Riding a trainer doesn’t make you a cyclist.
But social ride or not, there was usually a lot of carnage, but since I seemed to have wanted the abuse I should just stay quiet. Got it… Odd that I rode with a bunch or real racers and they were far more helpful and even than the group I was usually riding with and ending up having to use my phone to get back to the car because I was dropped in the middle of nowhere without a clue where I was. And if I didn’t pull I caught crap for sandbagging. And riding into the wind can be like an eternal death spiral, but I guess people shouldn’t ride in groups until they can nearly literally climb walls on their bikes because otherwise they are 'holding up the group.
So the popular opinion is group rides are for punishment because they can’t get enough punishment themselves during the week and so dropping and dumping on newcomers proves their expertise. Hah!!
Yeah, I’m being a little heated for a reason. The group rode ONE DAY A WEEK as a group, and the other 6 days they punished themselves in smaller groups and alone. So maybe either tell people to not try to join the group, or not try to deliberately kill newcomers, or just not be a ‘dick’ on the bike?
Why are MAMIL so predatory and so many are out to kill others. It sure does wonders for the sport. People avoid riding in groups for fear of being humiliated. And the slower groups end up being someone’s ego trip?
Unpopular cycling opinion: Riders should stop trying to make cycling such a buzzkill shitfest?
(I did try running group rides and out of all them, only had 3 where anyone showed up. The reason was they ‘didn’t want to be dropped’. The underlying message was they shouldn’t ride unless they were ‘FAST’. That’s a shame…)
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Nearly all of that boils down to (lack of) communication. Group leaders do best when they make ride objectives and expectations clear to everyone (new and old members alike). And new members would be wise to ask questions before rolling out, if the first part from the leader has not happened.
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Following on that is people actually doing what they claim they want to do. Whatever plan is set should be followed. Any deviation should be stated for all to hear and understand (and with good reason behind it like weather, mechanical or other unforeseen issues… not the lack of ability to follow said plan). Too often a casual no-drop ride turns into a race because 1 or more riders decide to not follow #1. For those deviations, the offenders should be called out or deliberately excluded while the original intent is maintained.
Say what you mean, mean what you say… simplez.
I mean… I get dropped from the Shoot Out about 10 minutes in every time I go out there and I still have a blast, so… ¯_(ツ)_/¯
People who create “carnage” on a social ride, otoh, get told off. Don’t ride with assholes.
Yeah, ‘social ride’ turning into a mass casualty event is not good.
I was just kinda venting as some of the guys in that group were asking if I’d be riding again, or am ‘stuck inside’. I keep saying that the best part of riding indoors is if I get dropped, I always know where I am. There were times I really ‘disliked’ being dropped in the boonies…
Actually a couple of their rides, they did announce they were going ‘full bore’ and one or two guys stayed behind, so that was great, but it’s not as if they weren’t already going pretty full bore as it was. On the flip side, I did like getting pushed. I did like having to work on the rides, which is why I kept going for so long, but it just seemed like the more I could handle, the more they dumped on me (ME saying this). Then some of them, when they did show up, seemed to really enjoy dropping people, and often seemed to wait until they were some distance from the start and then just literally leave us in the dust. One ride, one guy furiously tried to catch up with them, but they were pacing so much faster than he was that it looked painful… But I stopped going so they could do whatever they wanted, and then some of the ruthless pricks started showing up at the other group and bombing their rides. The hard part was to see people that set up the more ‘social’ rides abandon their own rides.
Maybe an unpopular opinion that I’m sure is rather popular is that riding indoors is way better than outdoors. 
Workouts are only so complicated because it makes people think you have a secret sauce.
But I do!!
I agree and disagree with points you’ve made.
- You getting dropped and being lost because you didn’t have the route is on you. If you’re going somewhere with a route, you better have the route on your own unit.
- The guys dive bombing and turning a ride into a complete suffer fest should a) be talked to by whoever organized the ride or b) be let go off the front while the ride organizer lets the rest of the group know what the ride is about.
- In the rides i’ve been on where the crit racers want to put down efforts for segments, they just let people know up front that they plan to fall off the back, put down an effort and then they catch back up. Thats a respectable way to go after your Strava KOMs without looking like you’re making a mad break off the front.
Overall sounds like whoever is setting up these rides doesn’t know or isn’t capable of handling the situation.
Not odd at all in my experience. The vast majority of the really fast guys I know are humble and helpful. It’s the ones who think winning a local Cat3 race (or whatever amateur event) makes them god’s gift to cycling who tend to be the problem. There are good and bad players at every level, the bad ones just seem to be more concentrated in that middle ground from what I see.
Agreed to a certain point… The old dog racers that don’t have it anymore seem to be the ones that always have something to prove and try to wipe the floor with the casuals. As mentioned earlier - its really easy to just let them go and the rest of the group rolls on.
Thinking you’re a cyclist doesnt make you a cyclist…or does it? 
But it’s a start. I took guitar lessons, and the instructor said that it looked like I was holding an alligator, not something I wanted to spend a lot of time with. He was right (or an asshole) but I dropped it… (Still have a gorgeous light blue Fender California Strat that I’ve upgraded quite a bit (even after I quit lessons, and a Fender Traveler also. (I had a dog that was a harsh music critic so that when I tried to pick it up again, he’d come running and stand there tipping his head back and forth until I quit))
Point one: Some of the rides started by ‘we’ll see what loot good and how long people want to ride’ so yeah, not a great way to run a ride. Like someone saying ‘go that-a-way’. On the one I needed to call my wife, I found out I probably could have gotten home without her, but whatever. Yeah, I get what you’re saying. Having up to date maps and a device that does navigation really helps. Finding the way back to the beginning wasn’t a popular feature at that time not available on the Edge I had. Spend the money, get more features…
Point two: Well, they tried, but they also had an evil bone and would not control themselves enough to not get swept up in it. Most of them were all in the same club outside of the group ride sponsor. You take what you get… Some rides they just gave in and ripped and dropped people.
Point three: I wish they would have done that. There was a guy that would show up and play ‘fox and rabbit?’ and let us get ahead and then race like hell to catch us. He eventually moves I think. I met up with one of the group by chance, and he said ‘I’m doing intervals so I’ll be racing ahead and then let you catch up to me, keep your pace the same’. I did and never saw him again, but he said he had fun. I got in a good 30+ miles and all was good…
I try to keep my experiences in mind when riding or running into people that wand to ride together. But whatever…
If you ride a trainer full time your weekly mileage is zero
Luckily mileage doesn’t matter, only hours matter. And riding a trainer full time DOES get you hours. 
But not many
How do you figure?
- 10 hours on the trainer is 10 hours training last I did that math
Not only that, 10 hours on the trainer is likely 10 hours of pedaling. 10 hours outside might only be 8-9 hours of pedaling.
Therefore, my opinion is: Trainer hours > Outdoor hours.
I like my trainer experience to be just like on the road so I coast sometimes. I also hit the brakes a few times
Brakes? What are brakes? I like to hit my hairpins at 80kmh. No slowing down.
