Apres Velo Blog

Taking a turn on the front of the group is a part of riding in a group. It generally consists of a number of kilometres with each pair staying together until they get off the front. After having a turn on the front (generally about the same amount of time as everyone else is taking), the pair separates & moves to each side (left & right depending on their position at the front) of the the group allowing the riders behind to come through to the front.

To get to the back of the group, ease off the pressure from the pedals slightly (soft pedal) or stop pedalling briefly as you need to get to the back of the group as quickly as possible. Make sure you keep an eye on where the last rider of the group is so you can start pedalling to get on the back of the group.

Also - when rolling off the front after doing a turn, always try to roll at a spot where the road is wide enough for you both to roll around the outside of the group.

You & your partner need to do some planning about where the best spot is going to be. With some planning, it is often possible to come off the front a few hundred meters earlier or later to avoid a dangerous situation & avoid unnecessarily upsetting motorists – for example the rider on the left can ride near the gutter & the rider on the right rides close to the white line on the right side which will allow the group to ride between them.

How do you control your speed when on a long descent so that your brakes don’t overheat the rim braking area ?

The best way to keep your rims from overheating is apply the brake on & off & sit more upright. This will help blunt your speed as well. If you sit up in a non aerodynamic position, this will act like a parachute & also stick your knees out - either one or both . All this will help to scrub off speed now & then. Also try & relax the hands which should be on the drops of the handlebars and remember steering the bike should come form the hips.

Another trick is to take a nice wide entry into the turn & apex in the middle of the corner which means you’ll be straight lining the corner. If done correctly the bike will exit with virtually no effort from the rider. Remember it’s always faster to have a slower entry into the turn & then power out on the exit.

All this will help to scrub off speed when you might need to.

So look ahead when cornering & control your speed.