This headline isn’t true – in Wellington at least, the road cycling club bunch ride is basically dead and buried already. And Facebook didn’t really do it either, but it was the main tool that enabled the decline.
I learnt my cycling chops at age 11, going on long weekly bunch rides with Welwyn Wheelers in the UK. We met at the same place at the same time every week and anyone with a bike was welcome. After some hours of riding, there’d be a tea stop (at which I never had enough money), and then we’d ride another hour or two home.
Half-wheeling wasn’t permitted, we all stopped if someone had a flat, and the more experienced riders explained to the newer, younger ones cycling’s unwritten rules and etiquette. I’d usually get a push too so that I could keep in the line.
Wellington in 2017 doesn’t seem to have much of this. The capital’s biggest club, PNP doesn’t have a regular club run for adults (juniors are well catered for though) and most riders have joined factions based around shops or just groups of friends. Not all of them are particularly open – the experienced, ‘better’ riders arrange rides on closed Facebook groups and often keep rules about who can come along (you better have sock game, no douchebags allowed, etc.).
Consequently, there isn’t really anywhere for newcomers to just turn up at and learn from experienced riders. Instead they often form their own groups, devoid of the knowledge they don’t even know they’re missing.
Experienced riders have a duty to pass on what they know to others, and to nurture the sport’s beginners. This can be annoying at times, and might mean riding next to someone in business socks or constantly pulling a half-wheeling rider backwards. But if you have benefited from the sport, you should try to give back to it.
There are welcoming people and groups throughout Wellington’s cycling scene. I for one am proud to be part of the track cycling community where we make sure everyone is welcomed and treated with respect. No one is a douchebag, but some riders may need guidance and direction with etiquette and riding habits.
And pretty much any sock type is tolerated too.
Footnote, June 12, 2017:
In no way was this post intended to be a slight to the PNP Road Committee and I don’t believe it’s up to them to try and fix either – it’s the riders who could take ownership of the issue.
Cycle Wire 