Getting dropped

scot on April 1, 2025

Getting dropped on a bike is every cyclist’s worst nightmare.

It was bound to happen at one point. Last weekend, on a sunny Sunday ride with my son, I realised today was the day. He was finally faster than me on a bike – and he made sure to rub salt into the wounds he dealt me by sending me a photo of me struggling to keep up.

A middle-aged father getting dropped by his teenage son on a bike ride along a quiet country road in Scotland. The son has taken a selfie showing his dad struggling along behind him. The son is laughing. — When your son rubs salt in your wounds.

Getting dropped is one of those things that cyclists have nightmares about. The phrase is not, as it might suggest, a barely disguised euphemism for falling off or crashing your bike. Instead, it is suffering the ignominy of being unable to keep up with your fellow riders, thus hinting at a lack of fitness and / or riding ability compared to your fellow riders. There are varying degrees of getting dropped, each with its level of self-directed shame and embarrassment attached.

The elastic snaps

Whatever the situation, most riders will experience the ‘snapping of the elastic’, that moment when they have no energy left to pedal, and they finally drop off the back of the group ride. The fact that there are so many idioms and synonyms for the phenomena suggests that it is an all too common occurrence among cyclists. Perhaps one of the problems is that, as a friend once told me, “If you have two cyclists riding together, then you will likely have a race”, as they egg each other on and the pace slowly creeps up until one rider can’t hold on any longer.

It is never as simple as just not being able to keep up.

The analogy of elastic snapping paints the picture perfectly. A dropped rider will go through many stretches and contractions of the ‘elastic’ before it finally goes. It might be a hill that initially sees them losing ground to their fellow riders. They get to the top and fight back to gain lost ground, and a few minutes respite behind the wheel in front of them, before the next rise appears.

The timescale will vary tremendously from rider to rider, but eventually, there will be one gradient too many and the effort of chasing to get back to the riders in front will be too much and ping, the elastic pops and the ignominy of getting dropped occurs.

Three friends on road bikes cycle up a single track coastal road. The sea and mountains can be seen behind them. The sky is cloudy. — Cycling friends, as long as they all take their turn at the front.

One hill too many

The benefit of a rest, sitting at the back of a group, can never be underestimated. The sanctuary from the wind offered behind even just one rider can be enough to allow recuperation and may be the difference between hanging on for one more hill, or a lonesome ride home.

There are problems of sitting at the back of a group too (not just getting called out for being a wheel-sucker if you stay there too long). Depending on the pace of a group it can also be a very tiring place to be. On a straight and flat road there aren’t too many problems, but throw in a few corners and suddenly, the back of a group becomes a hanging-on-by-your-finger-nails place to be.

I remember one of my first ever road races, many years ago. It was a high-speed, mid-week event around Tullybaccart and Lundie at the back of Dundee. In the middle of group, I was doing fine, but I slowly found myself jostling for and losing position, and finding myself at the back of the group.

My error became apparent as we started to hit junctions and corners. At the front the speed going round a corner dipped only a few miles an hour, but at the back an accordion-effect was taking place and the speed would drop from 25 mph to 13 mph as the riders braked and bunched up from riding so closely together, then would shoot dramatically back up to 25 mph again.

By the time I had realised my mistake I had no energy left from the constant pace changes to get back into the middle of the bunch. Sprint, brake, accelerate, repeat was the order of the day, and it wasn’t long before my lack of experience and ability became apparent, the elastic snapped, and I found myself making my lonesome way back to the race HQ.

It can happen and has happened to the best of us, spurring us into a self-flagellating regime of more training and promises that it will never happen again. But then, even that sometimes isn’t enough to avoid being dropped. A lot of it depends on how you are feeling that day, who you are riding with and the terrain you are riding on. Jens Voigt, the colourful German ex-pro rider with a droll sense of humour, had written on the top-tube of his bike when he broke the World Hour Record way back in 2014, “I go so fast I even lap myself”.

Now that would be a tough wheel to hang on to.

Scot Tares

Bicycle race, bicycle race 🎵

scot on February 5, 2025

Ready, steady, go

A young girl lines up at the start of a cross country bicycle race. She is poking her tongue out cheekily at the photographer. In the background are other children getting ready to race.

The two riders lined up at the start line of the bicycle race; one at the left of the grid and the other at the right. Between them and behind them other riders crowded, jostling for position, all ready with their race-faces on, but this race was going to be about the rider in the black and the rider in the yellow.

The commissaire shouted “Go!” and the mass of riders sprinted to get into the first corner, which was wide enough for only two riders side by side. The rider in black reached the corner first, closely followed by a rider in yellow and then the rider in red. They disappeared into the trees and onto the narrow, winding single-track course.

