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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 6:40:12 GMT
The usual practice seems to be that the proper fast guys start off and then there is a group of semi-fast people who you can see considering their options and then one by one they look around and see less people remaioning so, sheep-like, jump on the back of the now significantly over-sized fast group Every week. The middle group swelled to about 30 but we did split it into 2 at W Wickham. I think it would be better to organise into small groups at Elmers End before anyone sets off, to avoid making a split-second decision about which group to join.
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Post by Andy Davidson on May 23, 2019 9:21:39 GMT
So apart from the initially too large group of fast ‘B’s, that all worked out pretty well last night right? Some clear directions from the likes of Patrick and co and we had some nice sized groups that held together well. I think next week we can more easily spot the people we were riding with and do it again without feeling we need to have a group of 20+ at the start.
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Post by David Joss Buckley on May 23, 2019 11:10:28 GMT
Thought you'd all like to know that I'm nominating this for Thread of the Year...
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Post by jonathangales on May 24, 2019 8:26:33 GMT
I feel a bit late to the party on this thread. It's an amusing but great read. A few points from me that may be of interest...
I started chainganging with Dulwich 6 or so years ago in the intermediate group coordinated by Charlie Codderington and Steve. After a few weeks if getting some skills at a steady pace I tried to move to the faster group with varying success. Some weeks I'd get dropped near Botley hill farm, others I'd hang in and make it over the top. Chaingang got me into racing. It was a place to meet people racing and understand what races were out there and how to enter them.
I value the chaingang as a solid training session. It's taught me a lot about riding at speed and pushing a limit. This year I've had the pleasure of training with Canyon DHB's chaingang with Alex Paton, Rory Townsend, Jacob Vaughan etc. We do 3 laps of a race circuit over an hour. The ride has almost 3 distinct phases. First lap is fast smooth, cohesive. Second lap is more like a breakaway, riders push the pace, try to weed out the weaker riders. The third lap is out and out racing. Attacks, chasing, each person trying to win the chaingang solo, and others working to bring them back.
Dulwich chaingang has always had a similar unspoken format, and as Keir mentions there are drop points and wait up points. What isn't mentioned is the shit fest coming back into Bromley which I have always known to be a time where people attack, sprint, try to stay away. This part, I feel helps prepare you for racing, at the end of a crit or RR when people start to take flyers and you have to follow to stay at the pointy end.
I'm not sure you can measure chaingang ability in w./kg. Obviously the higher the better. Ability to repeatedly out out VO2 efforts is just as relevant.
Riding up a level with faster riders has always made me stronger and I would continue to encourage anyone to give the fast group a go. If you do though, rotate as Matt & Keir have said, or skip every other go if needed.
I think the biggest take away from this is for each group to be clear about whether it is a cohesive group, or one that intends to push the pace, as there are obviously divisions of ambition in both fast and steady.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 10:03:05 GMT
Good post from Jono and I'll second the point about watts and w/kg not being the be all and end all. The ability to recover quickly after repeated big efforts is very important and something that's been missed in discussions.
Also just to clarify, with the fast group there are no wait up points and shelling people out the back generally an unwritten aim (to thin a large group or as a test of strength) as who doesn't like to drop their mates?
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