Andy Edwards imparts the benefit of his experience

fitness | Group skills sessionsfitness | Group skills sessions

Louise Mahé

It won’t have escaped your notice that over the past few years the number of people cycling or returning to it after some time off has rocketed. What perhaps has

not been so obvious is the change in dynamic this has created in clubs, sportives and racing, with a larger than ever range of abilities and experience sharing the roads.

While newbies may worry about group riding etiquette and developing their skills, more experienced riders worry about the consequences of being in a group with those less skilled. After all, it only takes one misjudgment by any rider in a group to bring others crashing to the tarmac.

Traditionally, clubs have always provided an environment where new cyclists can learn from old hands. South London-based club Kingston Wheelers have taken this one step further and run a specific skills session day for their club members.

With the influx of new riders, more and more are turning up on club runs. Kingston Wheelers have between 70 and 80 riders to organise on a Sunday morning, and run coaching days to help make these rides safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

The idea of the sessions is to equip club members, in particular those that attend club runs regularly, with knowledge of how to ride in a group. This means that on any given weekend, when new riders turn up, there are enough experienced and knowledgeable riders present to pass on the tips and techniques of group riding.

Doing this not only makes riding together safer, but also makes it easier for everyone, as riders know how to share the workload, sit in, and maintain a pace when it’s their turn on the front. The skills sessions are aimed at everyone — from inexperienced novice riders right through to racing members, there’s something for all levels of rider to learn.

Come one, come allThe growTh in cycling has led to an explosion in club membership, and now Kingston Wheelers is bringing new riders up to speed by hosting group riding skills sessions

“I was very passionate about making the skills day open for everyone”

Brains behind the sessionAndy Edwards is the instigator of the sessions and feels very strongly that it’s something that most clubs should be putting on for the benefit of all their members. “When I took on the skills day I was very passionate about making it open for everyone. I came back to riding, after a long break, and I found it a very different scene. It’s not just the racers and the CTC anymore, everyone’s much more mingled now. Particularly with the increase in sportive riders, for the bigger events you need many of the skills used in road racing even though it’s not racing.”

After remembering how he himself had got into racing and

learnt all the necessary skills to survive on club runs or in big bunches, Edwards realised the importance of catering for this new breed of cyclist. “When I joined my first cycling club, Nelson Wheelers, my coach Duncan Horsfall would have us doing drills around a car park where we would practise cornering and close-formation group riding in addition to the regular club run.”

It was this education process that inspired Andy to ensure riders of all levels were catered for at his skills days. “Skills are fundamental now,” Edwards explains. “With so many riders out on the road it’s important that everyone knows how to ride appropriately. There’s only so much we can do on a club run, especially in a club this size. There’s a certain natural learning curve for a new rider that comes into a club, with people giving advice, but I think the benefit of today is that they can get much more attention in a more structured manner.”

With around 100 riders attending the skills day, from a club that boasts well over 500 members, Andy tells how more experienced riders are encouraged to help out and share

Karl harris (41)riding a year, in Kingston wheelers for seven months

“This is my first time at something like this — I’ve only been riding for a year. I’ve done lots of club runs and this is my first organised experience with the club. It was fantastic, especially the last exercise (riding in one big bunch). At first it was a bit chaotic but we settled down just

with three or four of us in a group and actually put what we’d learnt into practice. My skills are not all there yet so it was great to work on them today.”

Skills days: your chance to learn

riding about a year and a half, in Kingston wheelers for six months

“After joining my local club soon after getting into cycling, I realised quite quickly I was riding faster on my own than with them and decided to join a bigger club. Despite breaking my foot in the summer I rode the RideLondon sportive and after that thought I might like to

get into racing, so signed up for this to get a bit more of an idea of if I’d enjoy it. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from today (staying in the big group for eight laps was a big boost), particularly on being told the technique to go round corners faster.”

Alice Lethbridge (28)

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fitness | Group skills sessions fitness | Group skills sessions

riding almost two years and joined Kingston wheelers in April

“It’s great that I’ve been able to ride with the rest of the club and learn more skills. Today I found it scary to ride so close to other people’s wheels, but I know what I have to work on. For example, I now know how to corner better and turn tighter, as well as understanding the

importance of not losing a wheel — it’s a lot harder on your own than behind someone.”

their knowledge at skills days too. “Cycling has a big culture of etiquette — you listen and learn from the people that are more experienced than you and that’s easier as a kid. Those that start in midlife sometimes have more of an issue at getting to grips with those skills, especially when you’re just being told what to do. It doesn’t always fly with someone who’s spent £10k on a bike and earns a six-figure salary in the City — they’re not used to being told what to do or being spoken to in that way.”

