Easy?

[G3CWI]

What does "easy" mean in the context of a club ride? I'm a new club member and have seen a few first-timers struggle on "easy" rides. The club is good at not dropping new people so they never get left but newcomers do sometimes struggle - which must be disheartening.

I have suggested that advertising average MPH is potentially rather misleading in a ride description. MPH depends on so many factors - like how hilly the ride is. Also a group that stops several times might have a low average speed while their actual riding speed is much higher.

Newcomers dont usually have the confidence to ride close enough to the person in front to gain much of an advantage (especially at night on unfamiliar roads) so they are potentially working much harder too.

Any great ideas on how to engage new people more effectively?

 

[TissoT]

Who is the club ?
Re group every 4/5 miles to Give others to Catch up
max speed to the Slowest Ride or maintain a 15/16 mph pace

 

[youngoldbloke]

Perennial problem. Used to advertise ours as 'Easy Rides'. Would get completely inexperienced people turning up on BSOs complete with knobblies. OK thats good - encourage, but morning rides that should have taken 3 hours were lasting into mid afternoon. Not fair on the leaders, not fair on the others - who would get fed up and stop coming. Tried to solve the problem with 'beginners' rides, but of course, no one turned up (!), so they stopped. We now call ours 'Leisure Rides', and give distance and some indication of average speed and suitability, but it is difficult. Just how do you advertise them?

 

[mjr]

"Should have taken"? So you're aiming att a higher speed. Be honest and advertise it. Here's how we describe our "no rider left behind" ones http://www.KLWNBUG.co.uk/about/

 

[G3CWI]

morning rides that should have taken 3 hours were lasting into mid afternoon.

I can see that being a problem for all the participants. It is tricky as there is quite a leap from a 10-15 mile gentle potter in the sunshine where the idea of joining a club of like-minded people seems appealing to the "norm" of club cycling which is a lot further and a lot faster. Actually it is probably why those Sky Rides are so important. They do seem to occupy that middle ground.

 

[youngoldbloke]

"Should have taken"? So you're aiming att a higher speed. Be honest and advertise it. Here's how we describe our "no rider left behind" ones http://www.KLWNBUG.co.uk/about/

We do -12-13 mph - eg - 30 mile ride, with 30-45 min coffee stop = 3hrs ish, start at 10, back around 1, 1.15. We don't leave anyone behind either, but if you have a rider who has difficulty maintaining more than, say, 8mph, it isn't fair on the majority of the group to keep asking them to wait. In fact there isn't really the demand for a beginners ride, whilst the numbers on the 'Leisure' ride have more than doubled over the last year, so much so that we are having to split the ride into 2 groups.

 

[cyberknight]

What does "easy" mean in the context of a club ride? I'm a new club member and have seen a few first-timers struggle on "easy" rides. The club is good at not dropping new people so they never get left but newcomers do sometimes struggle - which must be disheartening.

I have suggested that advertising average MPH is potentially rather misleading in a ride description. MPH depends on so many factors - like how hilly the ride is. Also a group that stops several times might have a low average speed while their actual riding speed is much higher.

Newcomers dont usually have the confidence to ride close enough to the person in front to gain much of an advantage (especially at night on unfamiliar roads) so they are potentially working much harder too.

Any great ideas on how to engage new people more effectively?

I think the problem can be , as you said the average speed which new comers take to mean the speed you ride at on the flat rather than a real average including hills etc which can mislead people.

 

[G3CWI]

In fact there isn't really the demand for a beginners ride

I wonder if the name is a problem? After all most people learn to ride a bike when they are about five so they probably don't see themselves as beginners.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I wonder if the name is a problem? After all most people learn to ride a bike when they are about five so they probably don't see themselves as beginners.

They were advertised as:
Novice and family rides: 10 miles (16 km) 8-12mph
Intended to be an introduction for those new to cycling or looking to gain confidence on the bike. All abilities welcome. Open to existing and non-members

 

[Kevoffthetee]

Our club has 3 levels, beginners, development and club

The beginners and development rides tend to average out at 12-13 mph and the only difference is distance, 20 miles vs 40-50.

Club rides can be anything and everything as they mix hills, 60-70 mile regulars, time trials etc

The beginner and development rides have a "speed of the slowest rider" rule where the pack isn't allowed to spread by more than 4-500 meters before we stop and regroup. It can get annoying for the better riders but they are encouraged to switch alternate Sundays to the club ride where the fast lads show them how it's done.

 

[mjr]

It seems quite fair to expect people to wait on a none left behind. If some are not happy with that, split the ride, let them ride further and see them at lunch.

Anyway, easy riding does not necessarily mean beginners. If you're talking about racing clubs, then OK, but realise racing isn't the only riding and even your newcomers rides will be too hard for some, while more experienced easy riders have little interest in being insulted as novices, beginners or pejorative terms like that, just because we don't race (or don't race any more or all the time).

 

[youngoldbloke]

Our Saturday rides are 'easy' compared with the faster longer Sunday club rides - although within those there are groups which ride at an 'easy' pace (and include myself). The terms beginner, novice and family are not intended to be insulting or pejorative - how would you describe rides intended for these groups? Remember that club rides rely on volunteers to arrange and lead them, and it's great if someone is willing to be responsible for looking after slower riders, but it is a lot to expect them to do so week after week, if the new rider is really very inexperienced and not capable of staying with the group, yet insists on riding, having read that 'no one is ever left behind' (as did one guest).

 

[mjr]

If it's only for those groups, fine, but that's not the same as an easy ride.

I know this is all volunteers (I'm often sweeper for the aforementioned easy riding group, have done parts of flat rides at 6mph and so on), but please don't advertise it as no rider left behind if you don't want to wait or find some other way of coping. You're not happy because you can't go fast enough, they're not happy because everyone is giving them evils for riding slow. Maybe collaborate with your local easy rider clubs and touring clubs instead of pretending racing clubs are for everyone?

 

[youngoldbloke]

What does "easy" mean in the context of a club ride? I'm a new club member and have seen a few first-timers struggle on "easy" rides. The club is good at not dropping new people so they never get left but newcomers do sometimes struggle - which must be disheartening.

Any great ideas on how to engage new people more effectively?

^^^ Obviously not. Have you? mjray - The assumptions you make in your post above are really quite inaccurate. I am pleased you have found a club which manages to be so inclusive. The numbers on our Saturday rides have more than doubled in the past year, so we must be doing something right. It is hard to cater for all abilities all of the time.

 

[mjr]

Yeah, because easy riders are less able! I don't think I'm the only one who could justifiably be accused of making assumptions here...