Originally Posted by JibberJim .
Obviously how good training a group ride will be will depend on you and your ride. But to mistakenly call them all bad is ludicrous and does seem to be based on the idea that particular training sessions are magic rather than the work that is actually done....
Agreed, it all depends on the rider and the ride. But IME one of three things happens for riders on most group rides:
- You're weaker than the folks setting the pace and hanging on for dear life until the first hill or surge where you get dropped. Instead of going out and doing a good focused workout at your own best intensity you push way too hard till you pop then limp home typically not very interested in getting back up to Tempo or beyond for some decent work that might actually help you build the fitness you're missing.
- You're stronger than the average rider and either pull the whole ride if folks are o.k. with that or more often than not spend a lot of time accumulating junk miles. Fine if you like the social aspects of the group ride but not so great from the perspective of efficient training. No problem if you're looking to do a lot of L1, low L2 riding but not so great if you had different plans.
- You're well matched to your companions but the ride doesn't fit your training goals. For instance the typical feisty group ride that turns into L6 repeats when you'd planned on steady Tempo or a group determined to roll a rotating paceline when you're hoping to target sprints and anaerobic efforts in preparation for an upcoming event. I've been on way too many group rides over the years that started with an agreed upon plan but one that broke down at the first city limit sign as getting a large group of competitive cyclists to stay on program is a lot like herding cats.
It comes down to owning your training or letting others own your training. Sure there can be a ton of benefit in group rides but it's random, it may or may not work depending on your needs, your current fitness and both the fitness and the interests of the group. If it works for you or targets a need like skills building or things like repeated L6 attacks or full out sprints which are harder to train alone then great. But many folks never even consider that they're putting the makeup of their training in the hands of the group and wonder why they keep getting dropped week after week.
Group rides can be great and can provide things that solo rides miss, but the same is true in reverse and it's not because a fixed X on Y off interval is necessarily better, it's because the rider takes control of their training and focuses on what they need at intensities and durations appropriate to them not chosen randomly by the rest of the group. I don't think anyone on these threads is suggestion that road racers shouldn't do some group rides, the question is whether there are advantages to doing some solo training as well and I'll definitely argue that there is.
IME, the biggest step forward a cyclist can take if they hope to improve is to understand that all riding isn't equivalent and to start to understand how to identify and work on weaknesses in their training. Whether that's with a formally structured plan or a looser approach isn't as important as realizing miles alone ridden slowly won't bring speed and speed alone for short bursts typically won't bring the kind of sustainable power it takes to perform well in time trials, breakaways, hillclimbs and long hard events. Once a rider realizes that and commits to doing some training focused on their specific needs they tend to improve rapidly. But with that realization comes the corollary that it's hard to do focused work on your own specific weaknesses when groupthink dictates what you're going to do on a given ride. It might work, it might not or you might get other valuable things from the ride but you're not in the driver's seat anymore.
Perhaps you have more sophisticated group rides in your area that allow you to pick and choose the appropriate intensity and style of riding. That would certainly help, but I've lived in raced in half a dozen towns and cities and in that's not how the typical group ride works in most places. BTW, I typically do at least one team ride per week and in every place I've lived I've sought out the local 'Tuesday Night Worlds' ride as they're fantastic places to work on high end efforts at the right point in the season. The point isn't to avoid group riding, the point is to use them where appropriate as opposed to basing your training entirely on them.
YMMV,
-Dave
