Paceline Rules- Second Wheel

This post describes a position that doesn't get much details written about it out there. The second wheel is probably the most important position in the paceline, more so even than the leader. The Second Wheel calls the shots, dictates the pace, and determines the direction that the lead rider should pull off.
If the wind is coming from the right, Second Wheel should tell the Leader to pull off to the right, into the wind. All riders should be lined up at an angle to the left of the rider ahead of them, overlapping wheels. If someone were to pull of to the left, this could cause a crash. If the wind is coming from the left, then the Second Wheel rider tells the Leader to pull of to the left, into the wind.
If the leader accelerates too much on their turn, Second Wheel needs to communicate to them to keep it steady. If the pace is getting strung out the Second Wheel needs to communicate to bring the speed down. There is no "one" person who is Second Wheel, like there is no "one" person who is the leader. This position is constantly changing as the paceline rotates. So it is important that everyone on the ride is aware of the responsibilities of the Second Wheel position.
The Second Wheel rider should also communicate when "The Whip" has occurred. In this situation, the Second Wheel rider is actually the one who has just pulled off. They will be the first to see that there are no riders continuing to pull through. They need to communicate to the Leader that they will continue the paceline starting anew. This will keep the speed high and steady and eliminate surges that can cause crashes.

Paceline Rules- The Gatekeeper

Okay, so this is my favorite position in the paceline that goes completely misunderstood by most riders. Technically this person is the last wheel in a paceline, but not actually in it. You can do this in a large peloton or a small one. With the group rotating, the gatekeeper sits at the back, letting the group rotate in front. They can sit on the left or right, or slide back and forth with the rider coming out of the slow lane into the fast lane. The gatekeeper has two responsibilities: To let riders know when they are last wheel and can come back into the fast lane; To keep riders who are unable or unwilling to pull through in the fast lane from entering the paceline. This last one is tricky because the gatekeeper helps smooth out the surges and gives the riders behind a nice easy ride, which tricks them into thinking the ride is too easy, and they want to pull through. Sometimes, the gatekeeper keeps a gap open and the riders behind want to close the gap, thinking that they will get dropped. It is hard to keep these ruffians in check as they will always disrupt the smoothness and efficiency of the paceline. The gatekeepers job is tough and it's a thankless task. But if you want to join a large group ride and save your energy for another time, it's an important skill to know.

Looks worse one week later

Ahh, road rash. I think the first time I ever got a hipper like this was in 1988, riding my skateboard to the bus stop. I was late and rushing, started to fly down the one long hill and got the speed wobbles, which threw me off of the board and crashing to the pavement. I didn't have time to even think and I just kept running and skating to the bus. It wasn't until gym class in 3rd period where I could check out the bleeding. Basically I have had a scar or a bruise on my hip for most of my adult life. Sweet. Well, this one is taking its sweet time healing and is still bleeding through my clothes so I had to start wearing bandages during the day. So nasty. Thanks!

Paceline Rules- The Whip

This first one is a major pet peeve of mine, that I have experienced twice, both times while riding in South Jersey. A large group of riders, riding a paceline at 27mph, with almost 30 people rotating through. But when the pace increases, naturally many of these people will now be in over their heads and decide to not continue pulling through. What happens here I call the whip. As riders are coming up the fast lane, in this case on the right hand side, and pull off to the left, the Whip is when the chain breaks and a rider pulls off and there is no one behind them to pull through. So what happens now, when this rider is at the head of the peloton, going 30mph and flicking their elbow wondering where everyone is? Do they soft peddle and wait for another rider to finally come through? Do they hold 30mph and ride hard until someone pulls through? If they soft peddle, the group is going to bunch up, people are going to have to hit the brakes, and the chances of a crash increase. If they maintain their pace, no one is going to pull through, since the speed is still high, and eventually the rider is going to soft peddle and we're back at the first option.
What should happen is that as the rider pulls off and sees that no one is going to pull through, they should maintain their speed for a few peddle strokes, bring the field back over to the fast lane side of the road, and flick their elbow and pull off in the original direction. In this case it is important that the second wheel rider respect this change and pull through, continuing the paceline as if nothing happened. Sure, they didn't get as much rest as they hoped for, but in a big paceline, you are never pulling for more than 15 seconds or so. My experience is the second wheel rider no longer thinks they have to pull and would rather wait for people to attack up the side to bring the speed up and continue the paceline.
I know some people will never change, and cyclists tend to be pretty headstrong and selfish, but maybe this will help

