First group ride - did well on hills not so well on flats??????

[jclsmith]

Did my first group ride yesterday and enjoyed it a hell of a lot. One thing I noticed though was that when it came to riding up hills or any sort of incline I did really well but when it came to powering along the flats I got spat out the back and had to really try not to drop off all together. Any ideas on how to improve my flat "sprint" speed.

I am currently riding about 50ks a day total to and from work which incorporates hills and flats.

Looking forward to the advice.

 

[artmichalek]

Did my first group ride yesterday and enjoyed it a hell of a lot. One thing I noticed though was that when it came to riding up hills or any sort of incline I did really well but when it came to powering along the flats I got spat out the back and had to really try not to drop off all together. Any ideas on how to improve my flat "sprint" speed.

I am currently riding about 50ks a day total to and from work which incorporates hills and flats.

Looking forward to the advice.

Get comfortable drafting. When you're first starting out, it's natural to want to give yourself a lot of room. The farther back you get the more wind resistance you have to fight. You really don't want to be more than three or four inches behind the guy in front of you, but whatever happens don't let your front wheel come up next to his rear. And resist the urge to stare at that rear wheel. Once you figure out where you are keep your eyes level.

 

[SolarEnergy]

Another mistake beginers commit. When it is your time in the front, pulling the group, don't increase your speed. Don't stay there too long. And most important, on your way to the bottom of the pack, don't loose too much speed (don't relaxe) until you have actually tied the tail of the pack. Because if you take it too easy on your way to the bottom of the pack, you are going to get dropped.

 

[buckybux]

I am guessing that you have done a lot of work to be strong in the hills. I did the same when I started road biking. Flats require the same amount of work as hills. You just have to practice a lot, and work on increasing your average speed, and eventually you will have it.

 

[palewin]

riding up hills or any sort of incline I did really well but when it came to powering along the flats I got spat out the back and had to really try not to drop off all together.

You haven't mentioned your weight. Climbing is a function of watts/kg, while riding on the flats is simply a matter of watts. So lighter riders will often have an easier time on hills, but trouble matching the "big guys" on the flats. Your problem may have been paceline technique as the previous posts indicate, or it could be a matter of physical size. Of course the solution is to both improve your technique and improve your power (easier said than done, and to some extent your ultimate power will be related to your size!)

 

[RapDaddyo]

This is a wild guess, but it may be that what's getting you on the flats are the surges. Group rides on the flat for everybody but the leader of the paceline is a real rollercoaster of intensity of effort. When you are close to your limit in the first place, these surges are devastating. When I ride in a paceline, I try to buffer those behind me from the surges, even if it means that I allow a gap to open up and then have to close it up gradually. Apart from training to increase your sustainable power (which is a good thing to do any day of the week), you might try to keep your intensity of effort (power) as steady as possible.

 

[jclsmith]

Thanks for the advice. Will try to work on my positioning within the group and see if that helps but as always it looks like its going to come down to just plain old hard work!!!!

 

[artmichalek]

This is a wild guess, but it may be that what's getting you on the flats are the surges. Group rides on the flat for everybody but the leader of the paceline is a real rollercoaster of intensity of effort. When you are close to your limit in the first place, these surges are devastating. When I ride in a paceline, I try to buffer those behind me from the surges, even if it means that I allow a gap to open up and then have to close it up gradually. Apart from training to increase your sustainable power (which is a good thing to do any day of the week), you might try to keep your intensity of effort (power) as steady as possible.

Good point. It also helps to stay up near the front, say second or third wheel. When the leader surges a small gap opens up between each rider in the line. If you're already near the back, that can add up to a lot of ground.

 

[RapDaddyo]

Good point. It also helps to stay up near the front, say second or third wheel. When the leader surges a small gap opens up between each rider in the line. If you're already near the back, that can add up to a lot of ground.

I agree, and this is the exact opposite of what many weaker riders do. Plus the fact that the further you are from the front the more likely you are to have to make up a huge gap when you have to go around a rider who drops off the pace.

 

[dhk]

Thanks for the advice. Will try to work on my positioning within the group and see if that helps but as always it looks like its going to come down to just plain old hard work!!!!

Like palewin, I'd also guess that you're lighter than the average rider, with good power-to-weight. If you can hold your own on the hills, the rest is just a matter of riding more with the group.

Don't worry about being the tail-ender either; that's where most of us start out. It's a group ride, not a race, so relax and have fun. Would advise you just gain experience in pack riding before you worry about close drafting or race tactics at the front. The main thing is that you enjoyed the ride, and want to do it again.

 

[AmpedCycle]

This kind of thing has happened to me plenty of times. It actually took a long time for me to hang with the group. Now, I pull with the best of them and don't get dropped. Here's what to do so that you can "stick" to the pack:

1. Learn proper drafting technique... this means not hesitating on the turns and plowing through them as fast as possible. It also means knowing how to anticipate surges that would otherwise drop you: if you start to see the people in front of you breaking away, don't let it happen. What can also help is knowing the course that they take in their rides, when you know it well enough, you can ride faster still. All that being said, it boils down to never getting out of a draft and getting pushed into the wind by other riders.

2. Get faster by working like a *******. Pretend you're the wolf in the three little pigs story, and if you're not huffing and puffing like you're gonna blow the brick house down, you should be. Do this often enough, and you'll increase your power output, strength, efficiency, and endurance. Lactic acid is a friendly burn, besides.

You can also train by yourself... so some interval work and have proper rest periods, and you'll get faster. Riding a ton helps, too.
Good luck

 

[jclsmith]

Dont think its a weight issue im about 190cm and 95kg and from what I read it defenitley looks like its is all to do with my group techniques which wil hopefully improve with time.