Cycling is one of the few endurance sports that allows weaker riders to stay in a group with stronger riders, due to the nature of pack riding and drafting. For example, if you know you can ride 40 miles solo at 16 mph, you might be able to do the same 40 miles at 19-20 mph if you draft off the other riders. The trick is to this in a way that you can survive the distance of the ride and finish.
Here are a few tips and tricks I've learned over the years to do it:
1. Maximize your preparation. The other riders may be stronger than you even on their worst day, so you need to be at your best. You have a lot of control over your own preparation- such as rest, diet and hydration. Don't cook your legs with hard riding the day before, if you know you will be challenged by the pace. Make sure to eat enough breakfast and to properly hydrate the evening before the ride. Check your equipment- twice. During the ride you want to focus on your riding, not on issues with your bike. Get to the ride early enough so that you have plenty of time to stretch out and get dressed.
2. Underdress slightly. Why? Because you will likely be riding above your comfort zone and you don't want to get too hot. You also may not have time to stop and remove clothing if the group is zooming along. Make sure you have enough food and water for the ride, and cash if the group stops.
3. Depending on the ride... warm up. Some rides have a 10 -20 min warmup, others start very fast. If you are the type of rider that doesn't fire on all cylinders until the first half-hour is over, then make sure you warm up either by riding to the start or getting their early and doing a warmup loop.
4. Size up the others. OK the ride's been going for 20 min, by now you can see who is smooth, who climbs well, who descends and corners well. You will also see which riders have trouble closing gaps, or are just antsy about staying tight on a wheel. As soon as I notice riders who are letting gaps open, I go around them and glue on to the wheel of someone ahead of them.
5. Sit in. Let the stronger riders do the bulk of the workload, believe me they won't mind, especially if they know you are of lower ability. A common mistake is to feel that you need to keep taking pulls because the others are. No. Not until you're stronger. If you decide to take a pull, make it a short one.
6. Use your body position and road positioning to maximize the draft. This is often overlooked, but extremely important. Sitting on a wheel is not enough, you need to find the sweet spot where you have the least wind in your face. Move left or right as needed, stay as close as you can to the wheel in front of you. When you are in the sweet spot you will feel a noticeable decrease in effort. Stay low- on the drops if it helps you or if on the hoods bend your elbows to drop your torso. Keep your knees in. Keep your head level, not looking down which creates more resistance. Breathe.
7. SPIN! As in high cadence. I was watching the riders around me who at times were cranking out 275w and they were all spinning at least 90 rpm, some over 100. Look at your heart rate... if there is room for it to go up and not be in the red zone, then increase cadence. Shift more load to your cardiovascular system and less load on your muscles. You will use your muscles on the climbs and later in the ride or if the pace bumps up and you need a big gear.
8. Spin up climbs- at least some of them. A lot of riders attack the climbs, and generally in a group where you're one of the weaker riders the climbs may be where you suffer the most. Try doing some of the more gradual climbs sitting and spinning a higher cadence.
9. Keep drinking- liquid fuel. On a hard ride I prefer liquid fuel to solid. Eat your banana in the car. On a fast moving ride, maintain energy levels by drinking your sports drink every 10 min or so. Don't be fooled by colder weather. You are still sweating and you need water, electrolyte and sugar. IN a fast moving pace line you may not have time to unwrap your Lara bar. Do that when the group takes a break.
10. Go to the front. What? Didn't you say in #5 to sit in? Yes. But there can be times when going to the front works to your advantage. Much depends on the other riders. One benefit of going to the front is that YOU now control the pace. For example, on todays ride, there was one guy that was making it hard for everyone every time he came to the front. My HR was shooting up on the climbs, because he kept attacking the climbs. So when he came off one of his monster pulls, I went to the front and kept the pace moderate. You can't slow the group too much, but believe me the other riders will often not complain if you ease it up slightly. I noticed that on the climbs, I was able to keep HR constant if I was at the front. Another advantage of being at the front is that you can keep the pace more even. This is useful in a group that has too many surges or rapid changes in speed. Remember, its not always the pace that wears you down, it is each jump and acceleration. Riding at the front could be a way to recover slightly, if you do it at the right times.
11. Stay positive. Focus on the fact that you've survived this far. Do not focus on the fact that you may be suffering, in fact try to conceal your suffering. Keep your body language that says "I'm fine" even though you may not be fine. Tell yourself, "OK if I can just crest this hill, I can recover..." and you will. Much of whether you survive the ride will come from mental toughness. You may be stretched, you may go into the red zone, but at some point the other riders will ease up.
12. Avoid burning matches. Skip the sprints, the sprinters will sit up at the end of each sprint. Focus on not losing contact with the wheel ahead as each time you need to close a gap means more energy expended.
13. Remember your round pedal stroke? Use it. Again, a relatively fast circular pedaling motion is your best friend. If you find yourself struggling focus on that smooth pedal stroke. Use your hip flexors to reduce some load on the quads.
14. Use your strengths to your advantage. If you're a better climber, then use the climbs as your place to pull. If you're a big strong rider who is a locomotive, then you will be in your element on the longer flatter sections of the ride. If you are a great descender, rip the descents. Its not that you're trying to drop the other riders, its more a mental game for you to show them that you're not totally useless. If you can put the other riders into discomfort, they might be less likely to drill you.
15. If you can't hang on the whole ride, you still did 50% or 75% of it. Do not view it as a failure. It may take several attempts until you can finish the entire distance without being dropped.
