Half-wheeling to be outlawed on VCM rides.

Here's the latest top tips from Ken Ruffell in his etiquette series:

"REAR WHEEL QUICK RELEASE

Younger riders differ to the grizzlies on this important safety factor. They now have the quick-release lever on their rear wheel pointing backwards. Most of us grizzlies have it pointing forward, for good reason. If a group of riders stop suddenly, perhaps because of a crash immediately in front, then bikes will come into contact - for example, front wheels pushing into rear wheels. When a quick-release lever is pointing backwards, there’s a good chance that it can be flipped open by another wheel, and when the racing gets going again, someone’s bike will be dangerously insecure! I know what you’re thinking...this is just a grizzly thing. So take a close look at the pro teams’ bikes at the Spring Classics and see how the team mechanics have set them up!

HALF-WHEELING

When we are training as a group, in two lines, the two guys up front set the ‘tempo’, which should be brisk and constant. If the two front guys keep their front wheels parallel with each other, then the two lines of riders behind stay parallel also. If an inexperienced rider on the front feels he needs to prove a point to the rider next to him, the two lines will become eratic and unbalanced, and the response from the guys behind will be to either get pissed off or take the piss. The result will be that the weaker rider will pull off before the ten or twenty minute interval has been completed. The average speed of the completed ride will also drop."

Ken