Jay Spiegel wrote a great followup to the last post on the team message board, so I am re-posting it here. -Nathan
Thanks to Nathan for a great report of our ride yesterday. I’d like to talk a bit about how we watch for each other at team rides. At one point Brad and John got separated by the group on Greenbrier headed toward N Lick Creek. Fortunately it was due to some miscommunication, and not a mechanical or anything like that. So in the end it wasn’t
a big deal.
We joked before the ride that since we are a race team, we don’t bother with cue sheets, and I am completely in favor of avoiding that hassle. (see video below for a funny explanation of why racers don’t use cue sheets. -Nathan)
Part of being a team is taking responsibility for everyone on the ride from the people pulling to the last person in the paceline. We are all responsible for communicating with one another, and knowing who is behind us at all times, and being aware of those who may fall off or get out of sight.
So, I’m asking everyone on the team to avoid passively going along for the ride, and maintaining awareness and practicing communication so that we either arrive together or if we arrive separately, it is planned that way. If you’re on the front, be aware of how your riding affects the group…keep it steady, avoid surges, keep your line straight. If you are in the group, ride steadily, and don’t let gaps develop. If you are on the back and you or someone next to you starts to fall off, let the people immediately in front of you know, and pass it on. Everyone should be aware of who is directly behind them. Also, if someone is off the back because of a turn or something, and you are on the back of the front group, drop back so that the people chasing can get in your draft and pull them up. At the same time, the
front group should ease off if someone is chasing. Unless it’s a race or simulation…
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the Belladium ride if weather permits.
-Jay
Les Wooldridge responded to this on the team message board with a key piece of wisdom:
Jay writes, “If you are on the back and you or someone next to you starts to fall off, let the people immediately in front of you know, and pass it on.”
This will be a challenge for some of you because you’ll think “Man, if I start to fall off the back, the team will think I’m slow, weak, fat, out of shape, blah blah blah…”
Much more important in this situation is safety and as Jay says, communication and responsibility. If someone is falling off, it will be very important for the team to make a decision on what to do with that opportunity. You will usually find that there are almost always some other riders at that time in the ride who want to back it down a notch and will be happy to ride in with you. It doesn’t mean everyone has to slow it down but a discussion should occur and a group decision made.
Lastly, let the person on our team who has never come off the back of a pack step forward… (let me assure all the newer riders that no one will step forward).
-Les