The battle

When they re-appeared a few minutes later, the rider in red had passed the rider in yellow, but the rider in black now had a lead of around 15 seconds. It seemed too much for the rider in red to make up and it looked like the bicycle race had been lost in the first lap.

A young girl with a look of concentration on her face approaches the camera along a forest trail during a cross country bicycle race. She is wearing a red cycling top. A boy wearing blue is just behind her in the background. — Photos © Raymond Leinster Photography

A young girl wearing a red top and stripy leggings stands on the pedals of her red bike as she cycles through a field of long grass on a cross country bicycle race. — Photos © Raymond Leinster Photography

They disappeared into the trees again and the next time they reappeared the rider in red was a few seconds closer but had been snarled up behind some riders that had been lapped. On lap three the rider in black re-appeared with the rider in red only a few seconds behind. The rider in black looked tired and the rider in red looked hungry. It became apparent later that both riders had been in a battle royal in the trees, passing and then being passed and then passing each other again, only to reappear in the same position as before.

The sprint

The last lap was going to decide it and as they disappeared into the trees again the crowd held their breath. Emerging from the trees for the last time the rider in red was stuck behind three lapped riders, only just managing to pass them before entering the final corner. Now she was right on the tail of the rider in black and triumph in sight. She screamed from the depths of her soul and accelerated around the corner and the rider in black. Ahead was the finish line and victory. The rider in red sprinted with everything she had, crossing the line collapsing over the bars of her bike and struggling to catch her breath. She had won.

A young girl wearing a high viz jacket and stripy leggings leans back on a chair, exhausted, after winning a cross country bicycle race.

The over-zealous parent

I have always said I would never be a parent who got over-excited at my children’s sporting achievements, but it was my daughter in the red of the Tay Titans Cycling Club who sprinted for victory. I couldn’t contain myself. I yelled her name louder than I think I have ever yelled and I am sure I was the subject of several raised eyebrows from other parents, but I didn’t care. I was the proudest Dad on Earth.

It was only a regional, under-10s mountain bicycle race, but I knew what it meant to her. She had raced since the age of five and only been on the podium twice before, but had spoken of one day winning a race. Today was her day and as far as I was concerned, if she never raced again, the memory of her huge smile on the podium would be enough.

A young girl with a medal around her neck stands waves a certificate above her head after winning a bicycle. Her hair is tousled and she is smiling happily. — Photos © Raymond Leinster Photography

The proud dad

Many years later my daughter still talks of that bike race. Reflecting on that race today, I know it was not the winning that made me the proudest. It was the fact my daughter had pushed herself to her limit and then dug a little bit deeper. I had never seen her empty the tank so completely. It is amazing what we can do with enough determination and looking at my daughter now I can see that strength of character still stands her in good stead today, and not just in sport.

I am a passionate advocate for getting young people active and involved in sports and physical activity. The reasons for this are obvious, but I also believe getting them involved in sports at an early age goes far beyond mere health benefits. It teaches them about respect, determination, commitment and hard work alongside many other valuable traits that will stand them in good stead as they mature into adults.

Both my kids still participate in lots of different sports and, thankfully, they still enjoy the odd bike ride or race on occasion too. As a parent, it is hard not to confuse their choices with my excitement at getting them involved in bikes. Over the years I have taken the view of not pushing, but providing the opportunities and helping out when needed, but letting them follow their paths.

Want to find out how to get young people involved in bicycle races?

There are lots of cycling clubs that welcome young people. Find out more here .

A year in 20 photographs

scot on December 11, 2024

A year in 20 photographs 1/20 – cyclists at Calgary Bay on the Hebridean cycling tour

Two happy female cyclists sitting on the beach at Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull after paddling in the sea. One of them is wiping sand off her feet. There is a bicycle lying on the ground behind her.

2024 was the first year we ran this Hebridean cycling tour and it quickly became one of our favourites. The Hebridean Island Hopper takes us to the Outer Hebrides, Skye, Mull and the rugged west coast of Scotland. This trip took us through some stunning scenery with spectacular views and places to visit along the way.

I took this photo just after the riders had been paddling on the beach Calgary Bay. We believe that cycling is one of the best ways to see a landscape as you can cover a lot of ground, but at a pace that allows you to savour the scenery around you. Since we make a point of stopping at many of the beautiful locations on our routes, you can enjoy what the area has to offer. From beautiful beaches to amazing mountain scenery, it is all there to explore.

Find out more about our Hebridean Island Hopper tour.

A female cyclist stands in the Atlantic Ocean looking out to see at Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull during a Skinny Tyres Hebridean cycling tour. Small waves are crashing around her ankles.

Find out more about Calgary Bay and the Isle of Mull.