Mr_Tee said:
... Surely there are some good stories out there.
Yeah, everybody that's ridden in many groups has stories of folks whose wheels they'd rather not follow. But as Tony said, we've all been that dude at some time and even experienced and skilled racers sometimes do boneheaded things late in races when they're fatigued.
Seems to me better to focus on the positive things you can do to avoid getting tangled up with squirrely riders. Here's a few thoughts that come to mind:
- Always protect the space around your front wheel. So definitely avoid wheel overlap when drafting unless you can overlap all the way up to where your handlebars are even with the front rider's hips. Tough in fast moving crosswind echelons but hopefully you're not doing a lot of this with the kind of riders that scare you.
- You don't need to follow exactly in line with the rider in front of you when riding into a headwind. Riding a line a handful of inches off to one side or the other buys you some reaction time if they stand up suddenly without maintaining pressure on their pedals. As their bike shoots backwards you'll momentarily overlap wheels but the extra reaction time should keep you from actually running into their wheel.
- Ride with a bit more gap between wheels and riders when you don't trust those around you, seems obvious but I see folks glue right up to wheels of folks who are obviously uncomfortable with group riding and then seem surprised when they kiss wheels or the front rider is a bit shakey. If they don't inspire confidence then give 'em more room or simply move up and ride ahead of them.
- Always glance under your arm before moving left or right and move on diagonals, not straight across. Some folks do this really well and just move effortlessly through the middle of the field, others can't seem to remember to look or move so abruptly it scares the crud out of folks even if they're giving the rider plenty of room. So don't be that Fred, don't ride next to that dude in such a way that your front wheel is at risk and don't hesitate to put a hand on their hip if they start running you into the gutter with a move like that. Don't touch their hands, elbows or shoulders as it can impact their steering but a firm touch on the hip can keep you from getting run off the road.
- Keep at least one hand on the bars, preferably your left ready to control the front brake when eating or drinking and beware of folks that don't do that when riding mid bunch. Sure it's nice to relax and looks cool to sit up no handed and casually pull food from your jersey pocket but either do that at the back or when riding alone as it's all too easy to create a pileup when someone ahead slows and your hands are no where near the brakes. Similarly learn to grab water bottles without looking for them and keep your eyes up at all times to see if the leaders are slowing or cornering or anything else that might require both hands back on the bars.
- Always 'climb' your way up onto and back down from a standing position. Don't stop pedaling to stand or to sit when riding in a group. Folks do it all the time and cross wheels all the time as a result. Keep an eye out for other folks doing this and try not to follow them or give them more room than usual. Smaller lighter riders carry less momentum and really slow down in a hurry if they don't apply pedal pressure while standing or sitting so be extra careful when riding behind them in variable terrain.
There are a bunch of other things and we've all done them at one point or another but usually a kind but gentle reminder is all it takes to help friend's learn what they should be doing. It's tougher in racing and big group ride situations as a lot of folks aren't open to advice on their riding. In that case just stay away from them as much as you can.
Good luck,
-Dave