate where he will blow. Great for the group! Riding
steady in a double echelon does take practice and experience. The easiest way to think of
doing it properly is that the pace is set by the SLOWER of the two riders at the front. It is up
to the stronger rider to slow down, not the slower rider to speed up. There are times for the
strong riders to show their stuff against other riders. It is called racing.
5. Standing surge - can be quite dangerous, especially in larger groups. Few inexperienced
riders are aware of standing surge. It occurs any time someone stands up unless they are
aware of it and correct for it. As a rider stands up to climb, accelerate or just to stretch their
legs, their bike will actually move back relative to their body mass. In a tight pack, this results
in the rider's bike suddenly moving back towards the rider behind them by 6 to 12 inches. The
taller the rider, the larger will be the surge. The most dangerous and likely time for this to
happen is at the beginning of a short, steep kicker. Not only is the front rider throwing his bike
back into the rider behind, but the rider behind is most likely running up on the front rider
because of the start of the hill. Wheels overlap and move laterally with the climbing motion
and the recipe for a crash seems to come out of nowhere. When you think of it, it is quite
predictable but most riders aren't aware of what happened even after they get back up, put
their chain back on and dig the gravel out of their elbow. All riders are responsible for these
accidents. The front rider should have increased pedal pressure as he began to stand up, thus
preventing his bike from moving back and the rear rider should have been looking for the
standing surge and reduced pace on the hill as they guy in front of him stood up. HEADS UP,
Y'ALL!
6. Echelon - or rotating pace line. A rotating pace line is not only a thing of beauty, it is a
remarkably efficient way of getting a group of cyclists down the road faster and with less effort
than they could as individuals. We all know that drafting is anywhere from a few percent to
almost 70 percent easier than taking a pull depending on the circumstances. The amount of
drafting advantage is determined by:
- Wind direction and speed. A strong tail wind makes for less drafting advantage while a
strong head wind gives a larger advantage to a drafter.
- The degree of incline. Downhills offer much more drafting advantage to the point where a
drafting rider may need to brake while the lead rider is pedaling hard. Climbs, especially steep
ones can almost eliminate the advantage of drafting.
- Speed. Similar to wind speed and incline, the faster the pace line's speed, the bigger the
drafting advantage.
7. So, how do we take advantage of these characteristics of wind resistance and drafting?
Riding a pace line efficiently, safely and comfortably takes a lot of practice. It is not natural.
Ideally, you will learn the tricks from riding with more experienced riders in a relaxed (read
moderate pace) setting. Getting good at it takes a few years. Don't expect to "get it" on your
third try. What should you be looking to master?
8. Feel the pocket - In any drafting situation, there is a space somewhere very close to the
rider in front of you where the air is the least difficult to get through. In conditions with a dead
head or tail wind, that space is directly behind the rider you are drafting. In cross winds that
space can be just slightly to the right or left of that rider or in extreme cross winds it can be
up on his hip. In any case, you will need to learn how to feel for that space … and feel is the
word. The easiest ways to feel for the pocket is with your legs and with your shoulders. Your
legs tell you how much pressure you are putting on the pedals in order to keep up. If you feel
less pressure in your legs and feet as you shift right or left, you are feeling the pocket. You
can also use your shoulders to actually feel the wind pressure on them. If there is more
pressure on your right shoulder than your left, then you need to move to the left a bit. Using
your shoulders is a very accurate way to find the pocket quickly, especially as the pocket shifts
rapidly with changes in the wind or pace line direction. The problem is that feeling with your
shoulders takes a lot more practice. The wind pressure differential is usually quite subtle. The
faster the pace, the easier it is to feel.
9. Pace line patterns - A pace line is composed of a group of riders who travel down the road
together in a regular and consistent rotating fashion. The one or two riders at the front of the
pace line are doing the lion's share of the work for the moment that they are up there while
the other riders are recovering in their draft. The reason that a good pace line works so well is
that at no time does any single rider work hard enough to allow himself to blow before he has
had a chance to recover. A good pace line will be a group of riders who are doing a consistent
set of intervals, making harder efforts at the moment that they are on the front, followed by a
recovery period before they reach the front again. Under most circumstances, pace lines work
best when all riders are doing the same amount of work, keeping the speed steady and the
pulls even. Clockwise or counter clockwise … it depends on the wind direction.
Traditionally, the default rotation is counter-clockwise, up on the right, back on the left.
However, when the wind is from the right, rotation is clockwise. This gives the riders who are
approaching the front a better draft. Because they will be better recovered, when they reach
the front, the pace line can go at a higher pace. Wind from the left, rotate counter-clockwise.
