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"Medium" chain gang 30th April
OK there seems to be some interest in a slightly slower group (not least of all from me!) so let's try and get it going this year.
Starting this Tuesday I'm proposing a medium pace chain gang meeting at the same time at 3 T's or Steeple but setting off a minute or so later to avoid confusion.
Still aiming for a challenging pace but lower 20's and not the 25mph pace that the fast group are heading towards
Who's in for this?
Andrew
Starting this Tuesday I'm proposing a medium pace chain gang meeting at the same time at 3 T's or Steeple but setting off a minute or so later to avoid confusion.
Still aiming for a challenging pace but lower 20's and not the 25mph pace that the fast group are heading towards
Who's in for this?
Andrew
Comments
I am up for this!
Peter
See you Tuesday - what time?
New Steeple Morden meeting point is Cheyney Street near the garage & post office about 100m from the junction with Hay Street/Church Street
There is an intro session planned in May for those new to riding in a paceline - I am sure news of this will follow soon.
Daniel
Peter
can take a couple of minutes then to make sure all comfortable with the route and how it works, if required.
it was probably a bit too fast for a true "medium" chaingang, think lap 1 was about 22 mph from a standing start in steeple. i got dropped at the beginning of lap 2 so no idea.
i think ideally lap 1 would be a bit steadier allowing us all to keep together and push it a bit on lap 2. but i think we probably say that at the start of every chaingang season, it usually settles down a bit as the summer progresses. i didnt count the fast group but it looked big, you could maybe even say there was a case for 3 gangs, fast 1, fast 2 and medium?
but anyway it was great fun and just what my legs needed after a rubbish winter and early spring, thanks all, especially andrew for organising the medium group.
We went on for another two... nice one chaps.
Thanks Vince for your advice, encouragement and the odd push.
There may be a case for three groups but for a medium paced group I think that was about right.
Looking forward to next week
Andrew
Probably more ready for the third group ("medium 2") next week.
Peter
Jane, not sure if it was much fun for you. Was the initial pace too high? Thought you would have been ok with the pace if you had ridden in the slip-stream of the rear rider. Was trying to shown you how to do it. Perhaps one to practice on a Saturday / Sunday ride when we can do gentle through and off. it is a bit spooky riding in the wheel of another rider at pace but you do get used to it.
As the weeks progress three groups may emerge as some of the group were looking able to up the pace a bit. It was also good that riders that got dropped from the faster group ahead were able to drop back to the slower group.
Let's keep getting big numbers out and the chaingangs will be a lot of fun and good training.
And remember it is not a burn the wheels off ride but a controlled fast ride so re-group after the drags.
No excuses for not being able to get up the drags. They don't count as hills so learn to ride them - efficient pedaling is key and not going into the red too early.
That speed just isn't sustainable for me (yet). Also, it did get a little bit scrappy from Bassingbourn, so I was fairly happy to do the 2nd half solo.
Looking ahead, for me, the point of chaingang is for the team to work as efficiently as possible together, which means we'll travel faster with the same effort. From what I saw, individual riders have loads to give and were working hard. I think the challenge for all of us is to work on getting it smoother - it's not how hard you work, it's how you work with everybody else that really matters.
Maybe it'd help if everyone at the start agrees to a max speed for that lap? Then riders can monitor their speed as they move into the driving line, knowing that they need to put in a bit more effort, but also knowing they mustn't exceed the speed cap. That might stop the pace escalating and keep us focussed. (Then set a speed cap for lap 2, according to how lap 1 went and what's right for that team on that day)
J
try riding the same cadence....it's easy to copy the leaders cadence and takes the temptation away form those who push big gears. One less thing to go wrong and frees you up to concentrate on going through smoothly and keeping tight......just a thought guys