Whether or not you like being told what to do, Edwards explains it’s important to actually bite the bullet and nail your group-riding skills. “At the end of the day, if you’re on a bike you have a responsibility to yourself and those around you to ride appropriately.”

Session structureOn arrival, riders were given a briefing on how the session was to be run, which in true cycling style included a coffee and cake stop. This also gave

Andy Edwards, in charge of running the session, a chance to introduce Team IG-Sigma Sport pro riders Wouter Sybrandy and Pete Hawkins who were on hand to give some advice to those at a higher level within the club and to set a steady pace for the big group ride at the end of the session.

After splitting off into smaller groups with riders of similar speeds and abilities, the coaching began. The novice group started off with how to do basic turns, which is where each rider sits on the front taking all the wind and therefore having to work harder. The concept of everyone working hard for a few minutes then sheltering behind others and having a rest means the group can maintain a faster speed than if riding as individuals. Little tips such as flicking the elbow to let the person behind know when you are swinging off as well the importance of maintaining a set pace were highlighted as points to focus on as they set off.

After a few laps there was a quick regrouping to discuss

how things had gone and a few other points were explained, such as to think about traffic when pulling off the front out on the road. Gradually, the group’s exercises got harder and different types of changes were explained and practised, included paired changes and through-and-off. The importance of communication was also obvious within the sessions, as faster groups passed safely.

The post-coffee break part of the session focused on getting used to riding in bigger bunches — a skill Andy was keen to emphasise the importance of, as even those riders just wanting to take part in sportives are going to have to ride as part of a peloton.

The group began the big bunch ride at a relatively steady pace which upped with each lap,

Bought her first road bike around six years ago, for commuting

“I commute to work most days and do the odd long ride down to Brighton, but usually it’s just me and a friend, so lots of my riding is done on my own. I’ve never ridden in a group or been told how to share the workload like this, it’s a real eye-opener. From today I’ve definitely

learnt skills that mean I’m more confident when there are lots of people around me. It’s really made me want to join a club now, it’ll make riding a lot more pleasant and easier!”

Charlotte heywood (31)

“Cycling has a culture of etiquette – you listen and learn from others”

thanks to Wouter and Pete, which gave the novice riders a chance to get a feel of bunch riding.

As the pace upped some of the newer riders dropped off the back of the main group, but they naturally created their own smaller groups and put into practice the skills learnt earlier in the session, doing through-and-off to maintain a decent pace.

Lessons learntThis session is a great example of a club looking at the changing demographic within cycling and adapting to suit it by putting on sessions to cater for all and make riding together safer for everyone.

Little things such as pointing out potholes and indicating moving out around obstacles are easy to teach on a club run.

However, nailing through-and-off and changing safely while out on the open road is a harder skill to master. So this is the perfect way to get riders used to changing and moving around in a group without the worry of traffic.

Instead of just moaning about the newbies’ lack of skill and knowledge out on the road, it’s something you could think about trying with your club. Doing this, as Edwards points out, makes riding safer for everyone.

As cycling grows in popularity, clubs need to be mindful of the pressures and hurdles that face new riders. Kingston Wheelers’ open-arms approach, catering for all level of riders, is a promising development and one of the key reasons the club’s membership has boomed since 2010.

Started commuting five years ago and joined Kingston wheelers two years ago

“This is my second skills day — it’s good to learn to ride close together, especially for the club runs. Even if not everyone has been to the skills day, if a few have then it’s better as you can shout out if necessary and pass on some tips as you know a bit more.”

Mike hartrey (47)

Daniela Di gioia (33)

Derrick Thirlwell (36)riding about a year and a half, in Kingston wheelers for six months

“I was one of the Olympic starters so have only been riding since summer last year. The experience of riding in a group and the process of moving round and changing was great. Usually when we do group rides there’s about 10 or 12 of us and we end up just shimmying between

each other, but doing this and having an almost organised conveyer is really new to me. Getting the feeling, at the end, of riding in a peloton was really good and I enjoyed it.”

Does your club offer

skills training? Tell us what

you’re doing to welcome new

cyclists cycling@ipcmedia.com

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