There are a few rules that go along with group rides. Some are pretty common sense, and many are just unspoken. Others are things you need to be taught and then worked on like the no drop kick rule that ErikV wrote about a while back.
Saturday’s I went on with a few teammates afforded a different lesson.
I was actually taught this lesson probably the first year on my paramount. It was a collegiate team ride when a fellow junior racer friend of Geo’s joined us. I can still visualize the section of road that lead to my education on the subject. Geo was leading, Barnaby was sitting on my wheel, and it was overcast. We were riding on one of the busier streets around New London, CT. Geo had a bit of a gap on me, we had just finished one of his favorite sprint drills, little ring sprints from telephone pole to telephone pole. Barnaby was on my wheel and I bunny hopped an elevated manhole cover. Barnaby hit it square and hard.
And I got my ass chewed out, and despite my significant draft, Barnaby never sat on my wheel the rest of the ride.
“NEVER EVER EVER Bunny hop something when people are on your wheel! Pick a smooth line around the object. Always point it out. But NEVER, bunny hop in a pack or on a group ride.”
I was lucky, he didn’t flat, he certainly might have pinch flatted on it, but all I got was a lesson I will never forget.
Yesterday it was my turn to be ridden into an obstacle. This time it wasn’t a manhole that got bunny hopped. It was something far more sinister and potentially catastrophic. Parallel grated storm drains.
Most people have heard or witnessed incidents of riders getting a front wheel stuck in a grate and flipping over, breaking a collar bone, or other bones, or worse. Any time you are on the bike and your front wheel comes to a sudden stop the potential for serious injury is at its greatest on the bike. The only other worse thing to do is find yourself under the wheels of a truck.
So I was sitting on a teammates wheel. He’s a young kid, but not a kid, he’s out of college by a few years or more but still ripe with youthful enthusiasm and, well, he’s looking pretty damn strong on the bike. That aside here we are, heading due west into the teeth of the wind, at a good clip heading down a long gradual hill, double paceline. And he bunny hops while I’m inches off his wheel. Now my reaction time is pretty damn good still, and I didn’t have any chance to but to ride right over a wide double grate. And I shouted at him a single word Hey or something in an angry tone. I was lucky. I had some big fat 28c marathon (not the plus) tires on. They saved my bacon from slipping into the slots. But those slots are wide enough for a 23. There was very little margin of safety as far as I was concerned. And this kid was recklessly endangering his teammates. Hell in a race you lead a pack of guys over that and someone’s bound to get stuck. You just don’t do that, even to your competition. You pick a line around, you don’t head for the meat of it and bunny hop with people on your wheel.
Well my first warning shout wasn’t heeded. Post incident he thought someone else was getting yelled at. Then he did it again…
I was a foot or two off his wheel now and was able to slink around the grate just barely, hoping that of the 5 of us the 5th was on the outside of the pace line.
That first bunny hop turned the safety lock off. The second one pulled the trigger. And my inner Lou Ferigno came out, except i didn't turn green and the transformation didn't take anywhere near as long as it did for David Banner. Adrenaline rush like no other and I jumped up along side him and chewed him out. Barnaby’s words came back to me, all the visions of mangled bikes and riders fueled me and my poor teammate got a glimpse at just how scary some 200+ pound tall freak can be when you do stupid shit that could have hurt people.
I’ll tolerate most stuff. The stupid stuff I can let go as long as it doesn’t endanger others. Want to run a red light or two, I’ll probably follow and assuming it is safe to clear the intersection I might not say much even though I prefer to try to follow the rules and present a neutral image of cyclists. But bunny hopping anything potentially dangerous to someone tight on your wheel who has not advanced warning of the obstacle at that moment set me off.
After a few minutes of me cooling down, and a teammate (the 5th wheel of our small group of 5) ride up to me and say “that was awesome” with a big shit eating grin, the bunny hopper apologized and I think he learned a valuable lesson.
Riding alone or side by side with someone else mostly can develop some bad habits that don’t translate well into group situations. Hopping shit is fun, and as long as there isn’t anyone on your wheel, it is fine. No problem, show off, do what you want.
Other than that I managed to over dress completely for the ride (it was still 35 degrees when I left the house) and I just pushed my arm warmers down and managed to give myself a wicked funny burn line halfway down my forearm. With the tail wind on the way home we were flying. And hitting the tallest point in RI twice made for some good decent long rollers. And while the bike path wasn’t clear enough to ride in on, it was clear enough or ride home but holy crap – everyone and their dogs were out for a stroll on the 60+ degree sunny day. It wasn’t bad, but compared to the deserted path I’ve been seeing, well it was a touch of a shock, even going as slowly as I was cooling down after 5 hours in the saddle.
heddwch
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10 comments:
of course, pointing out the storm drains on snake hill road is a little pointless, since they come every 20 feet or so. bunny hopping them is another story...
good ride though. we were totally fried by the time we hit Manchester. those last 15 miles are just brutal.
But they start rather suddenly if you aren't intimately familiar with the road... or sitting on someone's wheel not completely seeing the road in front.
really you don't need to point stuff out providing you always pick a clear line that everyone can follow behind you.
i don't think MJ will soon forget that little lesson though...
I'm surprised slotted grates haven't gotten sued out of existence by now. I cringe everytime I pass one. Evil. At least they could orient the slots perpendicular to bicycle travel.
Grates in RI are supposed to be positioned perpendicular to the kerb. The Club worked on that years ago but either people fail to tell teh road crews or they fail to do what they are told.
It is a lot better now than it was 5-10 years ago.
What did you yell the first time? Did you explain exactly what he did wrong?
I yelled at a kid for coming up the gutter while dad in law and I were already side by side.
He asploded a little while later and I never saw him again to explain why it was wrong.
If grates in RI are supposed to be perpendicular, someone clearly forgot to mention it to whoever works on the grates for Snake Hill Road. Once they start, they are about every 50 feet or so, for at least a couple miles. Every single one is parallel to the road. and to make it worse, there are actually two side-by-side each time. the grates go from the edge of the pavement all the way across the shoulder to the road. Maybe we should try some more bunny hops over them, sue Scituate, and fund our team that way?
Well the first bunny hop got a shout, and 50 feet later at 20+ mph isn't long enough to go into an explanation... before the second bunny hop...
And yeah - Snake hill's grates go across the white line by a good bit.
Bunny hopper was on the gutter side of the white line hopping grates...
He's at least got a great memory to go with this lesson, we smiled and made up a bit later - all's good, he understood.
But yeah - someone should really do something about Snake Hill. Esp as long as Brent's rides keep using it.
... and it is little fundamental lessons like this which would be so much easier to teach in a club-type setting, but nooooo, everyone has to be part of a "team".
Bob the Angry Flower would like to have a word with you concerning your use of apostrophe in the title. :-)
DOH! Thanks lee...
agree with ya there Kirk...
esp since it almost seems that alot of the Cat4/5s think they have to ride with a power meter and do exactly what their coach tells them all the time...
I concur on the no bunnyhopping on a road ride thing.
I did once get yelled at for not calling out a log on a mountain bike ride...by a roadie. I basically told the guy to get real. If I were to call out every "Hazard" on a mountain bike ride, I'd lose my voice in about a minute and a half.
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