Question on Bunch Riding



A

Andrew Swan

Guest
Hi all,

I've just been moved up a grade at my club. In my old grade,
the pace was fairly consistent and people either took turns
at the front or stayed near the back. Even though there were
some newish riders, it never felt unsafe and in fact I never
saw any crashes.

In my first race in the higher grade (held on the same
course and in the same usual wind conditions), I noticed
that the pace changes much more - one minute everyone's
strung out single file, the next everyone's on the anchors
trying desperately not to get to the front (at one point,
some riders were braking so hard, I could hear their brake
blocks squealing). People weren't doing smooth turns, then
peeling off to be replaced by the next in line - instead
people would come forward from the back, people would jump
to get on their wheel, then the lead rider would slow down,
nobody would come past, then it would be the big concertina
again until someone else got sick of it and went to the
front again, when the whole cycle would repeat.

In these conditions a crash was inevitable, and sadly it was
me who went down, my front wheel trapped as the rider next
to me tried to get around a slower rider in front (the bunch
being about four riders wide at this point). This was around
the half-way mark of the race, so it's not like the sprint
was about to start or anything, and it wasn't even in a
corner. In the short term, I'm annoyed having to buy a new
helmet and regrow some skin, but my long-term concern is
having a relatively safe grade to race in.

Speaking to some of the other riders in the bunch
afterwards, they expressed their fear and loathing of the
grade in question and said that it was *always* like that in
this bunch (although not in the next grade up, they said).
Apparently there are some people that try a half-hearted
break every week, and every week it doesn't work.

One of my sources described the front of the bunch as
"constipated", being full of people who want to be near the
front, but don't want to do a turn, and who fight madly to
get on the wheel of anyone going past a bit faster than
their current wheel.

So my questions are:
- how normal does this sound? Are there bunches like this
everywhere?
- why does it happen in this one grade and not the ones
above and below it (esp. considering the lower one goes
almost as fast)?
- what can I do about it (assuming I'm not allowed in
the lower grade and would get rapidly dropped by the
higher grade)?
- what can/should the club or the commissaires do to make
this bunch safer, if it's as dangerous as I've been told?

Thanks for any advice,

&roo
 
"Andrew Swan" wrote ...
>
> So my questions are:
> - how normal does this sound? Are there bunches like this
> everywhere?

Not surprising, but not "normal." No, they're not
everywhere.

> - why does it happen in this one grade and not the ones
> above and below it (esp. considering the lower one goes
> almost as fast)?

The one above is probably better skilled racers and the one
below probably has more cautious recreational riders.

> - what can I do about it (assuming I'm not allowed in the
> lower grade and would get rapidly dropped by the higher
> grade)?

Next time out, hang near the back and get a feel for who's
who, i.e., who you want to avoid and who you can trust. Work
on your own bike handling skills.

> - what can/should the club or the commissaires do to
> make this bunch safer, if it's as dangerous as I've
> been told?

They may be aware of it and not motivated to do much about
it. Find someone near the top of the club, an officer for
example, and get a feel from him/her about their awareness
of the issue and desire to do anything about
it.

JF
 
In article <[email protected]>,
John Forrest Tomlinson <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 20:48:07 +1100, Andrew Swan
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >- what can I do about it (assuming I'm not allowed in the
> > lower grade and would get rapidly dropped by the higher
> > grade)?
>
> http://www.jt10000.com/goyoee/best/stayingup.htm
>
> JT

That's a good article, John. Many good points.

--
tanx, Howard

Q: Why did the metalhead cross the road?
R: Because he's a gullible moron who'll buy
anything with a skull on it.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
 
Jim Flom wrote: <some stuff snipped..>
>
> Next time out, hang near the back and get a feel for who's
> who, i.e., who you want to avoid and who you can trust.
> Work on your own bike handling skills.

Did I read that right ......??

Did you just advise someone to stay near the back in bunch
racing.......??

amazing....

Phillip.
 
On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:55:23 +0000, Phillip Johnson <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>Did you just advise someone to stay near the back in bunch
>racing.......??

It's safer than the middle for sure.

JT
 
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:55:23 +0000, Phillip Johnson
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Did you just advise someone to stay near the back in bunch
>>racing.......??
>
>
> It's safer than the middle for sure.
>
> JT
it safer 200m behind the bunch .... but not a good idea.

If a rider is inexperienced and moving up a category they
are likely to find the accordion effect and increased stop /
start "feedback" pretty demanding... and tiredness must also
be a safety factor??.

Phillip.
 
On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:22:56 +0000, Phillip Johnson <[email protected]>
wrote:

>it safer 200m behind the bunch .... but not a good idea.

No one said "behind the bunch" -- the advice was to ride
near the back or at the back which is not the same.

>If a rider is inexperienced and moving up a category they
>are likely to find the accordion effect and increased stop
>/ start "feedback" pretty demanding... and tiredness must
>also be a safety factor??.

