Ask Oli: Group Rides

As my relationship with cycling has fluctuated in its health, like any relationship does over time, one thing that has always drawn me back to the many joys felt on my bike is group riding.

You can make whatever you want of a group ride. It can be a race, a training ride, a social ride, or even all three. You can use them as a gauge for your fitness (and other people’s fitness), or use them to practice race tactics and to learn new skills.

My favourite part of group rides is the social aspect. They offer an excellent opportunity to catch up with like-minded friends, make new ones and make them suffer as you do it. After, you can share your excuses as to why you didn’t win over coffee, pastries or beer on a patio and waste your day. I love it. I go to these rides to have fun and as a side-effect, I get a workout in.

Group rides aren’t a race—well, they sometimes are—but they’re not a race. Some groups may decide that there are sections on the route where they will sprint, or race up a hill and then regroup. Others will actually have an agreed upon start and finish with a long section in between that’s more or less a free for all. But in the end, there’s no award for whoever crosses the line first. No one cares (I do), which means you can take risks that you wouldn’t necessarily take in races by pushing yourself harder than you usually would. And if you lose, there’s always next week.

From a training for racing perspective, I find that group rides can offer very realistic race scenario workouts, and riding with people stronger than you can allow you to push yourself harder than you might when you’re alone. And, since some are like races, a group ride might be a good thing to try if you’re planning on getting into racing. This way you can practice riding in a peloton and learn a little about tactics.

Not all group rides have to be done as races. The Saturday Oak Bay Bicycles group ride in Victoria has several groups based on ability. You can seed yourself according to how hard you want to ride.

In fact, most rides do. Tuesday through Friday in Victoria there are early morning (6 am) group rides hosted by the Tripleshot Cycling club. Each day covers a slightly different route with planned intensities. Again, you can seed yourself according to ability. There’s also the Peninsula ride on Sundays, a relaxed 2.5-hour coffee ride.

Often in the summer, different shops host rides as well. I know that Broad Street Cycles has one on Monday evenings, and Fort Street Cycles and Russ Hays each have one on Tuesdays.

I’ve found every group ride above to be very accommodating and welcoming. If it’s your first time, treat yourself as a total noob. Seed yourself in the lowest category. This way, people will not be bothered if you hold them up. You’ll also have an easier time and won’t risk feeling like an inconvenience, which will ensure a higher quality personal experience.

Some rides, such as the Oak Bay Ride, and likely the Tripleshot rides, ask that you have cycling insurance. You can get insurance through your race license as detailed in last weeks post.

If you’re thinking about trying a group ride, ask your local shops. If they don’t have one, I’m sure they’ll know of one. Pay attention to terms such as drop or no-drop, or drop and regroup. Drop rides leave riders behind, and I’m sure you can figure out the rest from there. Enjoy!

Oliver Evans 20-year-old cyclist from Winnipeg, currently living in Victoria.