Club Run 28/04/07

[-Adam-]

Yeah you tell 'em Steve! So im likely to be on the CR on the 12th... Fancy some competition!?

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Hang on guys, is this the ACC club RUN, or the ACC club RACE

[Andrew G]

Ignore the nasty men Steve. As a sprinter you should be safely shepherded to the line with the minimum of effort from yourself.

[Snoop Doug]

Speaking as the resident snail.....

I always have a real problem with all this macho we'll go in the x mph group today and then rip it up to x +mph. For me - the club run should do what it states from the outset, ie 18mph ave MEANS 18 mph average. As someone looking to improve this year I need the confidence that when I step up a group, I'm not going to get shelled out the back in a shower of testosterone (eeewwww).

Why can't people who want to rip along just step up a group and do so?

Answers on a postcard.

Confused of Carshalton

[huw williams]

Note your concern Snoop but usually the stated aim of the group, 17, 18, 19mph or whatever is adhered to by the vc(s) in charge of the group.

I've noticed though that many ACC members are a little conservative in their choice of groups. ie they tend to ride below their level of ability which slows their development as riders.

If I'm leading a group I can usually establish what the speed is going to be (by looking at the riders in it) by the time we get over the three humps before Reigate. If we're doing an 18 for example and riders are struggling I'll make sure we stick to an 18 average religiously and anyone wanting to ride faster can head up the road alone.

Saturday's was a classic case of an early season, sun on you backs for the first time kind of ride where the 19mph was full of decent riders (including a few comfortable with the training group) who were well capable of more than 19mph.

Consequently everyone was tapping along unruffled by 20mph up to Hooley, 27mph down the other side and 18mph over the three humps.
So nobody complained when I upped the pace over Reigate common and through the lanes, no-one was dropped as we regrouped after major junctions and before the dual carriageway and everyone split turns on the front and shared the through and off. In short it was clear from what was going on in the group what the sensile pace should be.

The end result was that a few 19mph group virgins found themselves at Charlwood a lot earlier than they thought possible - and didn't feel half dead from their efforts to get there. You could see the sense of achivement written all over the smiling faces. To my mind that's a sensible way for stronger riders in the club to help less strong riders improve.

I don't think its macho posturing. Macho posturing would be going out with slower riders and attacking until everyone's split all over the road then bragging about how you dropped everyone repeatedly. OK this might happen in reports from the training group, but that's what a training group should be like!

Upping the pace slightly to a point that riders are working a little harder than they might be used to is not attacking wontonly to make the ride unbearable. Traditionally thats been the domain of racing oriented clubs all over the country and largely the reason many of those clubs have a problem recruiting new members.

ACC don't have that problem - largely because we have a dependable structure of groups where you can rely on the VCs to adhere to the pace they say they're going to do. As VCs we try to evaluate what the standard in the group is like and adjust the pace accordingly - if anyone's struggling we'll slow down.

I was amazed on saturday when I joined a group made up largely of riders from the 18mph and below groups back via Box Hill - even the slowest and least experienced riders were tapping along comfortably at 19mph through the lanes. This would have been unheard of just a few years ago in the ACC when the 19mph group used to be the training group. I think its testament to the group structure working quite well and helping riders develop.

Anyway - there's always room for improvement and all suggestions regarding how the club run is structured are welcome.

And here's a picture of AJ carrying his sponsorship money home from Charlwood


[img]http://i12.tinypic.com/4kdtzl4.jpg[/img]

[-Adam-]

Spot on Huw, even the training group is often quite steady. In that we/they don't always just ride off up the road. Its a good hard ride, and it makes you work harder than you would in a race. But we always regroup for the dual carriage way. Which is then pretty disciplined until were off onto the run in into Charlwood.

But i agree fully that riders ride in a group too easy for them sometimes, and then tear it up un-wittingly. I for example was caught out when the groups were spilt up a couple of months ago. I was chatting at the back of the group as the last 18's headed out and monty told me i was too late to join in as the group was 'too big' (i was racing the next day so wanted an easier ride) anyway, the 17's was a bit too slow for my liking so i stormed off the front of it almost as soon as we left css. looked about and i think the group knew full well that they weren't going to see me again til the cafe. so i put my head down and was with the 18's by merstham, which i thought was a fairly decent ride

Anyway, the moral of the story is, don't be affraid of the step up!

[Mike I]

[quote]the 19mph was full of decent riders (including a few comfortable with the training group) who were well capable of more than 19mph

[Snoop Doug]

Huw. An excellent, articulate reply to my post. You make some good points - and I guess my lesson is not to take the ride reports on the forum too literally/seriously.

I note your point about riders going a group below. I guess that's everyone's prerogative, it definitely makes someone like me (who is very unsure of himself) inclined to hang back when I see a load of super fit folk in the group above me. My (I think understandable) reaction is "well if that lot are gonna stick at 18mph then I'm a monkey's uncle".

I will try to make an effort to step up and see how I go - I can always drop off to a slower group after all.

Nice one - Snoop

[huw williams]

Thanks Doug - I don't want it to seem like anyone is under pressure to move up through the groups - if you're happy in the 17, 18 or whatever then stay with it. If you or anyone else are concerned about the speed when you move up, tell the VCs its your first time in the group and they should make sure you're doing ok on the road and the pace isn't too quick - if they've stated its an 18 group and its averaging 20, you have every right to scream and shout at the group leaders (especially if its Ian Munnery).

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you adapt to a slightly faster pace.

[John Czernobay]

Exactly Huw . Dear Agreeables, don't be affraid , step up a group and you will be amazed you know you can do it. Also, the big plus is it's a great help when new people join the group as they can settle in to a group if they know the speed is maintained. Plus, then you can adjust your training if you do want to move up a group .

Another thing, don't be shy about having a go at the front , it's a lot of fun and the beauty is it keeps the rotation going in the group so you share the work load which keeps a steady pace and best of all you get to know other members of the club . Go on try this Saturday, even for a few minutes; when you've had enough just shout "change" and move across. It's as easy as that.

See you tomorrow morning and have a great Bank Holiday

John..
PS. And don't worry, your in the "safety zone" if you fall behind the "Specials15" will be there to pick you up.