Road Culture

Group 1 

Group 1 ride culture is meant to bridge group riding to elite-level road racing. The focus is on building skills and fitness relevant to racing. Currently, only the Tuesday HIIT and Thursday Threshold rides adhere to this culture.

What to expect in Group 1:

• A hard group ride (typical average speeds approach 40 km/h) used as practice for racing: there may be attacks, breakaways and chases.

• Limited social aspect (we’re here to ride bikes, not talk about riding bikes).

• Sign/mailbox sprints with an extended windup beforehand when traffic/ road conditions allow (if you need to know where they are, ask your Ride Leader beforehand, or sit in your first time and watch/observe!).

• Limited, but not non-existent recovery periods, following these efforts.

Expectations for riders in Group 1:

• Comfort with all pacelines/formations (rotation in either direction, two up, single file).

• Ability to read the pace of the group and maintain it when taking a pull.

• Comfort with potentially getting dropped.

• Familiarity and/or interest in race tactics (attacks, breakaways, chases, sprints etc.).

• Fitness (again, typical average speeds of this group approach 40 km/h).

Group 2 

Group 2 is meant to provide training and camaraderie for seasoned riders. The guidelines for this group are as follows:

• Group rides are interval based to build VO2max, threshold power and muscular endurance.

• Pace is high, speed is fast and riders can be dropped from the group.

What to Expect on a Group 2 Ride

Spirited, steady pace often including sign or hill sprints when traffic/ road conditions allow. It is “hard fun”!

• rides use rotating pace lines, two abreast formations and sometimes switch between the two. Average pace has a lot to do with weather, route and riding style, but generally you can expect to finish with an average moving group pace of 35+ km/h.

• Our Tuesday ride is High Intensity Intervals to build VO2 Max.

• Our Thursday ride is Threshold- based to improve your power. 

• Our Saturday Fondo is designed to build muscular endurance. The Fondo rides are 100km+ and almost always include a coffee stop.

What  Group 2 Expects of You

You are a contributing member of the group and are comfortable riding in a tight group formation with a rotating paceline. 

• You take a regular turn pulling at the front because group members don't sit in. 

• You don’t try to break the group and if you aren’t able to contribute you are expected to leave the sprint for those who put in the work.

Group 3 

The Group 3 road group is focused on camaraderie and our love for being in the group. The guidelines for this group are as follows:

• We help each other maximize our enjoyment of riding together.

• Pace is strong and there are always sprint sections when traffic and road conditions allow, but our goal is not to drop riders.

• You are a contributing member of the group who is comfortable riding in a tight group formation with a rotating paceline.

What to Expect on a Group 3 Ride

Spirited, steady pace often including sign or hill sprints when traffic and road conditions allow. 

• Group 3 rides use rotating pace lines, two abreast formations and sometimes switch between the two. Average pace has a lot to do with weather, route and riding style, but generally you can expect to finish with an average moving group pace of 31-35 km/h.

• Our Tuesday ride is High Intensity Intervals to build VO2 Max.

• Our Thursday ride is Threshold based to improve your power.

• Our Saturday Fondo is designed to build muscular endurance. The Fondo rides are 100km+ and almost always include a coffee stop.

What Group 3 Expects of You

You are a contributing member of the group and are comfortable riding in a tight group formation:

• You take a regular turn pulling at the front. The group does understand you might need to skip a turn and expects you will communicate this to keep the group moving smoothly.

Group 4

Group 4 rides are where we try to go as hard and fast as we can without blowing up, and where we try (and sometimes succeed/ sometimes fail) to be as fast as the slower end of the faster groups. But Group 4 always maintains a group dynamic, and the slowest rider dictates the ultimate group pace. So we try to push the pace but Group 4 is always a no drop ride.

What to Expect on a Group 4  Ride

In between the Group 3 and Group 5 pace.

• Our target pace averages 28 to 31 KM/Hr, but of course this varies since staying together as a group is the goal. We typically ride in a rotating 2 abreast formation, sharing the load and providing places of refuge for those with cooked legs.

• It is a no drop ride.

What Group 4 expects of you.

• Honesty in your level of fitness and speed. If you are too fast for us then either show some restraint or move up a group. If you are too slow then move to  Group 5 to relax or improve before coming back to Intermediate. You may be asked to slow down if you’re too fast, or we may ask you to detach from the group if you can’t hold the group pace consistently.

