{"id":3510,"date":"2014-01-07T12:24:22","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T12:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=3510"},"modified":"2014-01-07T13:12:11","modified_gmt":"2014-01-07T13:12:11","slug":"get-angry-to-get-them-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/01\/07\/get-angry-to-get-them-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"get angry to get them safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

this article originally appeared in SPIN Magazine, out of Singapore – catch my new column there every month, entitled ‘Rubber Side Down’<\/em><\/p>\n

\"from<\/a>
from the January 2014 edition of SPIN<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ll never forget my first ever group ride\u2026<\/p>\n

There I was, 15 years old and stick-insect thin in my brand new 7-11 uniform, which despite being an XS size still left me looking like Chris Froome wearing Fabian Cancellara\u2019s kit. The slightest breeze and I almost fell off my Harry Hall newbie special, all 17 kilos of it, as the sleeves of my jersey became de facto parachutes.<\/p>\n

I huffed and puffed my way that cold winter evening to the roads around the aerodrome where the Wednesday night chaingang ride was held, seeing a throng of about twenty grizzled older guys gathered. I got a nod from one of them whilst the rest eyed me up for a brief second, then carried on with their conversation about the local barmaid.<\/p>\n

I looked around at the bikes, far superior to mine with their late \u201880s Campagnolo and Shimano groupsets gleaming in the evening light, and stared in awe at the bulging calf muscles, intimidated right from the off.<\/p>\n

\u2018Crikey\u2019, I thought, \u2018I\u2019m gonna get battered here.\u2019<\/p>\n

And then with a signal from the leader of the pack we were off, barreling down the flat road in no time, with cars and trucks whizzing close by. The front pair did a couple of minutes then peeled off, as I watched on from the back, eventually finding myself up at the front with an old timer next to me.<\/p>\n

He started half wheeling me, then pulled away by a bike length. I changed down\u00a0 a gear, dug in a little, then pulled alongside. In a moment of youthful exuberance I pulled ahead the same way he had and forged on. This was how I\u2019d been riding for the past three months, since I started cycling, banging along the roads of North Lancashire alone as fast as my legs would permit.<\/p>\n

I knew nothing else really, and the old guy\u2019s half wheeling had got me thinking I was in a race. Suddenly I heard a shout from behind and turned to see a guy break out of the group, chasing up to me, pulling alongside.<\/p>\n

\u201cOi!\u201d he shouted again. \u201cWhat the &*%# do you think you\u2019re doing! It\u2019s steady pace tonight! Go on, *&%# off to the back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Thoroughly browbeaten, I peeled off and did as I was told. As I reached the back, the guy next to me then had a go at me for wobbling and told me to get behind him. Luckily the effort I was putting in hid my burning cheeks, now a deep red more from actual embarrassment than from the effort.<\/p>\n

After another half a loop, another guy dropped back to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen,\u201d he said, \u201cthis is a group ride, it\u2019s fast, but we\u2019re not trying to drop anyone. You don\u2019t attack on rides like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, I didn\u2019t know,\u201d I replied sheepishly.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, can\u2019t you tell?\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n

He laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now you know. And try to keep your wheel steady or no one is going to want to ride next to you. Watch and learn lad, and there\u2019ll be no need for anyone to shout at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in that moment I went from being a newbie to being a learner. I watched, I studied the other, older guys, copying their style, holding my upper body and the wheel steady. It was something of a baptism of fire but it was a massively valuable lesson I\u2019d just learnt.<\/p>\n

I might have been younger than them, and maybe even stronger than a good few, but there was a hierarchy of experience amongst the group and I had to put my time in. I had to serve my apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

And then, as I got older, it was my turn to bollock the new kids! That, has to be said, was a sweet moment!<\/p>\n

Ok, I\u2019m joking there. Maybe\u2026! However, that experience when I was younger and living in England is one that is mirrored in many countries in the world, where young riders are taken under the wing of older riders who use their experience to guide and teach new riders how to behave on the road.<\/p>\n