That's pretty simplistic. There are times when riding at the
back of the bunch is easy and appropriate and not every race
has an accordian effect. If the choice for beginner is the
middle or the back and the race is full of crashes and there
are not a lot of corners, it's definitely worth considering
the back of the field. Things will be thinned out.

JT
 
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:22:56 +0000, Phillip Johnson
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>it safer 200m behind the bunch .... but not a good idea.
>
>
> No one said "behind the bunch" -- the advice was to ride
> near the back or at the back which is not the same.
>
>
>>If a rider is inexperienced and moving up a category they
>>are likely to find the accordion effect and increased stop
>>/ start "feedback" pretty demanding... and tiredness must
>>also be a safety factor??.
>
>
> That's pretty simplistic. There are times when riding at
> the back of the bunch is easy and appropriate and not
> every race has an accordian effect. If the choice for
> beginner is the middle or the back and the race is full of
> crashes and there are not a lot of corners, it's
> definitely worth considering the back of the field. Things
> will be thinned out.
>
> JT
OK , I can agree with that, however from my own personal
experience it took a lot of conviction for me to learn
how to fight my way to the front and that was with the
belief that the back was the last place I wanted to be .
If I'd have had someone telling me " it's safer at the
back" I don't know if I'd have managed to overcome my
fear of the middle to have the gumption to struggle to a
place in the teens....

As far as learning the handling skills ( not your point I
know..) goes I always found that the proximity was not the
biggest problem ,... but moving forward amongst such close
proximity into seemingly non existent gaps which required
getting used to ....

Phillip.
 
"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:22:56 +0000, Phillip Johnson
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> That's pretty simplistic. There are times when riding at
> the back of the bunch is easy and appropriate and not
> every race has an accordian effect. If the choice for
> beginner is the middle or the back and the race is full of
> crashes and there are not a lot of corners, it's
> definitely worth considering the back of the field. Things
> will be thinned out.
>
It's not easy to sit on in the course in question: it's
nearly always very windy + 8 corners in 2km. The accordion
effect isn't that big, except for the uphill U-turn coming
onto the main straight, but if you're sitting on the back
you'll be in the gutter for most of the race. If there's no
wind it's ok, but that's rare.

For Andrew, I guess the other option is to sit at the front
- at least no-one will come around you so you can dictate
the pace of the race ;-) When you get fitter, you can go
hard in the crosswinds and make life generally miserable.
And beyond that, you'll eventually get fit enough to pull of
a solo win or two. Then you can move up a grade, where the
racing is a bit more positive.

I hate negative racing too, especially because I can't
sprint well enough to win. Fortunately there's enough like
minded folks in A grade to keep it interesting and
aggressive.

cheers, Jeff
 
"John Forrest Tomlinson" wrote ...
>
> No one said "behind the bunch" -- the advice was to ride
> near the back or at the back which is not the same.

I probably should have added, "... and near the outside for
an escape route" to my original post. Point taken.

JF
 
Phillip Johnson <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<c375j9
> from my own personal experience it took a lot of
> conviction for me to learn how to fight my way to the
> front and that was with the belief that the back was the
> last place I wanted to be.

Yeah, it's true that it can be hard to get to the front.
This all depends on the race of course, but a lot of times
it's brutal getting to the front early in the race when
everyone is fresh and feisty, and a lot easier when people
are tired and the field is smaller. It's not easy for a
beginner to do, but if he/she can go into the race with the
goal of looking around, not getting dropped, and learning
how to get to the front from time to time (not all the
time), the race can be a great learning experience.

JT
 
"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> Phillip Johnson <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<c375j9
> > from my own personal experience it took a lot of
> > conviction for me to learn how to fight my way to the
> > front and that was with the belief that the back was the
> > last place I wanted to be.
>
> Yeah, it's true that it can be hard to get to the
> front. This
all
> depends on the race of course, but a lot of times
> it's brutal
getting
> to the front early in the race when everyone is fresh and
feisty, and
> a lot easier when people are tired and the field is
> smaller.
It's not
> easy for a beginner to do, but if he/she can go into
> the race
with the
> goal of looking around, not getting dropped, and
> learning how
to get
> to the front from time to time (not all the time), the
> race can
be a
> great learning experience.

The problem is that if you are at the back at the beginning
of the race when everyone is fresh, that is when you get
accordioned or gapped behind someone else when the crunch
comes. You also get stuck behind the inevitable back of the
pack crashes. I would stay in the top third during the chaff-
shaking and then maybe go to the back after things settled
down, assuming that I was just interested in finishing and
not doing much else. Of course, stay away from known
squirrells and don't be one. -- Jay Beattie.
 
