7 Tips for Hanging With the Peloton

Watching major cycling races on television, such as the Tour de France, is inspiring. Seeing the peloton working together for periods of time, then watching the race unfold is captivating.

Though you may never intend on racing at all, group rides and working as part of a peloton can be a lot of fun. Group rides can have a significant, positive effect on your cycling. For group ride novices, showing up for your first ride can be intimidating. Perhaps you worry that you're not fit or fast enough to stay with the group. Or, perhaps you're concerned about unspoken rules that you may unwittingly violate only to find that the group seems to be intentionally trying to drop you.

More: Basic Skills for Group Riding

To help you minimize the chances of getting dropped at your first—or next—group ride, let me share some tips. An informal group ride has rolled out of my driveway for more than 15 years. It operates as a drop-in ride, similar to "shop rides." It is not a "no-drop ride"—where all riders wait for the slowest rider. It is also not the Weekend World Championship ride where the entire ride is treated as a race.

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With that introduction, here are seven tips to help you hang with your local drop-in group ride so you can receive fitness benefits that will make a marked difference in your cycling strength and speed.

More: 10 Rules to Group Ride Like a Pro

Arrive Early

First impressions count a lot in business and pelotons. If the group is scheduled to roll out at 9 a.m. sharp, you need to be ready to ride no later than 8:55 a.m. If you're "that guy/gal" careening your car into a parking space at 8:55 a.m., don't expect the group to wait for you while you get dressed, pump your tires and fill your bottles. If the group does wait for you, be assured they think do in fact think less of you—already. You are wasting their valuable ride time.

More: Don't Be 'That Guy'

Stay Back Early On

You may want to show off your superior fitness or fine work ethic, but don't be riding on the front of the group pushing what you deem to be an appropriate pace on a ride you've never been to or that you very seldom attend. Allow the riders that are regular to that group start the ride and set the pace. Meanwhile, if you haven't already done it before the ride (when you arrived early) find a friendly face and introduce yourself. Ask about the dynamics of the ride and how it typically progresses.

• Are there designated spots to regroup?
• If there are regrouping spots, how long does the group typically wait?
• Does everyone charge up all hills?
• Is there regrouping after every hill?
• Are there informal sprints to city limit signs?

Knowing some of the group dynamics can help you survive longer.

More: To Group Ride or Not to Group Ride

Leave the Music at Home

It is extremely annoying to other riders if they are trying to communicate with you about important items such as pending danger or "stay on my wheel and I'll help you" and you can't hear a thing because you have music blaring in one or both ears. Either leave your music at home or keep it in your pocket to use when you are not riding with the group on your cool down.

Look Ahead

You can review your power, heart rate and average speed numbers when you get home. When you're in the peloton you must pay attention to what's going on ahead of you. Avoid looking at your cycling computer when you should be paying attention to what coming in front of you. That written, avoid getting your eyes locked on your own front wheel or the wheel just ahead of you. Look ahead enough that you can have some reaction time to debris in the road. Keep other riders in your peripheral vision.

More: Riding in a Paceline is a Basic Cycling Skill

Avoid Using the Group to Conserve, Only to Attack

Earlier in the column I suggested that you not ride on the front of the group attempting to set the pace on a ride that you've never or rarely attended. As the ride progresses, you may never take a pull on the front and put your nose into the wind. For many groups that action is okay as long as you're doing all you can to hang with the group. You will surely get stink eye from everyone if you happily conserve your energy throughout the ride, only to attack on all the hills and city limit signs. Additionally, know that you are now "marked." One or several members of the group will seek to punish you for your selfish, disrespectful behavior. If it is more than one member of the group extracting a tax from you for your selfish and poor etiquette, there's a good chance that your punishment is unspoken.

When it's Your Turn to Pull, Keep it Steady

It is the sure mark of an amateur if you accelerate one or two miles per hour when you rotate to the front of the group. You may be the strongest rider in the group or you may want to show everyone just how strong you are, either way your acceleration punishes the person that just worked hard pulling you and the others into the wind. More than likely your acceleration in speed will shell that rider off the back of the group. The difference between the strongest and best rider is in how a strong rider uses their power to help the group.

More: 5 Ways to Make Friends on a Group Ride

Do Not Ride With Overlapping Wheels

Your front wheel should not overlap the wheel in front of you unless the peloton is fighting a crosswind and is in echelon formation. In other words, your front wheel should be aligned with the wheel in front of you. If it is not aligned and is off-set, your front wheel should not overlap the wheel ahead of you. If you overlap wheels and the rider ahead of you needs to suddenly swerve, more than likely your front wheel will collide with the front rider's rear wheel. More than likely you'll crash and there's a good chance that you'll take others down too. This move marks you as a dangerous rider and no one will want to follow your wheel.

Some groups will intentionally try to drop knuckleheaded riders early in the ride so that rider does not become a liability for the group.

As you do more rides with your group, you will learn which behaviors are acceptable and which ones are frowned upon. The riders that are trying their best to be part of the group and help the group are typically rewarded. This means on the days when you're not feeling your best, someone will either drop back and pull you back to the group or they will wait for you.

These are just a few tips to help you get started building your group riding skills and etiquette. By working on these skills and your fitness, it won't be long before you're reaping benefits.

More: 10 Secrets for Riding in a Peloton

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