Now when I say riding in a group, I bet some of you are imagining a scene from a movie that has about a hundred cyclists all riding down the road side by side.

Well, this is not always the case, but whether it’s 2 bikes or more than 100, you have a lot of different things to consider.

A few simple tips for group riding.

The first thing I always tell people is: NEVER leave your own comfort zone, don’t try to keep up with someone else if it makes you nervous, drive according to your own abilities, if you are in a group your “friends” or fellow travelers will wait for you at the next junction if you haven’t managed to keep up. If they don’t expect you, you have to ask yourself: are these the people I really want to travel with? Remember it’s not just about the bike, it’s about the cyclist. I’ve been with a lot of groups and to be honest some of them travel a lot faster than me and no I’m not going to keep up with them. Similarly, I’ve ridden with people who travel slower than me, get upset and leave them (I can hear some of my friends say I should), but no, I don’t. It’s not just about how fast you get there, it’s more about the journey.

So the second group riding tip is to try to hold your position in a group. If you are 3rd, 4th or 25th in a group, stay in position as overtaking motorcyclists in a group can be dangerous as we are all busy looking at those ahead, we don’t expect someone to make a fast pass on the inside or outside, and if for some reason you have to move suddenly, you have arrived at the scene of the accident, and believe me, I know how much it hurts to fall off. a motorcycle

That being said, if you need to pass those in front, do so, but remember that there is plenty of room, they may not be waiting for you. Now something to consider is the size of the group. I have ridden 2 bikes and a couple hundred as well.

When the group becomes very large, you can consider some of the following.

Does everyone know the route?

No? You may want to use the corner man system.

The lead cyclist will indicate where they want the next cyclist to stop at an junction to indicate to the rest of the group which way they are turning at the light/junction or roundabout. the “marker” will then wait for the tail rider or rear gunner or whatever name you want to give the guy in the back to catch up, then the marker can rejoin, usually in front of the tail rider. Once you have rejoined, hold your position and you will eventually be behind the lead rider.

That brings us nicely to the tail rider, it can be anyone in the group, but if someone who has a bike or distinctive clothing (some groups use different hi-v for this rider) can be helpful, just let everyone know who the tail rider is. In addition, the trailing cyclist must be aware of the route he is taking and must also have the number or means of contacting the leading cyclist.

In very large groups, it is sometimes possible that there will be riding marshals, who will normally always wear high visibility clothing and even have flashing amber lights to identify themselves, they may even be motorcycle riders by blood, but certainly advanced motorcycle riders of some sort (ROPSA or IAM).

So I thought this was going to be a quick post, but it just so happens that there’s a lot to consider about group riding, and even more that I haven’t covered.

I hope you enjoy reading this and I’ll be posting a few more soon.

safe driving

simon