Hello All!!
We had a great turnout for Monday's Easy ride. There had to have been 18 or so people, and it was a beeee-ooootiful night for a ride. Rick Cosaro led the ride, out through Fermi and back. I sort of led a little, and swept a little. Oh, by the by, the main group dropped the leader.
A couple reminders: There are several roads we ride on a regular basis. Olesen, Green Trails, Greene, Royce, 248, 103rd St., Washington, Mill, Herrick, Stonebridge, and Mack. As the title of this entry indicates, these roads should be ridden single file. Automatically. No reminders needed. Greene Road between 75th and Royce; Herrick from Warrenville to Butterfield; and the entire length of Mack Road can be dangerous. There are curves and / or blind hills; last night there were several cars who went way too wide(their error) and almost experienced head-on collisions. We would have been the collateral damage. Too add to this, there was a casual rider on Mack, riding on the wrong side of the road. Several of us warned him; he got a little surly. I hope he didn't get a little side-swiped, or worse.
The clear danger, and bad example to both motorists and new riders, is when they see soi-disant experienced riders hanging outside the line, chit-chatting, riding one or no handed, passing on the left out of sequence, half-wheeling other riders, et cetera, the newbies either get confused, or think it's OK to emulate bad habits. Ride leaders(still way too few) can't very well give a mid-ride reminder to the newbies whilst giving the experienced riders a pass. I have received complaints from experienced riders about other experienced riders - both paries of the same error.
I fully realize we are not conducting training for racers. We are, though, trying somehow to pass on a legacy of dedicated, serious, recreational riding. Many of us follow racing; not quite as many delve into the studious side of cycling. While listening to Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen tell stories of the peloton, there is no substitute for actually riding - and sometimes, riding above one's current level. I rode with the infamous Spokes groups for 1 1/2 seasons before being humiliated once or twice too often. NBC is getting a reputation as a fast group as well, at least according to several newbies and email inquiries. The rep, though, is a good one. And I want to keep it that way. Cycling courtesy, safety concerns, and common sense are important to remember and to employ.
It is incumbent upon ride leaders and experienced riders to set a good example; it is equally incumbent upon all of us to learn from these examples. Ride leaders really do need to give a pre-ride briefing - hand signals, hazard indicators, ride speed; the whole thing. It's not hard to do, and doesn't take long. If a rider or group of riders decides to roll out ahead, tell the leader.
Thanks and have a nice day!
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I didn't mind that the group dropped the ride leader. It also doesn't bother me that the group went faster than the posted Easy ride speed. Though, Roy would have DQ'd everyone. I stayed back for one new rider who needed to ride slower, or around the posted speed. Plus, the others knew the route. Also, having the Endure It riders in the group, probably added to the speed.
In regards to riders, riding on roads with no shoulder, we need to work on riding correctly. That means single file.
Finally, that dude riding on the wrong side of the road, was a little out of it. Plus, he only had one arm. We as a club can do all we can to share the road, but there's always going to be weird people, like that guy, that will still set bad examples, and there's nothing we can do about those folks.
Ride Safe!
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