They teach you how to train intelligently, how to corner, to descend, and, most importantly, how to ride safely in groups and how to respect other riders.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived out in Asia now for 15 years, and I\u2019ve been in group rides in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, and I\u2019ve raced all over Asia, and if there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve noticed in that time, it\u2019s that older and more experienced riders seem to be less and less common, as more and more new riders of all ages are coming into the sport.<\/p>\n

As a result, there\u2019s less of the \u2018old hands\u2019 in comparison, and less of the knowledge of the road and of the bike being handed down to these new riders. And the result of that is often group riding that is not only erratic and more akin to all-out racing, but at times very dangerous indeed. Now, I haven’t ridden in a group training ride in the UK for some time, but I would presume that this situation is replicating there and in Europe and the US too, as more and more middle class and middle aged riders are joining the fray.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s gotten to the point now, here in Taiwan especially, where I hardly ever ride in groups of more than five or six riders. The last time I went on a group ride of more, there were thirty riders who clearly had never been shouted at in the way I was way back when I was 15!<\/p>\n

The result? Utter chaos. Older guys who should have known better, even if they weren\u2019t that experienced on the bike, were sprinting off from traffic lights or even cutting right through red lights, dodging between slowing cars and just generally riding like it was Paris-Roubaix and the approach to the Arenberg Forest, not a Sunday ride through a congested town.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but think that the example they were setting was irresponsible at best and potentially deadly at worst. There was no cohesion in the group, and little respect for differing levels of ability.\u00a0 At every other convenience store the front guys would slow to a halt to wait for the stragglers, and then, once they reattached, they\u2019d bolt off again!<\/p>\n

I \u2018d had enough. After thirty kilometers of that madness I turned off and rode alone. I would have had a good old rant at them but my Chinese unfortunately isn\u2019t good enough\u2026<\/p>\n

Riding in groups is where young and other new riders learn their race craft. It is, in fact, where they learn how to ride their bikes for the rest of their cycling career, learning habits, be they good or bad, that are hard to shake. So, beter they be good ones.<\/p>\n

And so, for those older guys out there who do know what they are doing, I encourage you to get angry!<\/p>\n

We have a duty and a responsibility to shout at people who ride like idiots. Sometimes they know no better, simply because no one has ever told them \u2013 though sometimes, it\u2019s true, they are just idiots! Either way though, a quick, verbal cuff round the ear can do a great deal of good.<\/p>\n

That, or a quiet arm round the shoulder at a rest stop and an encouraging word in their ear would do. If enough of us do that then maybe we won\u2019t be complaining about all the crashes that racing seems, inevitably, to bring these days.<\/p>\n

Clubs and teams also should create beginner rides where new riders learn the craft of handling their bikes with others around. It can, ultimately, save lives.<\/p>\n

Right, I\u2019m off to learn some more Chinese. I\u2019ve got some bollocking to do!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

this article originally appeared in SPIN Magazine, out of Singapore – catch my new column there every month, entitled ‘Rubber Side Down’ I\u2019ll never forget my first ever group ride\u2026 There I was, 15 years old and stick-insect thin in my brand new 7-11 uniform, which despite being an XS size still left me looking like Chris Froome wearing Fabian Cancellara\u2019s kit. The slightest breeze and I almost fell off my Harry Hall newbie special, all 17 kilos of it, as the sleeves of my jersey became de facto parachutes. I huffed and puffed my way that cold winter evening to the roads around the aerodrome where the Wednesday night […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40955418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"get angry to get them safe","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194158,159546164,909,943],"tags":[767233535,5422205,48514,9543826,3745,1908551,53259,767233532],"class_list":["post-3510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-publications","category-punkopinion","category-random-stuff","category-training","tag-cycling","tag-how-to-ride","tag-juniors","tag-lee-rodgers","tag-magazine","tag-paceline","tag-spin","tag-training"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t