Club Spins and Dropping of people

Shadow78

Being on a couple of club spins with the local crowd which has left me wondering are all clubs so unorganised or callous.

1st spin I followed the more experienced lot up into the hills and was dropped nearly straight away, last I saw of them as later on I got a puncture and then made a mess repairing it ended up taking 30 mins. Would most clubs take a bran new club member up hills that they dont know and then drop them?

2nd spin I knew the only woman in the group was struggling after we had the coffee break and I was trying to break the wind for her and catch up with the main group. She got a puncture so we both came to a stop, I had forgotten my tyre levers(had used them the day before and forgotten to put them back in saddle bag) and she had none. Spotted another cyclist coming along, wearing the club colours, who must have gone out with a different group. "Have you got any tyre levers?" I shouted at him as he went by. "What?" he replied as he cycled on. Neither of us had club gear but I thought he would have at least stopped to see what was up. She ended up having to phone for a pickup and I contiuned on my own never managing to catch sight of the rest again.

Found it very hard to get info like what the avg speed would be, distance of route, course of the route.

I felt most people in the group were totaly focused on staying with the people in front that they didnt care about anyone behind them.

As I'm new to the whole club cycling scene I'm at a loss as to if this is fairly typical or unusual ethics in a club.

Shadow

get on your bike

Sound like a bunch of a holes to be honest

C3PO

I would think it depends on what sort of a spin it is! I know in our MTB club there are "no one gets dropped" spins which are exactly that but equally there are "Savage" spins where everybody has to be self sufficient and will be dropped if they can't keep up or have a mechanical! You can hardly expect faster guys/gals, who are probably training for the race season, to hang around waiting?

blorg

No, that does not sound typical at all. Most clubs go to great lengths to ensure that beginners get around safely, I know mine does. As RPL1 says, may be a different matter on an advanced training spin.

niceonetom

These are questions that you should really be asking the club in question, and preferably before heading out on a spin with them. Find out what the ground rules are.

My own club would run a variety of spins, of different speeds over different terrains and with differing ground rules.

If you were heading out on a spin with racers in training, well, if you get dropped that down to you. You can't expect others to sacrifice their training for you. The season is on. Some groups have a no-drop policy, but that is dependant on people being honest about their own abilities and not going into a group beyond their abilities. Other groups set a pace and if it's too fast for you, well, tough. You should not be going with these groups if you're new.

If, on the other hand, it was billed as a gentle touring spin then maybe you have a point and they should have been a bit more accommodating. In general, touring groups can be exceptionally friendly and supportive.

That said, everyone turning up at any club spin basically expected to be self supporting too. You should have levers, a tube, a pump etc at a minimum. It's not up to the club to get you home.

Maybe try a different club? Some are friendlier than others.

Raam

Just curious, why did you go with the experienced and presumably faster guys on your first spin? Maybe your club only has one group, I dunno. Which club was it?

Shadow78

On the first spin they had only one group meeting up at 10am. Beginners broke off after 15k to do a 30k loop with the rest heading on. I had been talking to one of the clubs main racers and was unsuccessful in finding out about the route we were taking. he did tell me about the turn off coming up and when we took the turn off I noticed 4 carried on straight and the 6 of us started going up. No one I had talked to up to that point had said anything about stepping up the pace with hill climbing. I thought "oh feck what have I let myself in for". Curriosity kept me going as I wanted to see what it was like and what would happen. Was well used to cycling on my own just wasnt too sure exactly where I was. Route in total was 70k which I knew I was capable of. I couldnt get a straight answer on what pace to expect before heading off.

2nd spin was about a month later again at 10am again but an "intermediate group" with the more experienced lot going at 9am for a longer spin. Turned out to be a 50k spin, asked one fella how far the spin route was and was told "we dont tend to measure them in distance"

On their website they had been saying how "no one gets left behind". There is hardly any info on their website as to what to reasonably expect on the spins. http://www.innisfreewheelers.com

I tend to go cycling with some friends at the weekends so the two club spins were when they werent going out. So far I can't say I'm too impressed or see much advantage to joining in with club riding.

feck sake lads

if this group is training for racing then find yourself another group .
our group Drogheda wheelers is a leisure group that's not to say we doddle along we don't but we also don't leave riders behind .
the great thing about this forum you can get a good group going in your area ,you will be very surprised how many do solo riding only because they don't know other cyclists in the area.
but listen don't get disheartened keep training get yourself a few riders on boards to train with have fun.;)

DirkVoodoo

On their website, they have a detailed list of the routes they use, along with a rating for each one that details bike handling, experience, terrain and distance.

It's not right to drop potential new members on a cycle, but it doesn't sound like you were heading out with a beginner's group. I don't know the club, but it looks quite small, maybe you should contact a committee member and ask them what the procedure is for new members. If you weren't heading out with a beginner's spin and details of the routes are posted on the site, it's probably expected that you are able to at least hang in or find your way home if something goes wrong.

Gipo3

Innisfree wheelers are a leisure/touring club. I know of them in Sligo and thought they ran a good show, but it seems not. Ednwireland I think might be in the club. I do see them sometimes when Im out myself.

Magilla Gorilla

In theory, "no one gets left behind", but in practice it often happens.

In my experience, some of my club members will always make sure everyone gets home- others never even think about anyone less capable than themselves. That's people I guess. The trick is to get to know who the reliable ones are as soon as possible and forget about the selfish ones ever helping you.

But any club which doesn't give newcomers some idea of what is proposed for a particular run is not worth being in, in my opinion.

Having said that, it is inexcusable that anyone would not have the basic equipment to get home. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail as the cliche goes!!

SurferDude41

I have no problem sliding off the back, if my physical condition isn't good.

If you don't want to to be grovelling at the back of the group, you just need to train more.

"Bikeracing is about pain and revenge! If you are willing to suffer that much, you are gonna want revenge." Quote : Bob Roll

The message is simple, train more and get your revenge:D

smacl

Whatever about the club thing, I've always found passing cyclists to be extremely helpful in terms of offering support if you're stuck on the side of road. Fair enough, if they're going at speed they mightn't notice you, but in most other cases, cyclists generally seem to be really good in this regard.