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Post by cccossette on Mar 19, 2010 21:15:04 GMT -5
Are the Eriks rides on wed. going to take the place of the RASC rides at bicycle sports?
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Post by Dave Hallaway on Mar 19, 2010 21:41:11 GMT -5
No, they are in addition to the RASC rides on Wednesdays. It's too bad they didn't pick another night. It would have been great to have had a Thursday choice.
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Post by Steve Boyd on Mar 20, 2010 6:41:44 GMT -5
Yeah...seems a little silly to hold a ride on a night (Wednesday) when there is already an established ride with great attendance.
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Post by almanzo on Mar 20, 2010 7:03:50 GMT -5
More rides are a good thing...no matter the night.
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Post by lochrider on Mar 20, 2010 8:26:25 GMT -5
Paraphrasing: "The more rides, the better." Not exactly; it depends.
If an additional ride is organized to correct/avoid a problem associated with another ride or accommodate riders who would not participate otherwise, then it is a good thing. A few rides in the area have originated that way with good long term results.
The Rochester area is home to some fine, strong riders, but not so many that two "A" rides (19+ mph, in the early spring, faster later) on the same evening can each support eight plus cyclists on a regular basis.
I applaud any shop or organization that attempts to support a new or established regular training ride for any group of cyclists. But in the absence of an identifiable issue, I fail to see the benefit to establishing a "competing" ride. In my view, it seems counter-productive to the cycling community to fragment the relatively limited number of riders typically participating in faster rides.
Why not support/establish another group ride on another day?
Just my $0.02
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Post by fghhunter on Mar 20, 2010 15:44:18 GMT -5
Very well stated! Why the same night, why not Tuesday or Thursday? I'd be all for that.
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Post by Mork on Mar 23, 2010 8:08:25 GMT -5
What is the purpose of the ride and for whom is the ride being organized? Once upon a time Circuit City built a store within a block of every Best Buy in the Twin Cities (somehow Rochester got missed...). Circuit City's goal was not to bring more options to electronics buyers. It was to directly compete for customers.
Two bike shops, two Wednesday night rides. Is the goal more options for the cyclists, or to shift shop alliances?
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Post by Dean on Mar 23, 2010 8:49:07 GMT -5
I'd like to give them the benefit of a doubt and say they just picked Wednesday because it's a good evening for a ride. But it seems odd that after being in town for a couple of years they decided to offer discounts to RASC members and then set up a ride to compete with a RASC ride.
(BTW, to join their rides you need to join their club, which is free. It seems pretty weak to use the RASC web site to promote a competing ride and club.)
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Post by Charly Tri on Mar 23, 2010 9:11:15 GMT -5
Judging by several actions I have seen/heard taken in the past by their employees, I would guess you are both on the right track. As a disclaimer, I work at Rochester Cycling and Fitness, but it is my employment there that has made me privy to certain exploits. Again, I may be biased.
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jno
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by jno on Mar 23, 2010 14:09:26 GMT -5
I have not been on either ride.
IIRC the Erk's ride has been going on for a few years. It think it goes at a different time as well (not sure about that). Depending on where you work and what time the ride is can make or break it for some people.
The membership thing could be as simple as an insurance issue.
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Post by keys on Mar 23, 2010 16:11:00 GMT -5
Can somebody explain something to me?
I can't say I've been biking since I was in diapers as some of you can (and obviously still are)
But I've noticed something about my biking brethren.
It's the bad mouthing.
In every ride here in Rochester there is always somebody bad mouthing another rider or group.
We have drivers out there that would like to run over us all….
In the words of Rodney King, "..can't we all get along?"
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Post by Ed Prosser on Mar 23, 2010 16:27:17 GMT -5
The only "bad-mouthing" I experienced on the "A" group ride on Monday was the slobber dripping out of some of our mouths as we gasped for air trying to hang on to the pace. When I used to race back in the 80's (back before I had to wear diapers), there certainly was some of what you describe amongst the riders I knew. But I really haven't perceived that on RASC rides. Maybe all the bad-mouthing is done behind my back -- and its probably about me!  |
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Post by Jim Palmer on Mar 23, 2010 17:12:35 GMT -5
Yeah Jason, Charly, and Dave. Quit picking on me  |
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Post by Dave Hallaway on Mar 23, 2010 18:54:14 GMT -5
Can somebody explain something to me? I can't say I've been biking since I was in diapers as some of you can (and obviously still are) But I've noticed something about my biking brethren. It's the bad mouthing. In every ride here in Rochester there is always somebody bad mouthing another rider or group. We have drivers out there that would like to run over us all…. In the words of Rodney King, "..can't we all get along?" It's true of most groups and it's been studied to death... www.spring.org.uk/2009/07/10-rules-that-govern-groups.php10. Groups breed competition
While co-operation within group members is generally not so much of a problem, co-operation between groups can be hellish. People may be individually co-operative, but once put in a 'them-and-us' situation, rapidly become remarkably adversarial.
Insko et al. (2001) had participants playing a classic game called 'the prisoner's dilemma' which they used to measure competitiveness. When on their own people were competitive 37% of the time but when they were in a group of three this increased to 54%. People easily become suspicious of other groups, reasoning that while their individual members may be 'alright', the group as a whole cannot be trusted. |
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Post by almanzo on Mar 23, 2010 20:56:09 GMT -5
Ride what ya brung, alone or in the group of your choice, and just relax...taking it easy is why bikes were made in the first place.
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Post by Mork on Mar 24, 2010 8:46:23 GMT -5
Fair enough, but riddle me this: Where did the VeloRochester group rides that used to leave from Rochester Cycling go?
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Post by Charly Tri on Mar 24, 2010 9:01:21 GMT -5
For multiple reasons they do not exist at the moment. I am not about to launch into a full explanation here, but one part of that story can be explained in Dave's and Key's post. Have fun riding your bikes guys,  . |
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Post by Mork on Mar 26, 2010 14:52:59 GMT -5
As the organizer of the rides from Eric's would you consider negotiating a plan to prevent two rides on Wednesday and no regularly scheduled fast rides on any other day of the week? If either of the two rides were to shift to any other day of the week it would double the opportunities.
As it is, there is the option for a 5:45 pm Wednesday ride and a 6:00 pm Wednesday ride, with the only differences being shop loyalty or that one goes North and one goes West. I doubt riders from either group are likely to switch from one ride to the other based on these criteria. However, I think there is considerable opportunity for crossover if the rides were held on different nights.
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jno
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by jno on Mar 26, 2010 17:13:11 GMT -5
Who cares how many rides there are? Maybe the guys at Erik's could never make it over to 'Sports in time for the ride, so it was easiest to ride from their store. Maybe it's the same for the guys at 'Sports.
The real problem here is that Tri fellow. He is trying to set up mtn bike TT's on wed nights and steal riders.
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