{"id":8911,"date":"2014-07-17T07:15:11","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T14:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=8911"},"modified":"2014-07-21T15:27:34","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T22:27:34","slug":"no-drop-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"The “No Drop” Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Stevens, AKA The Puget Pedaler, is a Northwest native and lives in the Tacoma area. He is an avid cyclist and rides with the Tacoma Bike Racing Team. This post was originally published on his blog, The Puget Pedaler<\/a>, and you can follow his musings there.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Me,<\/a>

Me, getting dropped. At least Dave waited at the top.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Ah, the “no drop” rule. \u00a0It’s an interesting phrase, “no drop”. \u00a0I use the quotations, because every time I hear it, I see Dr. Evil doing the finger motions, “Evil”.<\/p>\n

This “rule” as it were, is something I have heard about for group rides, but I rarely see it happen. \u00a0The “no drop” rule is as follows, sort of, the group will slow down or stop and wait for struggling riders. \u00a0That is to include flatting or other mechanical problems. \u00a0It is to keep the group together, so no one gets lost, and gets the stronger riders to support the weaker ones. \u00a0It looks good on paper, is a sound theory, but is seldom practiced to its fullest intent.<\/p>\n

All to often, I have seen where someone will drop back, and an hour later the ride “leader” is asking where’s so&so. \u00a0Then the following week, you’ll see them and ask what happened. \u00a0The response is always the same: flatted, bonked, or dropped the chain. \u00a0So while they were changing the flat, sucking down a couple gels, or getting the chain back on, the “no drop” group continued on, no slowing or stopping, just hammering on.<\/p>\n

The reason this so called “rule” pisses me off to no end, is that there have been a couple occasions when I’ve stopped to help a flatted rider, and we’ve called out the flat. \u00a0Nothing more frustrating than standing on the side of the road, yelling, and watching the group get further away, knowing that they ain’t stopping. \u00a0And then catching up to them at the coffee stop, and explaining what happened, and hearing “Bummer, dude”.<\/p>\n

So, beware. \u00a0You could be fixing a flat by yourself, without a clue where you are, or how to get back. \u00a0If you are just starting out on group rides, I suggest finding one that says the group stays together, rather than “no drop”.<\/p>\n

Get out there, and enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Stevens, AKA The Puget Pedaler, is a Northwest native and lives in the Tacoma […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[36,39,135,4],"tags":[155],"class_list":["post-8911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bike-clubs","category-guest-blogger","category-racing","category-rides","tag-group-rides"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe "No Drop" Rule - Washington Bikes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The "No Drop" Rule - Washington Bikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Washington Bikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-17T14:15:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-21T22:27:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Blogger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Blogger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/\",\"name\":\"The \\\"No Drop\\\" Rule - Washington Bikes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-17T14:15:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-21T22:27:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/67287a08d418020a29afc76552489f86\"},\"description\":\"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The “No Drop” Rule\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Bikes\",\"description\":\"People who bike make a difference\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/67287a08d418020a29afc76552489f86\",\"name\":\"Guest Blogger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1531b9fefd0bbd75a146d91ab673b9e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1531b9fefd0bbd75a146d91ab673b9e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Blogger\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/author\/guest-blogger\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The \"No Drop\" Rule - Washington Bikes","description":"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The \"No Drop\" Rule - Washington Bikes","og_description":"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.","og_url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/","og_site_name":"Washington Bikes","article_published_time":"2014-07-17T14:15:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-21T22:27:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg"}],"author":"Guest Blogger","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Blogger","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/","url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/","name":"The \"No Drop\" Rule - Washington Bikes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg","datePublished":"2014-07-17T14:15:11+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-21T22:27:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/67287a08d418020a29afc76552489f86"},"description":"No drop rides slow down and wait for struggling or slower members of the group, at least in theory.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/No-Drop-Ride.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/07\/17\/no-drop-rule\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The “No Drop” Rule"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/","name":"Washington Bikes","description":"People who bike make a difference","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/67287a08d418020a29afc76552489f86","name":"Guest Blogger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1531b9fefd0bbd75a146d91ab673b9e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1531b9fefd0bbd75a146d91ab673b9e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest Blogger"},"url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/author\/guest-blogger\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p36Q8O-2jJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8911"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}