Thornton RC - Road cycling group etiquette - Update

One of our members maybe foolishly entered a public house recently whilst wearing our club colours. This had the affect of being like a 'red rag to a bull' to a certain lady who was there. She proceeded to inform our rather startled member of a long list of traffic violations and road cycling laws that we [TRC] apparently have no regard for.

This is probably true...

Her main concern was our apparent practice of cycling 3 and 4 abreast and our lack of effort in aiding traffic to pass large groups.

So what can be done?

The responsibility falls to the riders themselves to be more attentive when group-riding and to be aware if they find themselves riding more than 2 abreast; but also to be more active in getting into single file to help traffic pass. I don't think any greater diligence by ride captains could have a better effect.

Next problem

Group size

It has regularly got to the point in the last couple of years when the number of riders who attend the Sunday morning rides exceeds 20, certainly in the popular-ability groupings.
When 20+ riders are strung out in single file, the line is far too long to allow the traffic time to pass in safety and comfort.
Groups of 15 or so should be a maximum, and riders should be aware of keeping a reasonable time gap to the next group up the road. If you find yourself in a group that doesn’t match your needs, there would be no problem in you jumping to the next group or dropping back to the group behind.

 If you decided to push on to the next group up the road, you must inform the riders around you of what you are doing, or they will just follow you. Hence two small (safe) groups could become one large (unsafe) one!

Let’s try it; let’s be safe.

Note: I have also added a new page 'Ride Rules & Etiquette' in the top menu.  It's from www.ilkleycyclingclub.org.uk and they gave me permission to reuse it. The article is a 'work in progress' so please read it and give some feedback or comments on its suitability for our club. Gordon will review all suggestions and agree a final version.

Don / Eric