Abandonment and Safety Concerns of the Clubrun!!

[Lucyap]

Hi. As an ex-(motor!)biker we always used a back marker on club runs. A tail end Charlie, a reliable rider who doesn't rotate. This would ensure that if anyone was getting dropped or had a technical problem then there was always someone on hand to ensure they were okay. Just a thought, Lucy.

[Phil L]

Some odd claims being made in this topic. I would say there are two main ways to treat your ride on the CR, either as a workout, or as a sociable leisure ride. My first four or five years in the club was the former, where most of the time I would choose to be in a group that would push me to my limits, often risking being dropped, and on occaisions being dropped from groups averaging speeds way above the advertised speed - e.g. often the 19mph group which I frequented would end up averaging 22.5mph to Charlwood. The attitude was that anyone spoiling the pace of the workout got dropped and scooped up by the next group (that's why the fastest groups always go first). If you got a puncture - well sometimes the whole group stopped, but often you would be left on your own or helped by one or two kind individuals. What I did find was that as the groups got slower, the more care was taken to ensure people were not getting dropped, and also making sure the group stuck together even on the drags. The most important point is that the slowest group shouldn't allow anyone to be dropped, because there isn't a group behind and its will probably have newbies in it who are not familiar with the route to Charlwood (and the various variations).

Pete's alternative rides which have being going for the last couple of years, and more recently been given a higher profile at CSS, have to be more disciplined in terms of not loosing people. Some of the lanes we are taken through are in the middle of deepest Kent or Surrey, so to be dropped there is not going to just peeve the newbies off, but anyone. One of the simple methods Pete applies is counting how many are in the group and regularly keeping a count, particularly at junctions. The rides are usually more hilly and therefore there are more opportunities to regroup at the top of hills where the group tends to get dispersed. I don't think anyone has been dropped intentionally from this group. This is certainly more at the sociable leisurely end of the spectrum and more friendly than some of the workout type groups. It's pretty much all I do now.

[jon avery]

[quote="Phil L"]Some odd claims being made in this topic. I would say there are two main ways to treat your ride on the CR, either as a workout, or as a sociable leisure ride. My first four or five years in the club was the former, where most of the time I would choose to be in a group that would push me to my limits, often risking being dropped, and on occaisions being dropped from groups averaging speeds way above the advertised speed - e.g. often the 19mph group which I frequented would end up averaging 22.5mph to Charlwood. The attitude was that anyone spoiling the pace of the workout got dropped and scooped up by the next group (that's why the fastest groups always go first). If you got a puncture - well sometimes the whole group stopped, but often you would be left on your own or helped by one or two kind individuals. What I did find was that as the groups got slower, the more care was taken to ensure people were not getting dropped, and also making sure the group stuck together even on the drags. The most important point is that the slowest group shouldn't allow anyone to be dropped, because there isn't a group behind and its will probably have newbies in it who are not familiar with the route to Charlwood (and the various variations).

Pete's alternative rides which have being going for the last couple of years, and more recently been given a higher profile at CSS, have to be more disciplined in terms of not loosing people. Some of the lanes we are taken through are in the middle of deepest Kent or Surrey, so to be dropped there is not going to just peeve the newbies off, but anyone. One of the simple methods Pete applies is counting how many are in the group and regularly keeping a count, particularly at junctions. The rides are usually more hilly and therefore there are more opportunities to regroup at the top of hills where the group tends to get dispersed. I don't think anyone has been dropped intentionally from this group. This is certainly more at the sociable leisurely end of the spectrum and more friendly than some of the workout type groups. It's pretty much all I do now.