Posted: January 27, 2006

Cycling: Group Riding in the Winter

By Marlon Familton, Familton, CSCS, USA Cycling Expert Coach

Riding in the winter time requires attention to new details. The obvious one is generally less traction, but since many group rides fill up in the winter with people look to share the misery of long wet miles, group ride etiquette and skills become critical. The comments below are "mandatory suggestions" for you to consider and take action on in order to prepare for winter rides.

Rain Bikes & Winter Equipment
In the Northwest we typically spend 50% of our riding year in wet conditions. Having a bike that you can ride, enjoy and rely on is important. You must spend time maintaining it properly if you want to avoid trouble out on the road. Here are some things to consider:

Chain replaced every 2,000 miles
Brake pads checked for wear
Rims cleaned and glass picked out of tires from the last wet ride
Make certain you pack a spare tube, CO2 cartridge or bring a pump, have basic tools and anything else you might need. Don't rely on someone else's preparedness for help, though you'll often find it. And consider carrying a pair of the rubber mechanics gloves. They take up no space, but make changing a grimy wet flat a much more pleasant experience.

Fenders & mud flaps
A pain in the rear, but a requirement. The front fender is for you. If you don't care about getting your feet wet, don't bother. The rear fender is for your teammates. Get one that drops around the back (not a "back scratcher" that only keeps water off your own butt), and includes a mud flap that is about 2-3" off the ground. If your mud flap is more than 2-3" off the ground, then it is useless and will allow water and road grime to spray on the person behind you.

Tires
It is winter riding now. We're loaded with clothing, food, fender bikes and are riding easy, so that means slower speeds. Slower speeds necessitate that we ride further onto the shoulder and into the bike lanes over a lot of debris, often glass and worse. Riding light summer tires is asking for trouble. If you're out on your own, it doesn't matter. But if you're out with the group and get a lot of flats, you're making a bunch of people who took the time to be prepared wait for you, getting cold and often wet in the process. Invest in some heavier tires and add some liners.

Tuffys
Spin Skins are better than nothing. But instead of $30 and buying a light weight cloth type liner that gets wet and is hard to put back in while on the road, skip a couple Lattes and buy some Tuffys for $10. I think Slime makes some that work well also. They are heavier, but an almost bullet proof liner that will save you from about 85% of the flats you would otherwise get. So long as you take time to clean your wheels and pull out all the glass each week, you can easily go all winter without a flat. I even run them in my summer training wheels as well. No one likes to change a flat, particularly when it's raining and 40 degrees out and your bike is covered with grime. No one likes to stand around for 15 minutes while someone changes an unnecessary flat either.

Flats on the route
If you get a flat on the route, call out "Flat!" If you disappear off the back and we later realize it, often someone has to abandon the group to go look for you or even the whole group will. We don't want to ditch any teammates and leave someone out on the road alone. If you don't mind going it alone, be sure and let someone know.

The general rule is for the group to continue up the road ten minutes and then turn around to roll back to where the person flatted. This keeps the rides moving, the group warm and gives the person time to change the flat.

Group Riding
Drafting is important in racing and should be practiced in group rides. This means keeping a consistent gap, paying attention and taking a turn at the front. If you're new'ish to group rides, then feel free to ask me or someone for help. We're here to help everyone improve.

While riding with the group, especially at the slower paces this time of year, it is easy to get into the habit of "half wheeling." This is where you're riding with your front wheel overlapping the rear wheel of the person in front of you. Don't do this. It's fine to use it as the group slows suddenly, but generally you should be behind the person. otherwise we get all staggered on the road and people start catching pot holes, touch wheels and fall or cause traffic problems.

Road Hazards
If you're in the front, you must watch the road ahead, gently steer around larger problems in the road and point them out BEFORE you get there. Don't suddenly hop over or zip around a pot hole or drag your teammates behind you through the ruts and pot holes. You have a responsibility when you're in the lead.

Traffic
When you're riding 2 x 2 down the road, you should be riding 2 x 2. Tight formation riding is a skill we all need to develop. When the road narrows and there is traffic, we MUST work together to share the road as well as use available bike lanes. Using the bike lane does not mean riding on the white line and leaving 6 feet to the riders right. If you're in the road and holding up traffic, particularly in the back when the pace can sometimes really slow down, then you're upsetting a driver that might take it out on the people in the front. This issue is the one thing that I will be yelling about this year. I'd rather not have to. When you hear "CAR!" MOVE OVER and/or Single up.

When we're coming to a turn, the front needs to signal and the back needs to watch and take the lane when appropriate. The goal is to move as a coordinated unit, not a bunch of singles. Work together. Use your head. Be a team.

Taking a Pull
Since it is winter and the pace MUST be slow if you want to get fast, you should pay attention to the pace and/or perceived effort before you get to the front. When it's your turn at the front, you should maintain the same effort level that has been set. That means if the road meanders up or starts to climb, you should maintain the same relative perceived effort of the group.

After your pull, soft pedal or even brake and get to the back of the group and into the line. This helps keep our group tight and out of traffic. If you're not moving back, then people are shifting over into the road to give you more room.

Winter Pace
The goal is to get as fast and strong as you can while training your body to use fat as fuel. If you ride harder, you burn glycogen and not fat. Go slow, work on pedaling mechanics. If you're not sold on riding slow this time of year, either ask me to defend the practice, or go ride with another group that likes to push a little harder.

When you're in the front, you need to look back occasionally to make sure you aren't riding off the front. Seasoned riders will not pick the pace up to follow whoever is in the front, but rather maintain that perceived effort and leave you out there alone.

Climbing Hills
Unless there is a specific drill or goal announced and unless you're using the hill for your own specific training reason, when the group hits a climb you should only see your heart rate or feel your perceived effort climb slightly. Maybe ten beats per minute at most. If it goes up more, then you're defeating the purpose of base training. Instead work on cadence and pedaling efficiency or pop it into a bigger gear and turn 60 to 70 rpm for strength work.

While I would argue it prudent to raise your heart rate a few times during a ride, that doesn't mean every time you hit a hill or someone else speeds up.

Peeling off early
Finally, if you're going to leave the group ride please tell someone. We don't want to leave people out on the road. If you're having difficulty and are planning to go home early, at least tell someone so we know not to search for you. If you're really having trouble, yell and we'll help you get home. This is very important as we need to be team on the road and look out for one another.

Marlon Familton coaches with The Peaks Coaching Group out of Bedford Virginia and offers cutting edge power based cycling coaching as well as individualized nutrition, posture and stress reduction programs to help riders reach their potential. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Associate, a USA Cycling Expert Level Coach and a C.H.E.K. Certified Golf Biomechanic and co-founder of CHEKWellness.com.

DynamicSports.net   Win@DynamicSports.net © 2005 Dynamic Sports Training

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