There are times when you'll find yourself in unfamiliar company, either on a group ride, a charity ride, a fondo or a race. \u00a0You'll be surrounded by people you don't know, you're not familiar with their handling skills and you're not even sure if they are comfortable riding in a group. \u00a0In situations like these, you'll need to be on high alert and ready to defend your space and yourself. \u00a0Let's face it: if you're stable,\u00a0sure afoot (awheel?) and not afraid of contact while you're riding, you're actually pretty hard to knock over and crash out. \u00a0If you're nervous, twitchy and afraid of contact (I.E. you panic and steer away from the guy bumping you) then you're going down sometime sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Protect Yourself\u00a0By Protecting Your Bars<\/strong>
\nDefending yourself includes the space immediately around you and especially<\/em> around your handlebars. \u00a0Your bars are your lifeline to your bike: if someone knocks them or takes them out, you lose complete control of your machine and are significantly more prone to crashing. \u00a0If you're always defending your handlebars, you'll be a lot safer, you'll be a lot more stable and steady, a lot more confident and you'll be a lot less prone to going down.<\/p>\n

In order to defend your space and your handlebars, follow these simple tips (and practice them regularly with your regular group ride buddies and teammates):<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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• <\/a>Stay low over the bike<\/strong> –\u00a0Staying low over the bike will lower your center of gravity. \u00a0Think about descending in the drops or on the hoods: you feel more stable in the drops, right? \u00a0That's because your center of gravity is moved closer to the ground, making you more stable overall. \u00a0This is why we ride low on the bike\u00a0on descents. \u00a0It's also why we ride low on the bike in a pack: we're harder to knock over. \u00a0If you're up riding on the tops like you're riding a cruiser, the slightest bump will send your high center of gravity self reeling to the pavement.<\/li>\n
• Protect your drops<\/strong> – Either keep your hands on the hoods with your forearms parallel to the ground and ready to fend off anyone getting close\u00a0(this position is often called “Going Belgian” for the habit of one Tom Boonen to grab the hoods with his last two fingers, drop his elbows down into a tight tuck and turning up the gas) or,\u00a0alternatively,\u00a0you can have your hands in the drops with your elbows tucked in to your side or slightly flared. \u00a0Both positions help keep your body low over the bike and protects your hooks. \u00a0As an extra precaution, having your elbows flared or tucked in by your drops\u00a0prevents someone from riding up to you and hooking a shifter into your drop, which will almost inevitably cause you to go down and you'll lose some skin.<\/li>\n
• Be predictable<\/strong> –\u00a0You have the power to crash yourself just as much as someone else does. \u00a0For this reason, and for the reason that you\u00a0don't<\/em> want to get tangled up with someone else and go down (or make them go down), it's absolutely imperative that you be comfortable and predictable riding amongst other bodies. \u00a0You need to understand the implications of each move you make, each drift to the left or right, each move up or down the field you make. \u00a0You need to avoid making sudden moves, master the art of looking under your arm before you make moves to the sides (to check who's in your “blind spot”) and have some awareness of who's around your space. \u00a0Never make sudden moves, never grab the brakes without damn good cause to do so. \u00a0If you're not comfortable riding in a group like this, take a few buddies to an open field, have them ride closer and closer to you on either side to get used to moving within a peloton.<\/li>\n
• Stay near the front<\/strong> – The front of the race typically has fewer riders in it, it's typically less twitchy (because people are not fighting to move up through the field) and there are more avenues for escape. \u00a0There's also a lot less “accordion effect” where any small change in speed at the front becomes a huge change in speed by the time it filters through to the back of the field. \u00a0Finally, the strongest riders will be at the front, and the stronger riders typically aren't riding on the ragged edge of their fitness or skills to stay up front.<\/li>\n
• Don't grab the brakes unnecessarily<\/strong> – It has to be said again, DON'T grab the brakes unless you have a really good reason (like someone just crashed in front of you…)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
  
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