Road Kill

I was going to post about my rules for a safe and efficient paceline, as well as etiquette, but instead, I'm just going to put up pictures of my sweet new road rash. It's been a couple months since my last crash, so here we go.
Four points of contact, knee, hip, elbow and shoulder. My front wheel dipped into a sink hole that I couldn't see and it just decided to stop. I flew over the bars at over 25 mph and hit the ground, dragging my bike after me. My water bottles went flying past my head and as I unclipped I slid onto my back and skidded for 27 seconds before coming to a stop. Sweet. I stood up and cussed, only to see a woman with her kids standing across the street asking if I was okay. Thankfully, I was, and am, and only have lost skin and shredded clothing to show for it. Well, we'll see whats wrong with my bike tomorrow.

Cedar Mountain Road Race

Um. I may be a little over trained. Either that or I shouldn't have eaten so many Cheeto's the night before a 66 mile, 3 hour road race. Either way, I sucked today. To start, I never saw a convenience store on the way to the race and I thought I'd just be able to water up in the school's bathrooms. But no one came to unlock the school so I had to make do with the liter of water I had in the car. For three hours of racing. I warmed up by riding around the area looking for a gas station where I could buy something to drink. No luck.
Race starts with about 45 guys. It's cool out, as the sun hasn't really come over the mountains yet. So i'm not worrying about water too much. I made it through one lap (11 miles) with the group fine. I was a little chicken coming through one of the corners on the descent and wasted some energy chasing, but stuck with everyone coming back into the climb on the second lap. I got gapped towards the top and combined with my crappy cornering, I was a minute back coming through the start/finish. I chased solo until I caught up to one rider from the Colavita development team. He and I rode the third lap together, staying in sight of the peloton up until the climb. We started to catch popped riders, as well as drop them. I ran out of water somewhere around here. On the last lap together, we became a group of four, until the climb when I popped, and he rode away with one of our catches. They finished at least a minute ahead of me. Ouch. The field? Even further ahead. Anyway, I was given 17th out of 29 listed racers, with 10 DNF's.
I don't know if it was the bad pre race dinner, a bad pre race breakfast, not enough water, or not enough recovery from a near ten hour week. I raced really well on Tuesday, held back on Wednesday and rode nice and easy Thurs/Fri. We'll see how I fare tomorrow night in CT. In any case, I think I still have some hill training to do!

Hudson Valley

I just wanted to do an easy recovery ride today (Friday August 08, 2008). I ended up doing almost an hour and a half, which may have been too much. Some pasta for dinner and the olympics, then up at 4:45 to go to Vernon, NJ for the Cedar Mountain Road Race.

Cycle Fitness Training Crits

I have done three of these Tuesday night crits. They are hard, fast and pretty laid back as far as races go. There are "training races" in the Philly area, but I don't consider anything a race, training or otherwise, if you don't pin on a number.
Doing these training races is great to get over the first lap nerves that you get. Once you are used to pinning on your number and lining up, you quickly just get used to the process and you can focus on the race.
Last night was the first time I didn't get stitches and sit out a lap. I felt strong, had good power in my legs, and sprinted for at least four of laps with points. I beleive that I came out with a 3rd or 4th place at the final lap, depending on whether we caught the lone breakaway or not. I was a little cross eyed, so forgive me for not knowing!
I am happy with how I rode, considering I raced hard on Sunday at Doylestown and only had one day of recovery. I have three days now to recover before the Tour of Vernon- Cedar Mountain Road Race. 66 miles with what should be some serious climbing. Can't wait.