"Jim Flom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:YMG5c.7143$vh1.6250@clgrps13...
> "John Forrest Tomlinson" wrote ...
> >
> > No one said "behind the bunch" -- the advice was to ride
> > near the back or at the back which is not the same.
>
> I probably should have added, "... and near the outside
> for an escape
route"
> to my original post. Point taken.
>
> JF
>
>

I am definately the self proclaimed bonafied expert at
riding at the back of the field. Anyone that has seen me
race has seen me at the back. **** Ring was so used to it he
used to joke about it over the PA system. There is a "way"
to do and you need to know when to do it and when not to.
For me, and yes it depends on the race and category, I
usually use the very back of the field to "roll" the corners
and not have to slam the breaks and sprint out from a dead
stop or worry about some goofball sliding through and
getting in the way in the corner. You also have to worry
about weak riders that open gaps so you have to be a alert
not to get on a "bad" wheel. I am talking about "higher"
category and Master's races.

In lower category races, the problem is that generally from
mid pack back everyone is slamming on their breaks and
causing the huge accordian affect. This is not the place
where you want to ride the back of the pack as it is likely
the accordian will snap well above where you are in the
field and you will have no chance of staying in the race.
In the lower category races, I think it makes sense to not
be at the immediate front but just at the back of where all
the action is...it's often to hard to fight for the front
third so just at the front of the second third of the pack
seems like the best place to "stay". This is where I would
try to be in really tough criteriums that have major
attrition ratios, etc.

Just my 02 cents!

Danny Callen ..Fattie Master
 
"Phillip Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
> >
> >
> >>If a rider is inexperienced and moving up a category
> >>they are likely to find the accordion effect and
> >>increased stop / start "feedback" pretty demanding...
> >>and tiredness must also be a safety factor??.
> >
> >
> > That's pretty simplistic. There are times when riding at
> > the back of the bunch is easy and appropriate and not
> > every race has an accordian effect. If the choice for
> > beginner is the middle or the back and the race is full
> > of crashes and there are not a lot of corners, it's
> > definitely worth considering the back of the field.
> > Things will be thinned out.
> >
> > JT
> OK , I can agree with that, however from my own personal
> experience it took a lot of conviction for me to learn how
> to fight my way to the front and that was with the belief
> that the back was the last place I wanted to be . If I'd
> have had someone telling me " it's safer at the back" I
> don't know if I'd have managed to overcome my fear of the
> middle to have the gumption to struggle to a place in the
> teens....
>
>
I've been experiencing much the same; in preparation for
Redlands, I've been racing with the cat-3 men, in fields of
80 or more. Last weekend, I got stuck in the back after a
bad start, and never saw the front half of the pack!
Believe me, I tried to search out every possible gap, but
something would always happen to pop me into the back
again. Something I need to work on, for sure. I figured out
that when the pack started stringing out and I had the
chance to move up, that was precisely when I was struggling
to hang on, and didn't have the power to get to the front.
Having to sprint out of every corner sure didn't help with
the power conservation. Unfortunately, there were no real
hills to break things up. So I played the yo-yo game for 60
miles, hanging in, but working WAY too hard. Conversely, a
(female) friend managed to start-and stay- in the front the
entire race, and even though I am probably somewhat
stronger, she seemed to have a much easier race. Some guys,
otoh, were able to go from the front to the back, to the
front again at will.

I now have to do the same thing in a field of 112 at
Redlands. Any suggestions?

Suz

As far as learning the handling skills ( not your point I
know..) goes I
> always found that the proximity was not the biggest
> problem ,... but moving forward amongst such close
> proximity into seemingly non existent gaps which required
> getting used to ....
>
> Phillip.
 
Jeff Jones wrote:
> It's not easy to sit on in the course in question: it's
> nearly always very windy + 8 corners in 2km. The accordion
> effect isn't that big, except for the uphill U-turn coming
> onto the main straight, but if you're sitting on the back
> you'll be in the gutter for most of the race. If there's
> no wind it's ok, but that's rare.
>
> For Andrew, I guess the other option is to sit at the
> front - at least no-one will come around you so you can
> dictate the pace of the race ;-)
<snip>
>
> cheers, Jeff

Funny you should suggest that Jeff, that's what I did for
the first few laps yesterday - my thinking was that if I
could go to the front and set a reasonable pace from the
start, other like-minded riders might be prepared to work
with me, and even if we couldn't go clear, the higher pace
might drop a few of the weaker riders or failing that, at
least keep the bunch somewhat strung out and therefore
safer. Once the pace was established, I let myself drop down
the field (of about 20 riders) so that others could take
over the workload and I could recover a bit for the second
half of the race.

I guess the fact that the wind (a light southerly down the
S/F straight) wasn't too strong meant that the pace stayed
relatively high (for this grade anyway) and the bunch
didn't often squash right up like it did the previous race.
As a newcomer, I was glad to hold onto the bunch all the
way (until the last lap when I was on the wrong side of a
gap), and ended up 8th. At least I kept the rubber side
down this time! :)

&roo