Rules and Etiquette for Safe Group Cycling on Mersey Tri Club Rides.
You are expected to familiarise yourself with the following safety points and put them into practice on training spins with Belpark.
1. No helmet = NO cycling. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. MUDGUARDS: All members on any club rides are expected to have mudguards for spring and winter, its a matter of courtesy to other riders.
Ensure your bike is roadworthy and that the brakes are in good working order.
3. Cycle two abreast. Cycling two up is safer on group rides. Spin leaders will advise if there is a need to single out at any time.
4. Maintain your line. Notice how steady the experienced cyclists are. Do not swerve out into the path of cars or other cyclists which may be passing. Do not constantly chop and change position. The line should move in a smooth manner, when you are preparing to hit the front, dont accelerate off the front and drive the pace up sharply.
5. Stay the right distance from the bike in front – You can save about 25% of your energy by riding on the tailwind of the bike in front so don’t let those gaps open up and keep the group as a coherent unit. By the same token don’t overlap wheels with the bike in front – one swerve and you could both go down, possibly bringing more people with you.
6.Half wheeling: If you are riding on the front, maintain a steady riding pace, dont keep upping the pace in an effort to stay half a wheel in front of the other rider on the front, its not a p!ssing contest when you are on the front (some of us are more guilty than others on this…)
7. Point and call the hazards. Potholes, rocks, gravel etc should be pointed out (even more important than the call) and these signals should be feed back through the pack so that the riders behind with less visibility will know where to expect the hazard. Those at the back should announce traffic where necessary and this should be relayed to the front. Common calls : ‘Car up’ Car approaching from the front of the pack, ‘Car back’ car approaching from the rear.
8. Signal and call when turning, moving out, slowing or stopping so that other cyclists and cars will know your intentions. Common signals are shown below but if in doubt, call. Be steady and try not to make sudden unpredictable movements. If you get a puncture announce loudly that you are “pulling in” and pull out of the way as smoothly as possible. The cyclists behind should signal and call that they are “moving out”.
9. Look and announce before changing position – if you do need to move within the group, first look all around and behind you to ensure it’s safe to move, then announce “passing on your inside / outside” as applicable. Give way to a cyclist/car that is already passing.
10. Aero Bars: DO NOT RIDE YOUR AERO BARS WHEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GROUP, there have been several near misses on club spins due to people riding aerobars in the middle of the bunch. Its dangerous and you will hurt more than just yourself if you hit the deck.
