Pro rideouts

[Rich_W]

Has anybody ever done one of those "ride with a pro" events?

There's one quite soon, with a current British female pro. (WorldTour level)

Usual sort of thing: Meet at a cycling café, ride for a couple hours or so then back to the café for food. And I guess a short Q&A with her


Worth doing? I have the free time to do it. It's free. Weather looks "OK-ish" I should be safe in a group ride, (albeit I don't have mudguards so there's a question of etiquette) But the Facebook page says 50 people+ going. And although I'm a fan, I don't really have anything illuminating to say to this Pro. If I even get to meet her anyway even if it's only 30 on the day.



I'm not anti meeting sporting types. In the last month or so I've been to a Scott bike event at Sigma (Alistair and Jonny Brownlee but cost £20 - charity donation and food included) and also went to a book signing with Q&A for Chrissie Wellington. (compered by Vassos Alexander and was £5) But that seems far more normal that trying to hold a wheel of a pro whose soft pedalling anyway.


What say you?

[Jimbo.]

I suspect the pros hate them! Interrupting training schedules to satisfy sponsors, riding with unknowns who could potentially turn out to be massive choppers and take you out!

[Rich_W]

Jimbo. said:

I suspect the pros hate them! Interrupting training schedules to satisfy sponsors, riding with unknowns who could potentially turn out to be massive choppers and take you out!

I can see that pov. Though if I was a pro and thought like that I'd choose other sponsor events. Charity events, Q&A's in a bike shop. Something a bit less risky.

I'm really 50/50 on it. Currently tempted to ride to the café. And make a decision based on what I see. If it looks OK, not too busy (we all know FB events never get 100% attendance) I might tag along. If it looks to be a Rapha convention full of "amateur pros" I'll just go off on my own

FWIW My bike is currently FILTHY so maybe I wouldn't fit in

[option click]

Jimbo. said:

I suspect the pros hate them! Interrupting training schedules to satisfy sponsors, riding with unknowns who could potentially turn out to be massive choppers and take you out!

Definitely this. I saw the pics of the recent Sigma 'Ride with Cancellara Chinny' event.
He was surrounded by middle-aged fanboys desparately trying to look hard/cool.
Off-the-scale cringe.

[Rich_W]

Welll I rode to the café this morning. (Putney) In the pissing rain! Saw loads of people floating about all stopping for their obligatory coffee before the ride (I'd done my 15K warm up to get there ) Decided against it so went off and did my own thing in Richmond Park. An hour or so later. I saw the group going in the opposite direction to me. 60 odd riders, all ages, I would say, split into 2 groups. The pro (Hannah Barnes - Canyon SRAM ) was right at the front, whilst everyone else was kinda trailing in her wake. Not sure what the riders at the back got out of being there


I've never really understood the whole café to café mentality or club rides in general. Ned Boultings series on BikeTV didn't exactly make me want to seek out a local club either. (I guess Addiscombe) Rather go for a ride with people who are my friends. Than be in a group that large where the spread of abilities is too large)

Each to their own I guess. Don't think I missed anything.

[DS240]

Bumped into a few very famous people from my two sporting interests, motor racing and cycling over the years....

I always feel the same in that unless they really know who you are they aren’t going to be themselves and too be honest trying to have small talk would be really irritating to them. As in they get the same old questions or on the flip side people trying to talk about their inferior efforts and somehow equating it to the pros experiences.

It must feel a right pain in the arse turning up to events and you have people purely there to ‘make a (deluded) point about staying on the wheel’ and then going away boasting how they stayed with the pro who was probably riding at 60%!