• Safety on the road is a huge priority, and communication is an important part of safety. Talk to others in the group. Point out hazards. Pass updates quickly up the line (“ease up!”, “one off the back”, “car back”, etc) . The Highway Traffic Act MUST be followed, including one foot down at all signed stops. Provide friendly advice to those who can use it.

• Comfortable riding in a tight group, 2 abreast, being one foot from the wheel in front of you, and able to ride smoothly in a group setting. No surges or sudden movements unless absolutely necessary for safety.

• Being self-sufficient. Tools, spare tubes, pump, cell phone. Drinks, food, money, sunscreen. You may need to return home by yourself if keeping the group together is impossible.

• A sense of fun and adventure! We ride for the joy of riding, following new routes, and travelling to new coffee shops and destinations. We do not try to ride each other into the ground, and are not trying to simulate races. Sign sprints are uncommon, and always optional.

Group 5

Group 5 rides always maintain a group dynamic, and the slowest rider dictates the ultimate group pace. So we try to push the pace but Group 5 is always a no drop ride.

What to Expect on a Group 5 Ride

In between the Group 4 and Group 6 pace.

• This is the place where newer riders can put new techniques and skills to use at a faster pace, but in a not overly demanding group setting. 

• Our target pace averages 23 to 27 KM/Hr, but of course this varies since staying together as a group is the goal. We typically ride in a rotating 2 abreast formation, sharing the load and providing places of refuge for those with cooked legs.

• It is a no drop ride.

What Group 5 expects of you.

• Honesty in your level of fitness and speed. If you are too fast for us then either show some restraint or move up a group. 

• Safety is a huge priority, and communication is an important part of safety. Talk to others in the group. Point out hazards. Pass updates quickly up the line (“ease up!”, “one off the back”, “car back”, etc) . The Highway Traffic Act MUST be followed, including one foot down at all signed stops. Provide friendly advice to those who can use it.

• Comfortable riding in a tight group, 2 abreast, being one foot from the wheel in front of you, and able to ride smoothly in a group setting. No surges or sudden movements unless absolutely necessary for safety.

• Being self-sufficient. Tools, spare tubes, pump, cell phone. Drinks, food, money, sunscreen. You may need to return home by yourself if keeping the group together is impossible.

• A sense of fun and adventure! We ride for the joy of riding, following new routes, and travelling to new coffee shops and destinations. We do not try to ride each other into the ground, and are not trying to simulate races. Sign sprints are uncommon, and always optional.

Group 6

Group 6 rides are a place for riders to test the group riding waters, work on fitness and enjoy our awesome countryside. We strongly recommend taking part in the Learn To Group Ride (LTGR) program prior to joining group rides, but Recreational rides are intended as a good place to learn.

What to expect on Group 6 Rides

These rides are meant to introduce riders to the world of group cycling.

• The rides will be “no-drop” rides meaning we will slow down and/or break into smaller groups if feasible to accommodate the slowest riders.

• The pace will be more relaxed but we still anticipate trying to stay above 20 km/h average moving speed but at or under 28 km/h average moving speed.

• Distances of 30-50 km should be expected with longer rides possibly up to 70km by late season.

• Most rides will be between 2-3 hours in length.

• We may do pacelines on occasion if riders are comfortable but it won’t need to be a tight formation.

• If the group splits apart we will stop and re-group at Stop signs or at the ride leader’s discretion.

• We will introduce riders to good cycling habits and follow all HTA laws.

• Ride leaders will do their best to maintain the group but if that is not possible we may shorten the route to return in time or,

  • If there is more than one ride leader available then breaking into multiple groups at different paces with different routes is a potential.

  • If no other ride leader is available and some riders choose to return early then it will be considered that they abandoned the ride.

What the Group 6 expects of you

• Although it is a no-drop ride, riders are still expected to be self-sufficient, i.e. cell phone, repair kit/tools, food, and water as needed.

• Riders need to know the route and be comfortable getting home on their own in case a situation arises where they have to abandon a ride.

• Riders are expected to understand how their bikes operate and be able to maintain a pace of around 20 km/h at minimum.

• If you are a faster rider you are expected to keep the pace down, the intent of these rides is to make cycling more accessible.