Over summer my local bike shop invited me along to their Tuesday evening ‘shop ride’. The shop owners are nice guys, smart, sensible, customer focused and great to deal with – easily the best shop I have ever experienced, anywhere.
This one ride had to be the single most disturbing bike ride I have ever had. Why?
Let me tell you about that night.
The guys who own the shop are famous head-bangers, big gear riding, half wheeling head bangers – but for all of that they never get too out of control.
This Tuesday evening was sunny and warm, 10 or so guys, a mix of experience and newbie’s gathered at the shop. The shop was obviously proud of its ride they even took a photo of the group before we left.
After a flat out start and a general re-grouping at the top of the first hill we start riding through the burbs - this is were it all starts to go horribly wrong.
Suddenly we are at race pace through peak hour suburban traffic. I’m at the back of the group and get a birds-eye view at what is unfolding.
The guys at the front were taking some risks, ducking and diving in and out of the slow moving traffic. The less experienced guys at the back of the bunch begin risking everything to stay in contact. I catch up every time we stop at a red light, we are getting some grief from motorists but then again this bunch are riding like complete idiots. The front guys go faster, the guys at the back take more risks, scary shit!
Up the next hill full gas and down the narrow twisty descent we go. The front guys aren’t waiting. I’m half way back in the bunch, we catch up to a slow moving car, there are no passing opportunities, no problem I think, and we follow the car down and catch the guys on the flat like we normally do.
But no, I now get to see some truly epic suicidal riding.
A couple of guys in front of me just pull into the other lane and pass – 200metres through complete blind bends downhill at 80kmph. This road at this time of night has a lot of traffic on it so I was sure that I would be helping pick up pieces of bodies and bikes. By some complete fluke no cars meet these guys head-on.
It was the scariest most stupid thing I have ever seen on a bike!
The road opens out a little and the rest of the group overtake the shocked driver. All through blind corners all of them risking their lives – for what?
After the finish of the descent and a few kms later I catch the group. I have a complete rant at these guys, there are some sheepish looks but most guys seem to not comprehend what I am talking about.
It is fair to say I am genuinely shocked, only a few minutes ago I was convinced I was going to see some dead cyclists!
I can’t ride with these guys they are too crazy for me, I take another road home, I don’t want to be a part of any further madness. But no, my previous companions catch me at the top of the last hill descent, I give it some gas to stay out of their way. Right at the bottom of the descent one of the same lunatics overtakes me on the outside through a blind right-hand bend, a car meets him head-on, it panic stops, he swerves around it and somehow he survives!!
I can’t believe what I am seeing for the second time that night. We stop at the lights at the bottom of the hill, I lose the plot completely with guy, who promptly threatens to punch me in the mouth for calling him a ‘stupid bastard’. The rest of the bunch are uneasy and don’t want to get involved.
So back to the shop owners, this was their ride. Because it is their ride whose responsibility is it to make the ride as safe as possible? Who thinks about the route, sets the speed, sets the safety tone and manner? –it is the shop owners. By not taking any responsibility for the ride chaos ensued and someone almost got killed.
My point is this, if you are riding in a group it is everyone’s responsibility to set the safety standards and police it, that is not about being heavy it is about being clear – “we don’t ride like that on this ride” tends to work. It is your duty to look after the guys you ride with, having a conversation like this when you need to might just be the most important conversation you can have with a mate – when they are dead it is a little to late. the job for anyone that leads a group ride. If someone is riding like a suicidal idiot tell them not to, for their own sake.
Bike riding is great but I don’t think I would risk my life for it.
That is why I seriously doubted the integrity of the shop owners. We talked about it afterwards. Their view was that they had no responsibility for others, it was not their place to say anything to anyone – in fact it was rude to do so. They take a different view now.
My view is it is entirely our responsibility to take control of a group ride and help shape for everyone’s safety and enjoyment – all of the time.