If the wind is from the left and you want your pace line to stay together and work well, make
sure that the front of the Echelon is NOT on the right side of the road. I know, I know, we do
need to ride to the right as best as we can. However, where there is little or no traffic and
there is a good shoulder, the front of the echelon can slip out to the left when it is safe. This
shift will make it MUCH easier for the riders going back on relief to catch their breath before
moving back up the line. As most of you know, when the wind is from the right, the tail end of
a pace line will drift out to the center of the road. When the wind is from the left, it is just that
the other end of the pace line is out towards the middle of the road. A left shift works
beautifully with a double pace line as well. If your group is not rotating, just riding two
abreast, and the wind is from the left, the front two riders should move out to the left as far
as it is safe to give the other riders a chance to get a draft without riding in the gutter.
10. "Sweepers" - One of the keys to a smooth pace line is that only those who can keep a
steady pace should go through the rotation. OK, this is a bit technical, so try to follow me on
this. In a group, the guys doing the work at the front in a rotating echelon are said to be
"rotating through." If you are strong enough to lend a hand, slip into the rotation at the back
as one side of the echelon begins to move forward. If you are not capable of pulling through
smoothly, or by pulling through you will be blowing yourself up, stay BEHIND the rotation in
its draft but out of the way. Pretending you can pull through will do you no good when you
blow and cause the echelon to fall apart. In any large group, there is someone who ends up
just behind the point where the echelon reverses and starts forward again. They are called the
sweeper. If you find that you are just behind the echelon but you can't pull through, you still
have an important job to do as a sweeper:
- First, you should only sit on the wheel of the rider coming back. Once that rider moves over
to start back up the line, move over again to get onto the wheel of the next rider coming back.
If you stay in line with the riders coming back down the echelon, they will know what to do
when they reach you since they will see the one bike gap that they need to slip into. If you
stay behind the line which is moving back up towards the front, the riders coming back will not
have room to cross over and the smooth rotation will be broken;
- Second, if you see (or feel) a rider behind you who wants to get into the rotation, stay in
line with the riders coming back so that the "new" rider can slip by and into the rotation.
- Third, if sweeping is too tough (and it can be) move out of the way so that someone
stronger can come forward and do the job. When the pace is hard, if you find yourself having
significant difficulty pulling through enough to get past the previous rider in order to pull over,
it is time to get behind the sweeper. Instead of simply letting up on the pedals, creating a gap
in front of you for someone else to fill, pull out of the line and FORWARD one bike length. This
will allow whoever is behind you to use your draft to fill your gap. Then slip back into the
shelter of the part of the group which is suffering like you are. If you can't pull through and
contribute, stay behind the rotation.
11. "Steady" and "Tempo" - Back in the day ('76-'79) when we had evening training sessions
at the Velodrome, we learned quickly what those two words meant. If you were at the front of
a pace line and you heard Jack Simes' uttering one of those words, it meant that you were not
keeping the same pace that the pace line had been moving at. "Steady" meant that you were
picking the pace up too quickly (keep it steady) and "Tempo" meant that you were slowing
down (pick up the tempo). Either one causes problems for the pace line. A steady pace helps
keep things together. It works the same way on the road. Surging or inconsistent pace will
shatter a pace line. The trick is NOT to keep the same speed, but to keep the same EFFORT.
Knowing what that effort is as the pace line rolls up and down hills and is subjected to changes
in wind direction and intensity is an acquired art, but there are a few tricks to learning how to
do it. The effort to keep a steady pace increases as you reach the front, but as long as the
grade and wind doesn't change, you just need to keep the same cadence once you are at the
front. Just before you get back to the front, note your cadence and try to keep it up during
your short time at the front. As you pull off, shift down one gear but keep the same cadence.
This will start you back in the line but keep your legs from loading up. If the wind direction or
grade changes, try to feel for the pressure on the soles of your feet and in your quads as you
try to gage the effort. You can use muscle feel as you would in finding the "pocket" as you try
to keep it steady.
12. Long pulls - don't be a hero unless there is a good reason. Even if you are the strongest
rider in the bunch, it is to everyone's benefit for you to rotate through at a steady pace. You
will get more practice and the others will get a much better workout. The other reason for you
to keep rotating through is that the rider who pulls just before you do will not get your draft as
he rotates back if you stay at the front too long. He will be left out in the wind until he reaches
the back of the rotation. When that happens to me, I get pretty ticked. Don't be a hero, there
are folks who will just resent the pain that it can cause.
13. Rotation rate - The faster the pace, the quicker the rotation. At race speed, your time at
the front is usually just as long as it takes to move beyond the previous rider and move over
into the rearward moving line. During steady easy group rides, your time at the front may
somewhat longer as the rotation will be more casual. When the pace is relaxed, a turn at the
front may even take a number of minutes for the front two riders.
