on riding sweep

At the March 2012 Membership Meeting of the Princeton Freewheelers, I was given a gift for having swept on so many rides. One of the board suggested I might want to write something up about sweeping. Here's a draft: it's too long, but I don't know what I would cut out. (I got Dan Rappaport's permission before I used his name.) Let me know what you think.

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A couple or three years ago, on my first ride back with the Freewheelers after a multi-year hiatus (that's another story, that won't be told here), I saw that there was a woman who had arrived late, who quickly fell to the back of the B-rated ride... and then continued to fall back, far behind most of the riders.

Now, I'm always lost; it's always safe to presume that Jim doesn't know where he is (that's the reason I don't lead rides). And I was afraid that if she got lost, she wouldn't know where to go, either (she didn't look like she was at the top of her game, so to speak). So I fell behind the rest of the group, so that I could see the group, and she could see me, and she wouldn't miss any of the turns.

I didn't know what it was called – I didn't even know it was anything anybody had done before – but that was how I got started sweeping on group rides.

I took to riding in the back, partly because in the earliest days of my return to riding it was easiest to learn the etiquette of group rides there, partly because I found some friendly people who like to ride in what I call the cheap seats, and partly because, as I got stronger, I found I liked to keep an eye on the folks in the back who appeared to be struggling. Or perhaps I could stay behind with someone who was making a mechanical adjustment, and then we could catch up to the main group together. Or perhaps I could sprint up to the leader and let him or her know that someone was replacing a tire, or was falling behind (and maybe it would be a good idea to allow that person to catch up when we got to the next stop sign).

Most of the time, I don't think the leaders always knew I was sweeping for them, unless I came up to tell them something, although on a few occasions I was surprised by a ride leader's offering of thanks for the sweep.

As I understand it, sweeping on a ride means I keep track of the folks on the ride, and make sure they're keeping with the ride and doing OK. If people ride off the front, it's clear to me that they have the strength to keep up and go where they need to (although their navigation may be suspect – I have gotten calls from riders who went off the front, rode to where they thought the next instruction was, and then got worried when the rest of the group didn't appear). I don't worry much about the folks who ride off the front. When I sweep, I help to see if someone is on a ride beyond his or her ability, or has a mechanical or tire problem, or a nutrition or hydration deficiency. When it works right, all the leader has to do is lead the ride: pick the route, maintain the pace, and make sure we're safe and having fun. I think that's enough for a leader to do, so as a sweep, I try to make sure we're all together, and also that we're mindful of traffic behind us (or sometimes, like when it's time to take a lane, that traffic is mindful of us).

Here are some of my “ride-sweep checklist” items:

• I only sweep on a ride that's rated a pace lower than I can steadily ride. I'm a B+ rider in most situations (I'll except a particular Saturday ride rated as a B+; I went on that once, and I wondered what that series of “clunking” noises was; it turned out to be me being successively dropped by pretty much everybody else in the group), and I'm pretty fast on uphills (my goal for this year is to reduce my terror on downhills). If I'm sweeping, I may need to sprint to catch up, or to speak to the leader, and I need the speed to do that.
• When I ride in the back, I like to keep at least one eye on the traffic behind, so I use mirrors: one on my glasses, and one on the handlebars. I am a right-wing, fascist mirror partisan. For my money, it's the mirror that is the real piece of safety equipment. The helmet only comes into play when it's already too late, when the accident has already happened; the mirror, properly used, might prevent the accident in the first place. (I know mirrors are a pain, and take getting used to. Clip-in pedals took some getting used to, but I got them to work OK!)
• I carry two bottles of water, a multi-tool with a chain tool and spoke wrenches, speed chain links, two tubes, a pump, and CO2 cartridges. Even though I haven't had a flat in over a year, I've gone through both tubes, one of the CO2 cartridges, and had to offer the use of the chain tool. I also keep the ride leader's cell number in my phone, if he has one.
• I am blessed with a voice that carries. This is useful when I'm announcing to riders in front that traffic has appeared behind us, or that I am taking the lane for a left turn, for example. (Don't get me started on riders who don't pull to the right when there's traffic behind...)
• I won't always be the last person on the ride, although I'll usually have a good idea where the last person is. I'll keep track of the people I pass, and wait when the opportunity is right to allow them to pass me again. It's rare that I drop people, and rarer that I lose them,

At the March 2012 Freewheelers membership meeting, fellow rider Dan Rappaport suggested that any ride with more than ten appoint a sweep. I've been on rides with almost 30 riders (it is not unusual, at an All-Paces Ride, for the B-pace rides to have more that 25 riders, and I've seen that many on some C+ weekday rides). Most of the time, if I'm on the ride, and you're a leader who needs a sweep, you won't even have to ask. I'll be at the back, riding a little to the left so I can be seen (unless I see traffic behind). I'll see you when we get to the next T-stop, and I'll let you know how the folks back there with me in the cheap seats are doing.