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@dubkev
Hey John, thanks for your work with guiding the rides - honestly I would not have a clue where we are going, my knowledge of English geography does not extend beyond zone 2.
I was riding geared last week to Herne Bay for a few reasons. Like ms.chris, my right knee has never been the same after being hit by a car, and then after breaking my (2nd) collarbone last summer, no matter what way I tried to change my position / setup on the bike, riding fixed was always uncomfortable for me, especially on medium to long distances.
If it is a speed thing then I am happy to stay in the middle or rear of the pack for the rides - but there were geared riders both at the very front and very back, I think a blanket ban change now would be a little unfair, especially coming up to the date itself (I even booked an early flight back from Dublin on the Friday night so I could make this spin, just yesterday!), I know I'd be disappointed to miss out (I dont even have a fixie any more, sold the Masi earlier this year, and even my polo bike now has a geared hub to get me across town!).
Several fixed and ss riders left me well behind, even on some downhills, CowHen and the guy with the headphones on the red steel Langster being two I can think of off the top of my head. I'm happy to stay behind the pace set by a front group of one-geared riders (especially now as I think I am able to work out how to use the maps on my phone).
I think at one point you were a little shaken by one of the bigger / faster lads on the road bikes swooping past you on the downhill, that is completely understandable - its happened to me before on other rides (and this one too!), people perhaps just need a little bit more awareness of others around them and road sense. All this involves is a simple "I'm on your right" call if you are coming up faster on someone else's tail.
But as you say this is not road.cc and the rides are open to all so people may not be used to road riding in a group and how to look out for each other. (FWIW I dont think this would be limited to geared riders, on any more serious sloping downhill the s/s riders will be able to freewheel past the people on fixed too)
I remember reading a post by Cornelius Blackfoot from some other ride in the past about checking your bike beforehand, which was good pre-ride tech advice.
Similarly maybe we could do some non-militant / non-hectoring / gentle advisory guidelines for people to think of when they are riding in a group, e.g. overtake on the outside, keep the pace in a line if you can, stay one bike length back from the person in front of you, etc.. ? Just so everyone's safety is thought of.
I am happy to write these up, with input from anyone else.
Likewise I think the rides should be as inclusive as possible, as you say there are other forums out there that are exclusionary, if you showed up on a track bike to a hardcore roadie spin you would be snorted away - I think that flipping it around isnt good, there were people on geared hybirds for example, one guy on one it was his first long spin out of London, he really enjoyed it, it would be a shame to just say no. With some info & help on safety & etiquette on riding in a group with different bikes, I think any problems can be sorted out.