Ride Guide

Announcements Site Documents and Info
1

Overview

Obey The Ride Leader

  • They have been briefed on the rules of the road.
  • Do not stay with a ride in which you do not feel comfortable.
  • Before leaving a ride, make sure to tell the ride leader.

Obey the HTA

Under the HTA, a bicycle is a vehicle, just like a car or truck. Cyclists,

  • Must obey all traffic laws.
  • Have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers.

We put one foot down at all stop signs,

  • If you are at the front, call “stopping”, or put your hand up to signal to the entire group that you are stopping.
  • New riders will model the behaviour of existing members. Lead by example.

Within 30 minutes of dawn or dusk, of if they make sense in the conditions (fog or rain), bicycles must have,

  • White light and reflective material on the front.
  • Red light and reflective material on the back. Flashing red is okay.

Ride Formations

Group size: up to 16 riders. A smaller group is,

  • More efficient for motorists to pass.
  • Easier to match abilities.
  • Easier to shift formation.
  • Faster to communicate road hazards.

Larger groups will self organize into smaller groups and if needed the ride leader will ask for changes.

We ride “tight-to-the-right”, in a straight line, and pass on the left.

  • “Tight-to-the-right” means within a foot of the rider in front and a foot between the rider you are passing on your right.
  • Ride immediately behind the rider in front of you.
  • Do not overlap wheels.
  • Do not echelon.

Share the Road

  • Be courteous to other road users.
  • Help motorists pass by switching to single file.
  • Give a “thumbs up” and wave thanks to courteous drivers.
  • Be careful not to startle horse drawn buggies and leave lots of space.
  • When wearing club colours, you are Ambassadors on the road.
  • Do not engage angry drivers.
  • Report belligerent and/or dangerous drivers to WRPS: 519-570-9777.

WCC Quality Ride Credo

We will:

  1. Foot down at all stop signs.
  2. Share The Road.
  3. Single file on busy and narrow roads.
  4. EZ Echelon on less travelled paved roads.
  5. Road rides will stay “Tight-to-the-Right” in formation.
  6. Help cars pass.
  7. Ride in smaller groups of less than 16 riders.
  8. Teach the “Art of the Ride” to others.
  9. Follow the Ride Leader & seek to have a quality ride.
  10. Not engage angry motorists.
  11. Leave no rider behind.
  12. Be ambassadors on the road.

Rider Guidelines

  • Bicycle helmets required on all rides.
  • Bike in working order.
  • Proper nutrition before the ride.
  • Arrive before the start time. We leave on time.
  • Bring your own supplies to be self-sufficient.
    • Water, food.
    • Money, cell phone, ID, membership card (digital).
    • Spare tube, pump / CO2, repair kit.
  • Zero tolerance.
    • Riders who break safety rules will be warned ONCE.
    • Next time they will be asked to leave the ride.
    • If it happens on two rides in a row they will be asked to leave the club.
  • Etiquette.
    • Wait at top of hill or next intersection for dropped riders.
    • If rider is being dropped repeatedly, ask if they are okay to ride alone and/or drop back to the next group.
    • Do not let a rider that is trying to get back on dangle off the back; ease up so that they can get on.
    • When stopped for any length of time, get off the road.
  • Sprints and KOMs.
    • Only sprint at known safe spots, with clear lines of sight and NO following or approaching traffic.
    • Do not cut-off other cyclists by changing your line.
    • Do not cross the yellow line.
    • Ensure no following traffic before breaking formation.
    • Do not throw bike back when standing.
  • Do not ride in aero-bars in a group.
  • Hazards and Hand Signals.
    • Call “Car Back” - vehicle approaching from behind and formation should be tightened.
    • Call “All clear” - no vehicles when going through an intersection.
    • Point to road hazards (hole, debris).
    • Move to other lane passing buggies.
  • Mechanicals (+ flats).
    • The group stops until it is fixed or the rider waves you on.
  • Accidents.
    • The group stops.
    • Care for anyone who is injured (911 if necessary). See Concussion Guidelines.
    • Ride leader to record info for OCA.
  • Weather.
    • We cancel rides if there is severe weather, a weather warning or lighting on the route. See the Weather Policy.
    • Use common sense – choose to ride when it’s safe.

EZ Echelon

“EZ Echelon” is the new paceline

  • EZ Echelon is a “Tight-To-The-Right” formation that dynamically adjusts to the road and traffic conditions .
  • If there is a vehicle behind that wants to pass call out “Car Back” and do not move into the passing line of riders - eventually we will single up and the motorist will have more room to pass.

EZ Echelon

  • We are allowed to pass other cyclists (under the HTA and even within the local by-laws) but if we are doing so with other vehicles approaching from behind, we must turn out to the right to let faster vehicles pass and they must turn out to the left to safely pass us.
  • What a group of 8 can do is rotate clockwise in a paceline formation until a car approaches from the rear. Then call “car-back”, and the last person will “stick” and not pull into the passing line of bikes. With only 8 riders, the 2-3 riders passing on the left would rotate up and over to the right and single up in no time. The car would pass seconds later (with a wave of thanks) and the last rider would immediately pull out and start the rotation again. Most cars will make a wider pass because upon their approach we were taking the lane while passing, but then sharing the road.
  • There is respect and safety in the process.

Why Do We Rotate?

Group riding is about working together as a team to go faster and longer by sharing the work of breaking the wind.

  • It requires 35% less effort to draft behind another rider.
  • The lead rider can only “pull” the group into the wind for a short amount of time before becoming tired and is passed by the other riders moving faster on the left.

Unacceptable formations (more dangerous for motorists and cyclists)

  • Too Long – Single file lines are difficult to pass
    • Motorists will be tempted to “squeeze” by when it is not safe
    • Communication is difficult between cyclists in a long single line, often resulting in a “snaking” line which draws riders into traffic.
  • Too Wide - Block motorist’s view of approaching traffic
    • Diagonal echelon
    • Double paceline, dropping back on both sides

Real world situations

  • Cyclists in a group are constantly moving and passing.
  • On longer, more relaxed rides the speed of passing and rotation may slow down.
  • The passing line of single file cyclists on the left may take time to move past the slower moving single file line on the right (curbside).
  • In this case, we assume a steady, tight-to-the-right echelon, so that approaching traffic can clearly see up the road and choose to make a wider pass or wait until the group quickly singles up .

Single File Pace Line

  • Ride single file when roads are narrow or busy.

Circular Pace Line

  • Riders continuously cycle in two parallel lines and circulate.

When a rider passing up the left side arrives at the front of the group, they pull slightly ahead, until they hear that it is “clear” to move over to the right, taking a position at the front of the slower moving line of single-file cyclists on the right. Once in position, they can “ease up” slightly and let the faster riders continue to pass on the left. The rotation continues.

1 Like