Just joined - Hello, and after some tips..

Jimflex

Hi everyone,
I Just joined the forum so wanted to introduce myself. I live in Stotfold, 34 yrs old and recently got back into cycling after a few years break. I work in Stevenage old town and after riding along NCR12 back and fourth many times on my mountain bike in the past i thought id take the plunge and spread my wings so to speak (also having decided to shed a few stone 6 months ago this made sense). ive bought a cyclocross bike - boardmans CX team so i can mix road and off road without too much issue. generally now im riding 30 to 40K the long way to work, various routes and direct route home 14K as i have a wife and 2 young kids to rush back to after work, im sure the parents reading this will appreciate time is precious. getting up early before work seems to be the time to get the miles in..

Anyway on the tips front i could do with some advice, after an incident on the walkern to stevenage road on wednesday i found myself face first in the tarmac, ending up in a ditch full of stinging nettles. cuts and bruises, could have been worse but got me thinking about road safety.

I have now discovered info on primary and secondary positions, ie ride in the middle of the lane (lane not road - im not suicidal) when you dont want transit vans to overtake when there is no room around a blind country lane bend. this would have prevented wednesdays incident. however are there any other basic road safety things i should know in terms of positioning and general do's and donts you guys and girls can advise me of? id rather learn now than next time i get run off the road by my mistakes.

Also im planning on coming to one of your wednesday morning club runs if thats ok. ive never ridden in a group before so have no idea what to do or not to do but i have to start somewhere. ive also signed up to the adult novice race on 14th June in letchworth so could do with learning a few pointers so i dont upset everyone.

Anyway enough of my waffling, thanks for any input you can provide on safety,
cheers
James

JeremyP

Welcome to the forum Jim.

My recommendation is to join one of our club rides and get your questions answered face-to-face. You'll find a friendly welcome and lots of good advice on offer.

mattss

Welcome! Bad luck on your incident, hope you recover quickly.

Yep ^^, or pop along to a club night. First Tuesday of the month at the Three Tuns.

Andy S

Welcome!

Wednesday morning clubs runs may not be the ideal first group ride out TBH. You might be surprised at both the length and intensity while also trying to learn to ride with a group for the first time.

There is a shorter 'instructional' ride every other week that might be a better starting point for group riding.

A

geoffg

Jeremy is bang on Jim. Just join in a club run Sat. or Sunday and anyone on that ride will be more than happy to help you along and you'll soon catch on to what it takes to ride well in a group. I would suggest you stay away from the faster rides to begin with and just have fun getting to know the other members and some of the routes.
As to riding in the middle of the lane (not road) it depends. On your own and no traffic in sight all well and good I suppose.In a group it's a definite NO. We ride close in pairs, unless etiquette and commonsense determine a single file. We ride close in on the left except when the edge is badly cut up. As to other stuff you will pick it up quickly. Ultimately we'll never ride in a way to satisfy the few aggressive motorists who don't care and don't think we should be on the road at all.
Enjoy the club and welcome.

Jimflex

Thanks for all the comments. I know the best way to learn will be in person on a club ride, my problem is time. Weekends are never an option for me so not even worth considering unfortunately (as much as I'd love to) I can take time off work when I like within reason hence the Wednesday ride thoughts. Are there any entry level rides on weekdays at all? As to pace according to strava I'm averaging around 25kmh for 90 minute rides 3 times a week with no real difficulty. Hills seem to be the challenge but they are getting easier. I'm not sure how that pace fares in terms of group rides, no point if I'm going to slow everyone down or get dropped

Jimflex

And as to position in middle of lane geoff I meant on bends. What happened on Wednesday was at the top of a relatively steep climb walkern road to stevenage about 500m from the first stevenage roundabout if you know the road, I was on my own, 5 to 10 cars behind me in rush hour and as I turned the left bend at the top I was around a foot from the kerb, a transit with trailer on the back squeezed by me between me and oncoming traffic right on the bend, the van just missed me but as its trailer came round the bend it cut a closer line to the curb and would have hit me if I hadn't bailed out into the verge. If I were to have moved into the middle of the lane going round that bend I couldn't have been overtook and the van would have to wait until I'd got round the bend where I would then move back into the side to let him pass. Would probably have received a honk and cheery hand signal but better that than get run off the road.

geoffg

sounds a close call Jim. Sorry you had that experience. We've all had similar run-ins with stupid and aggressive drivers and I doubt that will change much. Take your point re position and you are probably right.
Bob used to take a slower ride on Wednesdays but that seems to have changed recently....I am sure others can fill you in on the present ride details.
Tim Duckett sometimes does group riding sessions on our track at Smallgains in the village on weekday evenings and these would be a great way to meet others and learn group riding skills. Safe too.
Andy Skeens comments are also well based but if weekends are a no-no at present it sounds like you have a reasonable base fitness to survive.
Have fun and good cycling.