The safety tip got one very curious reaction from a cyclocross announcer with “35 years of bicycling experience”. It seems to me that RAGBRAI is a truly unique experience and ya gotta see it to believe it.
https://ragbrai.com/2012/05/02/ride-right-safety-tip-4-the-right-riding-2/
RIDE RIGHT
15 Replies
Sandaltan, I couldn’t agree more and had to post a comment after reading what this guy was advocating.
It’s interesting that he compares his ride, with 150 riders, to RAGBRAI with just a few more, LOL!!!!! It appears to me that he does not understand RAGBRAI!!!! However, I’m sure he means well, LMAO!!!!!
Well, if nothing else, the post was good for amusement.
As a newbie to RAGBRAI, I’m scared to death of hurting somebody else. I’m doing what I can to enter all the group rides I can to get as much experience as I can in riding in groups, but from what I’ve seen and heard, nothing is going to completely prepare me for RAGBRAI. I’ve been in a few pacelines in small group rides, but I can’t imagine doing RAGBRAI in a paceline. That would seem insane to me.
KC
yes they can be insane. the 8-10 in front probably know what they are doing and have done it together before. the 20-30 behind them, well, you see a bit of everything mixed in there, hybrids, road bikes, bents, people who don’t have a clue.
I think the hardest thing on RAGBRAI is constantly watching out for other riders and cracks in the road.
I’ve been in occasional pace lines (not race lines) with people I know, and we’ve always been careful and courteous, and had no issues because we don’t do them when it gets crowded, and we slow down as needed. We also aren’t that fast!
I’ve also been a Klingon and grabbed a rear position with some folks doing a pace line, only to drop back because they just weren’t “Riding Right”, only to see them piled up shortly after.
There is NO ride that compares to RAGBRAI. I think there are safety rules that may only apply to this ride.
Go hang out with a couple of experienced racers and ask them to take you to a grassy field for some low speed bumping drills. Learn what it feels like when another rider leans into you and get the experience to lean back into them so you will not fall. Do some wheel rubs so you know how to react and stay up when wheels overlap and touch.
Later in the day, away from the pass through towns the crowds thin out and small, well run pacelines can be done safely and effectively.
As far as Richard’s comments, WoW, can he be any more clueless?
I had to throw my 2 cents at Richard. I think he doesn’t have a clue. Is appropriate here…. Say no to drafting on RAGBRAI. Over the years I’ve seen to many folks not in the Paceline get seriously hurt. When the paceline goes down. You come to Iowa to have fun. Not bleed all over our roads. Have fun, be safe, enjoy Iowa and the pies.
I tend to avoid pacelines on my ‘bents. First reason is that it’s usually people I don’t know, so I’m not comfortable with them. Second is that a lot of people aren’t comfortable riding near a ‘bent, and third, you really can’t get a draft off of me, so I feel like I’m cheating the rest of the riders.
About the most I’ll do is hang about a full bike length+ behind somebody if we are both going the same pace, I’m sure I’m getting a bit of wind break, but it’s not so close that people feel like I’m wheel sucking.
Steve
Just gotta say that I’m in agreement with the group in that Richard is way off base. RAGBRAI just isn’t the place for drafting, pace lines or racing. I’ve seen lots of accidents caused by pace lines hitting congested sections of the road, frantically screaming “on the right” as they over take the pack but refuse to slow down. They whiz by oblivious to the accidents and near accidents they cause as riders scramble to get out of the way. Or worse, they become part of the accidents. There’s a time and a place for that type of riding. If its open road and you know the people you’re riding with, go for it. But if you see congestion ahead, its time to hit the breaks and ride casual until you work your way around the pack. RAGBRAI’s not a race, its an experience. Slow down and smell the roses.
Yeah,
It would sort of be like saying that crowds wandering at the state fair would be a lot more efficient if they just grouped up and marched in formation.
My 2 cents is a pace line is fine if there is open road, but what really gets me is those drunks that try to ride and weave all over the place. Some people come or I would think most people come to have a good time and and all they do is complain about others. If you want to ride slow stay to the right and don’t drink and drive if you want to stay alive.
I think the hardest thing on RAGBRAI is constantly watching out for other riders and cracks in the road.
I completely agree with the statement above. I am not the fastest rider and I am also not the slowest rider. The thing that has always scared me the most is the crack in the middle of the road. If it is wide enough to grow weeds,it is wide enough for your narrow tire to get stuck into. Too many people ride way too close to the center crack and are unaward of the danger.
That is a big reason why I ride 28mm tires on my bike! A few years back, another rider cut me off and forced me into one of those center cracks! I could feel my back wheel (25mm) catch in the space. I did not fall but it was kinda scary!!!!
:evil:
to pace line or not to pace line?
I think the best argument not the pace line was the sun rise coming outta Sioux City a couple of years back.
Relax, enjoy the ride, talk to a stranger u may make a life long memory.
Ok, don’t get me wrong. I love riding in pacelines. In 2010 I got in more pacelines than I can rememember. I did it because well at the time I thought “I’m a veteran cyclist and young. I want to go as fast as I can!” I did it to live on the edge. Though I had done 9 RAGBRAIs, this was my first one all the way across in a few years. Simply, I wanted to go fast. I even remember drafting an ambulance at one point on Thursday as we fought a headwind. I looked over to the only idiot next to me and said “If this guy suddently stops, we’re screwed.” I laid off, went slow, and we still whizzed by other riders.
But since then I realized I was young, stupid, and got incredibly lucky! My thinking has changed, and I will only draft my Dad and stepmom on their tandem. That year I met a group of people on the Century loop. I will admit, it was pretty awsome. There were only a handful of people on that part of the route, so we started a tandem paceline. I still can’t believe I pulled that for two miles. I mean, it was awsome to be respected like that, pull, and be taught by people next to me how a tandem paceline works…
But like I said, we only did it on the deserted portion of the centruy loop. Paceline riding under those conditions is fine.
However, once I heard the stat that 70 % of accidents on RAGBRAI are caused by pacelines, it made me realize what you guys have been preaching for years!… NO PACELINES! Richard needs to do RAGBRAI to see what we are talking about… I bet he won’t. But there’s no place for it in this kind of pack riding.