Guidance for ride leaders

Planning your route

A route you’re familiar with is probably the best choice. It’s a good idea to recce the route in advance, even if you know it well. The experience of cycling the route with a group can be very different from cycling alone – and liable to be much slower. Cycling along it with these points in mind will focus your mind on certain practicalities.

It’s useful to watch out for:

• appropriate stopping points
• points where traffic-free routes cross roads
• junctions at which the group might get split
• right-turns across traffic
• steep descents that might require controlled braking,

That’s not an exhaustive list. You can’t expect to avoid all hazards on your ride - it would get really boring - but, if you know they’re there, you can both alert people and take appropriate action as a ride leader.

Consider too where the group will get refreshments on the route.

What to take

As ride leader, the following items are essential:

• a register (Download and print from here)
• copies of the Rides Policy (Download and print from here) for new participants
• a mobile phone

Other items are recommended:

• spare inner tubes (700C and 26″)
• a puncture repair kit and pump
• a multi-tool
• OS maps

At the meeting point

Arrive at the early end of the start time: 10.00 rather than 10.15 and make a list of all attendees on the ride using the register.

It can take some courage to join up with a new and unfamiliar group, so, if there are new participants, introduce them to other more regular participants and make them feel welcome. Try to get an idea of their level of experience. They should always be issued with a copy of the Rides Policy, even if they say they have seen it on the site - this is our safety net to show that we are covering our legal obligations.

Lastly, before you begin the ride, give a short preamble regarding what participants can expect.

Ride preamble

The details of this may depend on whether you know all the group and their capabilities. Include the following information as appropriate, referring to your recce of the ride:

• how far you’ll be going and how long it will take
• what points of interest you’ll see or visit on the way
• what to expect in terms of difficulty, including any tough climbs
• whether it’s on a trail, on roads, and what type of roads
• any particularly obvious hazards
• general comments on riding in a group (see below)

All that said, never give the impression that Cycle Cardiff rides are offered as a public service; they are open ‘club rides’ in which people participate at their own risk.

General comments on group riding

In brief the following three points will cover a wide variety of circumstances:

1. Maintain a safe stopping distance from cyclists in front.

2. Cycle safely and within the law.

3. Make your own judgements and decisions - don’t just copy the cyclist in front, especially at junctions.

Notes on trails

Leading a ride on a trail is somewhat easier than leading one on the road. There are plenty of hazards, not least from pedestrians and other cyclists. However, absence of motor traffic means that you can largely let other participants look after themselves.

The first precaution you should take against problems on a trail ride is to recommend consideration towards other trail users: don’t cycle too fast, cycle single file where appropriate, slow down near pedestrians, and use your bell.

Trails also present a particular hazard in the form of road crossings. Assess the risks carefully. Do not rule out the possibility of dismounting to make sure everyone crosses safely. Alternatively, it might simply be safer to be on the road in the first place.

Notes on city roads

Getting your group out or back through the city streets will probably be the most challenging part of your trip. Plan your route with this in mind. Your first priority with a group on city roads should be to make fairly rapid progress into or out of the city. Avoid delaying your progress by stops if at all possible, and never use a junction as a stopping point.

Experienced riders will look after themselves, but the less experienced will tend to copy what others do. You can’t be in control of this. Anyway, it’s not your responsibility to show riders how to deal with roundabouts or right turns. However, what you can and should do is attempt to exercise good roadcraft yourself. (Cyclecraft is recommended reading for this.)

Leading the ride

Don’t assume that as leader you need to be at the front. On long sections of a road/trail, you can drop back.

If you stop, other people will tend to stop. If that’s not what you intend, be really clear that you want them to cycle on. This can be useful where, for instance, you want to stop near a turning to make sure noone misses it.

Chances are that you will get strung out. If there are new or less experienced participants, it’s useful to know that there’s someone else experienced at the back. Consider engaging a ’sweeper’ for this purpose. Accept as normal that you will occasionally lose visual contact with the back. However, if this gets to the point where you think there may be a problem, either:

• stop somewhere safe, or
• let someone else take over the front, tell them to proceed at a steady pace, then turn/drop back to see what’s happened.

Encourage the view that each rider should be responsible for maintaining communication with the rider behind them, and for relaying messages forward to you.

Stopping the group is the most difficult thing you will have to do. In a perfect world, your ride would only include your planned stops. Avoid anywhere near junctions or bends. Wherever possible, stop off the road or trail. Where that’s not possible, do not obstruct other traffic and make sure you are visible.

Posted 16 April 2008 by Nick Canham