After a message from someone on eBay i join a local group ride for their chain gang. Turns out meeting a bunch of men in lyrca round the back of a petrol station outside Slough can be a lot of fun.
Thanks to the Berkshire Gregario’s for hosting.
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34 Comments
Loved this. Very relatable content for a lot of cyclists I imagine. It bought back memories of when I rocked up at a group ride knowing no one, and no experience of CG or pace line. It turned out to be a great group that got me into racing and trips to Spain. It is a great way of progressing your cycling journey. Well done Max
Great ride, good you found more local riders. I know group riding can be intimidating but normally bigger groups or clubs have different levels so something for everyone so people should check out the local clubs and meets.
Good video, it is nerve wracking joining a new group. We, in the local clubs I ride with, tend to let the fast ride go first then the 2nd, followed by the 3rd. This for me works well as you don't get the faster group passing you, which inevitably ends up with a surge in the slower group holding onto the back of the fast group, which blows the 2nd group apart. As someone that spends a lot of time hanging on by the skin of my teeth, even a 1kph uplift can be enough to blow me off the back.
42kph Ave for a 40km ride seems very fast and quiet a jump from 27kph. I would be anchored in group 2.
Good vid, Max! I think this kind of content will go down well and you obviously enjoyed doing it yourself.
Nah, do the fast group next time. Good prep for your first A grade Zwift race. 🙂
3 groups and a name . Sounds like a club to me
I used to do weekly chain gang nights which started me into the racing scene, the impact on my fitness was immense. The best way to get fast is to ride with faster riders.
My old course was on a loop which came in handy in the first few weeks/months because when I used to get dropped I could soft pedal and wait for them to come round again and then have another dig, week by week I got stronger and stronger until I started putting in little "attacks" of my own.
The anxiety bit is normal and still get it now, just the apprehension of the pain to come 😂
0:46 so Taylor, Bernie, and Constance 😂
Great Video on a positive random meet up. Looking to do similar soon near Rochester as yet to do a road ride in the UK, this has given me more incentive. Cheers 👍
When rotating at the front it helps when the guy who is currently the head of the group yells out "Clear!" when you're safely ahead of him. If everyone does this it helps riders who are less aware of their immediate relation to the front rider's wheel and tire, so hopefully it cuts down on folks overlapping and causing an accident.
If there are guys in the group who are new or just less experienced it can give them confidence to rotate and give them the sense of purpose because they're helping everyone go faster, ride smoother and stay safe.
this looks like so much fun
Nice vid (BGFN well known to me). "What did I do wrong?". Half-wheeled twice @7:16 and @7:25 on the Drift Road section, which is one of the fastest sections, where fatigue is setting in as it is in the last 5-10k of the course. Tbf, you are coasting mid paceline, and for sure you certainly want to avoid braking, but noticeable that no one ahead was overlapping despite the concertina. At Drift Road speeds, especially with the Thames Velo hot group pulling on the front, if the guy on your inside, turns even slightly right connecting with your wheel, it could get ugly real quick.
Also, FYI last year Robbie McEwen (he of the TdF Maillot Vert) came out on the BGFN. Rumours of Adam Blythe possibly joining the Tuesday fun this season.
Riding on the flat looks amazing, wish I had more of that!
Reminds me of going out to my first Local Group Ride, and I got yelled at 3 or 4 or 5 times, for a while 🤔😂… Well over the Years I became the Ride Leader, and the Boss of the Rides, and was the one doing the yelling (kinda) 🤔😳👍🚴♀️🚴♂️🚴🏻♀️🚴♂️
Good ways to meet people is join a club , and find a decent local shop and chat to the guys there …. Chain gangs are great way to get race fit as motivation to not get dropped means you push yourself much much more than a standard coub ride … great video
im 34 and still lay out my kit and spares the day before and get there half hour early for an group ride to quell the nerves
Should really be 20 to 30secs, 1 minute is too long a turn
Nice to see group rides! 👍
Well done. There definitely needs to be more of this type of content on YouTube
Hey, nice vlog. I'd say stick the faster group off first, then you'd avoid getting tangled up, a big group is probably a bit unsafe on the road. Else, just keep it the same, but if the faster group catches you, let them go so you're out of their slipstream, then continue at your pace.
I gave up cycling club because of all the pettiness and jealousy from grown men just because I was a lot better than they were. Utterly sad.
The more organized (and faster) pace lines I’ve been in will have the front rider start to pull off as soon as he gets to the front. In other words you aren’t really taking a pull as much as you are just pulling through. Be careful not to surge when you get to the front other wise that will start opening gaps. Also ….when you are at the end of the of the line and start moving forward, let the guy drifting back that you are last rider. You can simply say “I’m last” so he knows to start sliding over and get in the draft of the line moving forward. Also….dont necessarily pull off to the same side. Pull off into the side where the wind is so you shelter the line that is pulling through.
Where are the rim brakes?
Thinking about the possibility of getting murdered when invited to a group ride, lol.
The slower group should never chase down the faster group as it comes by, it’s just asking for trouble. It’s good etiquette for the slow group that’s just been passed to ease for 30 seconds to allow the two groups to continue separate, racing to get on the back disrupts the slower groups rhythm and causes confusion for the faster group as the riders drop back. Really bad form and dangerous. If the group you’re in is too slow then the following week start with a faster group.
Great video, i definitely relate to the anxiety point about new group rides, well done for raising it! couple of minor things since you asked 😅 i would say that this is a group ride, riding as a pace line (great) and not to me a chain gang. Also i would consider using "they" or "rider." As opposed to "his" or "guys" to try and help encourage more inclusivity and participation in the sport?
I know it's not your group but having the faster groups go off first might be better because if people drop from the fast group they can join the mid group etc and you don't have this sketchy overtaking a big group stuff.
Nice video and it’s comforting to know that our club is similar in set up for these rides to others. A chainy for us is the 2 parallel rotating lines (counter clockwise) whereas we would call your ride a pace line. Good advice during the ride though. 42kph+ is a very good lick. We have 34, 37 and 42kph averages so again similar. Love our Wednesdays here in north Cambridge !
I used to ride these and loved them super fast ride way beyond your level – nothing like the experience of these, super super thrilling 😍😎 truly beautiful days – used to do the faster group as no one screwed around and just rode no pretty scrapping
wind dictates direction you pull off. move up sheltered, drop back in the wind
These are my old training roads, been a while since i have been over yhem. Used to do a chain gang with a group of guys. Great fun. Hopefully i can get back into it soon.
How do you like the sunglasses for cycling? Looks like Sungod Airas? How do they deal with wind at high speeds?
Great video
That wasn’t a chainy. It was a pace line.