Category: General information

Updates about the biking community, news items, and events of interest.

Paceline Tips

SSB runs different rides with the touring group and more structured rides from casual riding along the road to 8,000-mile-per-year riders that crave paceline riding.

  • Stay on the right side of the road way. If you see an upcoming obstacle slowly move to the left of the obstacle.
  • Keep your speed smooth and steady. Don’t jam on the brakes – feather them. Don’t coast – soft pedal. Be predictable in everything you do.
  • Stay about half a wheel back from the rider in front. If you don’t trust the rider in front – or yourself – increase the gap a bit.
  • Don’t overlap wheels. In other words, don’t let your front wheel be alongside another rider’s rear wheel. Stay behind their wheel. Don’t be off to the side.
  • Listen and watch for signals, especially in larger groups:
    • “Car up” means there’s a car ahead in the opposite lane; “car back” means one is about to overtake.
    • “Runner up” means there is someone running towards the paceline.
    • Left and right turns are indicated by the standard hand signals: left hand out for left turn, left hand up or right hand out for right turn. Stop or slowing are indicated by right hand down, palm back.
    • Pointing down means “road hazard”: a hole, storm drain, or whatever. Sand and glass usually elicit verbal comment. A rider to the left of the paceline pointing to a space between bikes is saying “Lemme in!”
  • If the situation does call for increasing speed, do it gradually. Speeding up quickly stretches out the line like a spring, stressing everybody as it comes back together.
  • Turn the pedals 30 times at the front. More is not necessary and perhaps counterproductive.
  • Stay out there too long and you’ll find that it’s the most common way to get dropped from your pack; you’ll be too tired to stay connected to the end of the train, and you’re history.
  • When you’re making your way back, stay close to the line – you’ll still get some benefit from the draft. Soft pedal. Keep pedaling but easy.
  • When you’re pulling off the front, do not slow or stop pedaling as you begin to pull off, lest the person behind you run into your wheel. Save enough energy to make sure you’re continuing to “pull” off the front of the line.
  • Finally, you made it to the back again. Time to sit in, eat and drink, shake out your hands.

Weekly rides 2020

The weekly rides will return in 2020. At the membership meeting on 1/4/2020, we planned the following rides. The start date for the Marshfield ride has not been set, yet.

  • Blue Hills weekly on Wednesdays
  • Hanover rides weekly on Saturdays
  • Halifax rides every other Sunday
  • Alternative starts every other Sunday
  • Thursday Time Trial will be every other Thursday starting 5-14-2020

The Blue Hills ride will be focused more on hill workouts. The first ride will be on 4-15-2020. The meeting spot will be the free public parking lot at Houghton’s Pond on Hillside street in Milton. Workouts will include the option of the classic loop, repeats on the access road, and repeats on Chickatabot road in Quincy.

The Hanover ride will start from Route 53 by the BikeWay. The first rides will be on 4-18-2020. The first group will leave at 7AM. The Women’s group and the moderate pace group will roll at 8 AM. The front group will use the 50 mile route starting on 6-2-2020. The standard 37 mile route will on 4-18-2020.

The Halifax ride will start from Route 58 and Route 106 in Halifax. Park at the Cumberland Farms. The first ride will be on 4-19-2020. We will run this ride every other Sunday. The standard route to Marion will be used.

The Thursday Time Trials will start on 5-14-20 from Halifax. A route map is being made by Mr. Chris Corbin. Mr. Corbin will be the time trial manager.

Suggestions for alternative ride starts should be sent to Mrs. Liz Malone-O’Hara or Mrs. Wendy Torkelson. The alternative rides will allow members to showcase different routes or for the club to participate in rides with other clubs.