Effects of fatigue in group ride.

I went on a 120 mile group ride this past Sunday, which happened to be at 93'F day..very hot. The group consisted of about 20 people with the regular layout of fast riders in the front and newer riders in the back. To make a long story short, near the end to the ride I noticed more and more mistakes from riders, myself included. I can honestly tally these mistakes to rider fatigue due to the heat. All came out unscathed, but could have resulted in major injuries, or even a fatality. The first incident occurred when going along a two lane road at about 70 mph that eventually necked down to a one lane with the first turn to be taken at about 25 mph. One of the riders did not take note of the sign and almost lost control to get slowed down in time. The second incident occurred when another rider did not slow down, despite the rumble strips on the ground warning riders to slow down due the stop sign right after the blind crest, and almost ran into the back of the stopped group. She managed to avoid the group by going into the other lane, but ended up crossing two lanes of Hwy 1. Luckily for her, there was no oncoming traffic, or else it would've ended badly. The group eventually split right after that with most riders opting to take the straight shot home via freeway. The remaining group, 4 of us, continued on the twisties to get us home. I was leading the group and made a mistake due to not concentrating on this tight winding road and almost rode off the side of the mountain. I slowed my pace shortly after and made it home safely. Needless to say, I learned to not override your limits when fatigued. I have ridden these roads in the past faster than I was going that day, but due to fatigue, I overrode my limits.

Not sure the point of the thread. I could probably recount virtually this exact story from personal experience. And a few with the added note or two about where people died, or were paralyzed.

Well known amongst experts and experienced riders: Heat, fatigue, and perhaps most commonly, dehydration - even mild - lead to substantially decreased concentration. Thrown in a large group of people, which WILL have a wide range of experience, and more than one is inevitably going to get in over their head. Which results in crashing. Its statistics - in the years I've ridden, the likelihood of a crash for a ride the duration of one tankful or more, seems to exponentially increase as function of the number of riders on the "ride".

Ask any race/performance/rider coach. They will tell you that they don't do big group rides, and they will tell you these very same reasons why.

Its extremely rare that I would ride with a group bigger than 6. And its usually with people I know, have ridden with often, and trust. And I would readily do a 400+ mile day with anyone I regularly ride with - no matter how warm. They stay hydrated. They know when to take a break. They know when to eat. And they know when they are in over their head - and just slow down or go home. And they don't crash. At least, its extremely rare.

Riding with large packs of strangers leads to nothing but a bad day.

I rode with about 20 from here a few times. They were very bad days...about 18 of them still owe me a cup of tea

The title should read "Effects of a group ride"

The heat was just a multiplier for the high risk already present. Group rides suck period. Too many heroes trying to show off. SDNerd hit it on the head. Only ride with people you know and trust.

Sure it's fun to be in a big group of people enjoying the same experience, but in those instances if I'm not leading I'll happily follow at a distance and let the mayhem go ahead. That or lead a smaller group of people who want to survive the day. And detour if it's getting ridiculous. And if I can't maintain control of the group in some semblance of order I gladly oblige the asshats and let them wander away, not knowing the route. The rest of us can alter the route and make sure we don't see them again.

120 miles? That's hardly enough to put the gear on and ride. A ride that short could easily be completed by 11am before the heat takes effect.

Which group ride was this?

Hmm, sounds to me like some folk maybe need to work on their fitness.

120 miles of road riding isnt much at all, in fact, it was what my old commute was each day a year ago!

Ive easily done more than twice that at full pace with only a few stops. The longest days (9 hrs or so) in France in a very fast group resulted in fatigue by about 6pm so we take it easy and spread out more just in case....and stop the racing too

Those days in particular were part of a trip, doing it 4 days on the trot. After that much riding its nice to have another day or two off to recover though!!

This was my first ride with a group this large. I felt pretty unsafe from the get go, and just stayed with the lead group (3 of us), or at the very back. The buddy that invited me was mid pack, but I didn't feel to comfortable there. I won't be doing it again. It's a timebomb ticking away. Just wanted to try it out since the group of 4 buddies I usually ride with were not available.

I'd also say if you felt unsafe in a group that they were probably riding too close to eachother.

You have to have riding and thinking space in a group....whether in a planned rideout or even commuting amidst lots of couriers. You have got to be able to ride your own ride and take your own lines without being pushed around by other riders.

I only really ride with people i kknow and trust, if i'm in a new group or with others i will eier stay with my trusted friends until i can check out ther other guys or will stay right at the back to watch them and see how they do things.

That's why I don't "group ride"....
I only ride with a few people I can trust and maximum 3-4.
I used to ride a lot in groups years ago before I moved over here and it mostly ends in a race or a mess or a combination of ...

It is different on the track as mostly people are more focussed and there is no traffic from the other side like old ladies etc...

Two words: Conditioning & Hydration.