When I started with the London Cycling Club this year, I noticed that the app info about the rider development group rides said “No dropping allowed!” Not knowing a lot of cycle-speak yet, it sounded like a warning that I wasn’t allowed to drop out of the group ride. I had to finish with the group, even if I was slow or dead tired.
But it turns out that “no drop” is not about the responsibility of the rider to keep up: it’s about the responsibility of the riders in the group to support each other.
No-drop ride: This means the group stops for mechanical problems, flats, nature breaks, accidents and emergencies. Members of the group will drop back to ride with slower riders.
Cycling terminology: A guide to the group ride
When a ride is described as “no drop,” the expectations are clear: riders will not be left alone if they are slow or have a problem, and everyone takes some responsibility to support other riders. It promotes inclusion for different levels and abilities. One could even see no drop riding as a sort of team sport, in which riders share a goal to finish together through group effort.
Do the no drop riders get bored or annoyed when they can only going as fast as the slowest rider? I’ve tried to manage this negative self-talk by assuming that some riders, like Sam, see the fun of riding at all different speeds.
I am grateful for a cycling club that has patient volunteers committed to providing no drop, mixed gender development group rides. This year I am slow, and I do not have a road bike, so it feels incredibly supportive to have people willing to ride with me: at a sometimes uneven pace and at a distance I can manage in my first year of the sport.
I have not yet experienced a “drop” ride, but I wonder what it’s like and how I will feel in the group as I ride.
What is your experience with the different types of rides, FIFI community? When does the group make you feel like a team?
Drop rides make sense for groups that want to ride at a certain pace. They advertise that pace and then don’t feel bad if they drop someone wfh can’t keep up. But even rides advertised as drop rides will often regroup at the top of hills or at traffic lights or the turn around point. Sometimes, as the dropped rider, I’ve wanted people to go ahead without me. I wanted to ride at a slower pace and I was okay doing that on my own. I used to do that once we were almost back into town. I knew the way and I needed a longer slower cool down than other people. There’s a range of what people will mean by drop rides.
Grateful for your sharing, Sam! I look forward to trying a drop ride…when I get the confidence!
I once overreacted to a letter in our cycling group newsletter once frustrated with people riding off of the front of the casual rides. Now, I was one of these, because we had almost *no* touring rides (14-16mph) but a lot of casual (12-13) and fast (17+). It felt like a no-win situation. Ride with the group I’m too fast for, and the ride leader has to wait for me at the end. Ride with the slower group and have people mad. So I mostly stopped going to group rides.
But I think that person was the exception. I think most riders like to have other people to ride with and don’t get caught up in these sorts of worries.
I’ve also found that in most fitness spaces I’ve found, if you just tell someone, “I’m new here, anything I should know?” The majority of people will be super helpful (and I try to be one of the helpful people when I get a chance!)
Thanks for sharing. I agree that it may be tough to find a group based on individual preferences and abilities. I might be that person too! I
I’ve been on a lot of no-drop rides, both as the leader and as the slowest rider. Like Sam said, sometimes (when I’m familiar with the route), I’ll tell the group to go on ahead without me. I also never minded riding with the slowest rider; it’s part of the no-drop social contract.
Once, at the height of my cycling fitness, I went on a Wednesday out-of-town bike shop ride. Wednesday is hammer day, btw, so maybe that was not such a good idea on my part. However, the guys were really nice, and let me tuck in with them while they pacelined around me. I pushed as hard as I could for as long as I could, then sent them on their way, while I toodled on back happily on my own. It was so much fun!
So, bottom line: communication among riders in the group makes for much happier riders, no matter what… 🙂
Great suggestions. Communicate, do what you can do, and then feel out what others need. Complex sport! 😁
Excellent discussion. For the dropping rider it’s hard not to think that everyone’s annoyed. This self-consciousness is an aspect that isn’t very constructive in cycling but you see the same in golf, squash and other adult sports.
ut the truth is that most riders who join a no drop ride do it because they want to be in a supportive group. That goes both ways — sometimes they need the support and other times they ARE the support. This means being encouraging to struggling riders.
So if they’re annoyed, they’re in the wrong group.
It sounds like group riding can be about giving and receiving motivation and support. I like that combo.