We've all seen Bonanza

So, here's my take on event riding and a few dos and don'ts.
First up a definition of what I mean by event. I'm talking fun rides/events, like Round Taupo, K2, Le Race. Yes, these events all have a race component, but that's not what I'm referring to. Specifically, what I want to discuss, is the part of the event that is open to all punters, you don't need a cycling license to enter and most riders are riding for participation and/or a goal time. This is what the great majority of riders take part in.

Without getting into semantics, it's not a race, but there is an element of racing present.

So onto my list of dos and don'ts.

The dos.

Do make sure that your gear is up to the task. That your gears shift properly, your tires are in good condition, you have the appropriate gearing, that everything is properly tightened and affixed to your bike.

The gear shifting one is important, every event has crashes or near misses because when the bunch hits the hill, some one shifts big ring to small ring, and Voila! the chain goes all the way across to the cogless bottom bracket. The rider spins frantically, if lucky they can catch the chain again by upshifting, if not they wobble to a halt. Both outcomes cause mayhem in the bunch. Get your front derailleur limit screws set and, if needs be, get a dog fang or similar.

Tires, there's a whole can of worms. Two stories to labour the point. First one was the year of the first K2. That year it started in Coromandel, we were staying just past Kereta, about twenty kilometres in and after the first two climbs. The Tribe were out on the side of the road outside the house to wave and cheer. Various bunches came through, then a slightly panic stricken rider appeared and stopped to ask The Tribe if they had a spare tube. He was riding a newish pair of the ultralight Vittoria clinchers, tires that are fast and light, suitable for TTs and smooth roads. Excellent tires with a specific purpose, not mass start, long distance, bad road events. On the terrible Coromandel chip he had suffered two flats in that short time and had just copped a third. His luck was in, in the back of the car was not only a couple of spare tubes and a track pump, but also a spare tyre that I'd taken that was ideal for the day. He changed tire and tube, left a more confident man and rode on to finish the day. After the event we caught up and swapped tires back. He was grateful.

The other story concerns last years K2, a friend was providing neutral support, he is a pro mechanic and equipped for everything. On the start line he heard the bang of a tire exploding, it was a tubular, sees the rider concerned try to use a can of Pitstop to seal the veritable gash. Latex and goo just ejects out of the gash, sprays over various other assorted riders nearby. Mechanic gets there and takes the wheel, gives the rider a clincher that he can start on, and sets about the repair of the tire. The tire in question, had seen better days, was down to the casing in places and was a disaster waiting to happen. Possibly for the rider involved, lucky it was on the start line that it decided to commit seppuku and not on one of the ripping descents. Less happy were the gooey innocents.

Correct gearing, yeah that's me, a shell of a man, trying to climb three kilometres of ugliness with only a 39*23. That produced a thousand yard stare and a helluva a lot of drool.

Making sure things are affixed to your bike, I'm still amazed by the riders who like to throw their pumps away mid event. Never mind that riding over the damn things is treacherous.

Do make sure that you are in the bunch that meets your ability. Be pragmatic and realistic, that way you'll have a truckload more fun, a better ride and finish with a grin, not a grimace.

Do obey the road rules and the organisers rules. You are not above everybody else. Those rules are there for everyone's safety, including the general public who might be lurking about, they do have a right to be on the roads also.

Do train with others prior to the event, learn to ride in a bunch, learn to lap, learn to eat and drink on a bike.

Do eat regularly on the day and drink, it works.

Do have fun and share the time with your fellow riders, you are all in the same boat, and working together is how you get around the course in a good time. If the bunch is lapping it out, make sure that you follow through for your lap, that you're are steady as you lap and point out hazards. If you are too tired to join in the lapping, stay out of the pace line and ride on the back of the bunch. Tell the riders who are rotating that you are sitting on, and stay out of their way. Nothing wrecks a paceline faster than a rider who gets tangled up in it, realises that they are going to face the wind, so drifts off or just sits there, frustrating plus for all involved.

Do thank the course marshalls, most of them are volunteers, without them, most of these events wouldn't exist.

The Don'ts

Don't litter. Don't drop your food wrappers, put them back in your pocket.

Don't ride off and leave the fallen. If there is a crash, stop and make sure that the injured are ok, if they aren't, provide help.

Don't have a support vehicle following you. The riders who have support vehicles are special needs cases, I believe that most of them should be lined up against a wall and beaten with the chopped up remains of their bikes. There is ample support on course with events that you can survive, and have a good day out. A supporting vehicle just adds to traffic congestion, plus provides another opportunity for crashes.

Last year's horrific crash in the K2 which left a rider seriously injured was due to some remarkably stupid driving from a rider's support vehicle. Never mind that the rules stated NO support vehicles, this particular rider and his tame racing driver were wearing their asshats that day and decided that the rules didn't apply to them. Net result, a very badly injured rider, a lot of finger pointing at local bogans and heartache for the organisers. To add insult to injury the rider, and driver involved, didn't then do the right thing and admit responsibility. It was left to the organisers to drag them out and disqualify them. If I'd had anything to do with it, they would have been made to do all the housework, care and day to day living requirements for the injured rider and his family, then be tarred and feathered and made to climb on the podium at every subsequent event and explain how selfish and stupid they were.

That was not an isolated incident of selfishness, I've seen them all, from gormless drivers driving alongside the bunch yelling "Go Johnny, I love you!", to a family who launched a supporting daughter on her own bike, at regular intervals, into the bunch to provision her proud father, who was riding the event. She would wobble in, hand over supplies and wobble out, to be collected by the mothership and taken up the road for the next sortie.

Just don't do it.

Lastly, don't be the clown.

Do the right thing, be considerate and have fun.

Lest anyone think I am picking on the K2, I'm not, the examples I have laid out occur in all events, they aren't unique to K2. At K2, like all events, the organisers do a superb job, almost all the riders are great and a real pleasure to ride with and it's a fantastic day out.