14. Point out obstacles!! - Potholes, rocks, gravel, debris, turtles, whatever. The rider(s) at the
front are responsible for alerting those behind them of anything dangerous ahead. If the
object is immobile (pothole, etc) then a simple finger point towards the ground on the side
that the object will pass will do. If the hole or turtle could cause real damage, something more
vocal in addition to the finger point may be called for. "Hole, Gravel, Horse Shit! etc"
15. Overtaking other riders, runners, strollers, runners with strollers … The riders behind you
may not be aware that the group is overtaking someone. The best ways to let those behind
you know is to either call out "Runner!" (etc.) or slap yourself on your right butt to get the
attention of those behind you and then point out the runner. A bit of history; the butt slap was
and still is used sometimes in Madison racing to alert those behind you that you are about to
ride into an exchange and will shortly be slowing down from 50kph to about 10kph in about 10
meters. Wake up!
16. Leave room for emergencies - When you are in a pace line, your options for avoiding
obstacles or other riders can be severely limited. For example, if you are on the right side of
the echelon next to an eight inch curb and a pot hole appears right in front of you, you are
pretty much screwed. You may have time to jump the curb if you have the skills, and there
are no ladies with walkers on the sidewalk, but it is unlikely that you will have the time. To a
degree, you need to trust the lead riders (see above), that they will not only alert you of the
pot hole, but that they will swing wide enough to allow you room to miss it. You should be
ready with your own contingency plans though. In the situation noted above, you might leave
enough room between your bike and the curb to allow you to avoid all but the widest pot
holes. This may force the pace line away from the side of the road by another foot or so, but it
will give everyone more room to avoid whatever is near the curb. You always need to do your
best to keep an eye far enough down the road as well. You shouldn't be looking at the rider
right in front of you anyway. Likewise, you need to be aware that while you may not be in
danger of hitting that dead skunk ahead, the rider next to you may be headed right for it and
you need to give him room to avoid it.
17. Don't look at the wheel in front of you - EVER! You don't need to. As you look ahead, down
the road, you will see the rider and wheel in front of you perfectly well without looking right at
them.
Looking at the wheel in front will only make you squirrelly. As you stare at that wheel right
there in front of you, you simply can't keep the same gap between your front wheel and their
rear wheel. It takes such a tiny change in pedal pressure by either him or you to change the
gap that it can't be done outside of track racing. If instead, you look up at least three or four
wheels up the line, your pace will be much more even as you flow, not with reactions to the
guy right in front of you, but with the pace line as a whole.
Also, you will have more difficulty holding the wheel. When the speed ramps up and your legs
start to load up, the last thing you want to do is stare at that wheel which seems to be getting
harder and harder to hold. Again, if you look up the road, holding the wheel gets easier. Your
pace will even out somewhat (see next paragraph) and yes, this one is a psychological trick as
well, but it works.
So, the advantages to this peripheral vision technique are:
- You will actually see where you are going.
- You won't have a tendency to over react to small changes in the momentum of the riders in
font of you.
- You will automatically counteract the accordion effect. As those around you stare at the
wheels in front of them, the accordion effect will begin to set in. As the front rider slows
slightly, there is a delayed reaction by each rider in the line which, because no one is looking
up, grows with each rider back. By the time that slight slowing reaches the fifth rider, folks are
using brakes and touching wheels. Not good. If you are the only one looking up, you will be
the one who anticipates the surges and slowing and you will be able to save a lot of energy by
not having to use your brakes. You will also receive the silent blessings from those behind you
who will have an easier time of it. Experienced riders will absorb the accordion, coasting
before the guy in front of him slows down and accelerating only as quickly as they need to, to
steadily close a gap.
18. Coaching during the ride:
- Some group rides are specifically coaching rides, but most aren't. On coaching rides, it is
best to have only one or two coaches. In many cases, coaches need to move up and down a
pace line helping riders during the ride and too many coaches can make things dangerous or
distracting for young or inexperienced riders.
- On group rides, you don't set out to coach, but if you are one of the experienced riders in
the group and you see someone doing something that you may be able to help them with,
give them a positive suggestion when it is safe to do so. If someone is making a real mistake,
something dangerous, or even if they could use a bit of gearing advice, don't hammer on them
for being an idiot. The positive approach ALWAYS works better. Explain how their action could
cause an accident or why riding into a head wind at 45 rpm isn't going to help them improve.
This is how the pros in our area do it. They coach gently and by example.
- Ask your elders and those more experienced. If you are having trouble riding in a group,
don't be afraid to ask for help. There is always someone who knows more than you do. By
asking, riders will be much more likely to offer help, to wait at the tops of hills and to give you
a hand when you get a flat. Who knows, they may even buy you a Latte at the end of the ride.
If they don't, offer them one - it works every time.
Heads up Ride Smart Don't be a jerk
Group rides and training criteriums are the best places to practice moving around the peloton. In order to stay near the front of a real race, you have to find and move through passing lanes rapidly and frequently. Credit: Getty Images/Marty Melville 
pacelines1.pdf
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