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So, we are putting together a skills set for leaders and Tail end charlies. A list of do's and dont's. What do you like to see on the group rides, what do not like. What are absolute musts.

I really like to see the leader ask everyone that was following if they were having any problems keeping up at the first stop. Other then that, it's pretty much all good.

For the ana-retentive:
1. Go over some basic hand signals.

2. Give a rough explanation of route/what to expect on route (any unusal terrain, etc.).

3. Show of hands, who's carrying a first aid kit and/or has first aid training (so everyone knows who to go to if something happens).

P

Here are the group riding guidelines for the Southern Cruisers riding club.

There are chapters all over the place.

http://www.southerncruisers.net/ridingrules.htm

Thanks guy's, I need all the help I can get. Interesting to see some guy's using radio's. Nobody employs that system here. We also have a unique group ride in that we split the pack into two groups. A slow group and a fast group. One of the needs for the program is how to handle these slower riders who want to come up to the fast group. We have so many riders turning up these days that we do not know all of them. On top of that we are getting an increasing amount of guest riders on non BMW bikes.

Ride in a stagard format, not side by side. Single file through any corners!

Good spacing between bikes, it helps avoid an ugly domino effect if something goes wrong near the front of the group.

Lion_Lady wrote:For the ana-retentive:
1. Go over some basic hand signals.

2. Give a rough explanation of route/what to expect on route (any unusal terrain, etc.).

3. Show of hands, who's carrying a first aid kit and/or has first aid training (so everyone knows who to go to if something happens).

P

This is the bomb! I wish when I went on my first ride they would have done this - but there was about 8 of us, and 6 guys knew each other very well. I guess they thought the other new guy and I would catch on.

In reality, I almost lost them and the other new guy crashed trying to keep up. I think there needs to be a tail guy, who knows exactly where the lead guy is going. He needs to keep the back of the pack safe and as slow as they need to go. And take some breaks along the way and trade tail duty so the more experienced guys don't have to get board baby-sitting.

RULE #1 - Ride Your Own Ride!!!

Worth mentioning:

- Hand signals, especially the "one up" signal used to notify riders to ride single file when approaching twisties.

- Don't become "glued" to the group. If you do, a pile-up is eminent if a traffic light goes yellow after part of the group has already gone through. One law-abider will stop for the red and will get rear-ended by the bungie bikers behind them.

- Maintain clearance between you and the bike ahead of you.

- Most experienced rider up front, 2nd most experienced at the tail. Least experienced rider should ride directly behind the leader.


That's all for now.

That's great Zoo. I agree, especially about the whole "glued" thing.

Another thing is making clear the adherence to law, or not. When I rode with this group they certainly did not adhere to the speed laws, which was not a problem to me. They also did not honor the no passing areas, with which I did have a problem. At one point the tail guy, who had passed me due to slowness in some corners, had to drop back to try to get me to pass a car in a long no passing zone. Had I known they would be breaking that rule, I might have passed on joining them at all.

So anyway, I was outclassed in terms of cornering and speed skills, and I was the extra wheel in that sense. If someone would have be clear and truthful about the kind of riding to be done, I might have passed - saving me some scares and them the bordom of me dragging them down.