Sweat365 » Five mistakes while riding in a paceline

Riding in a paceline is an act of shared trust.  With multiple cylists all riding inches from each other, one mistake can take the entire group down.  Here are five mistakes you never want to make in a paceline.

1. Don’t ride with an Aero bar in a group or paceline.  This means even when you are at the front of the group.  When using your aero bars, you are basically steering with your elbows and have a lot less control.  In addition, it takes longer to react and brake (there’s a reason you don’t see any aero bars in the peleton).  Instead, keep your hands on the brake lever hoods or the handlebar drops.
2. Don’t make sudden moves.  Nothing bothers other riders in a paceline or Group more than a jerky rider.  This includes movement side to side, and sudden changes in speed.  Your riding should be as steady, fluid and predictable as possible. 
3. Don’t accelerate when you reach the front of the paceline.  There’s something about getting to the front of a paceline that makes people want to speed up.  Whether its because you want to prove how strong you are, you want to make sure you are pulling your weight, or you simply have a rush of adreneline - don’t speed up when you get to the front of the paceline.  The paceline works best when everyone works as one.  Speeding up can create gaps, and it can trash riders who are suppose to be getting a bit of a rest.  There’s nothing worse than taking your pull at the front, dropping off, and finding out the pace has sped up and you will have to work harder than you were just to stay on the back.
4. Don’t let gaps open in the paceline.  Once you lose contact with the person in front of you’s wheel, you are going to have to waste substantial energy catching up, or maybe face not catching up at all.  Stay focused in the paceline.  This means pay attention at all times and, and keep constant, close distance with the wheel in front of you. Once you see a small gap opening, spend some extra energy closing it before it becomes a problem.
5. Never Overlap wheels.  Touching wheels is the number one cause of crashes in a pack.  Worse yet, it’s the person who has their front wheel touched that is almost always guaranteed to go down.  Protect your front wheel at all costs.  Never give the person in front of you the opportunity to swerve and take out your front wheel. 

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