Group Tours ~~ Road Etiquette

Road etiquette is a touchy subject among cyclists. Believe me I know! In this country we seem to be focused on speed and racing. Even among we who ride bikes and will never enter a race, this attitude is prevalent. Yoiks!

Seems to me that there are only a very few reasons to engage in a group tour.

1) The rider doesn’t know the way and would like a navigator.
2) The rider would like the security and support of other riders.
3) Safety in numbers.
4) Sharing days on the road with others of like mind. In short camaraderie.

Most of those would seem to me to be reason to stay close to each other on the road. Ah if it were only that simple! The “racing imperative,” i.e. “I must show that I am faster!” mixes with an inherent difference in ability and motivation. Not all riders are as fast or as strong. A slight difference in ride speed, say 0.2 mph can be a huge factor in a long day. After five hours these two riders will be separated by a mile. When you consider that, in the south eastern region of the US, it’s rare to have a sight line of more than a quarter mile, that’s out of sight and out of mind.

I see an odd one occur fairly frequently. A rider will show up for a group ride. Let’s call this rider “Abe the Attacker.” Abe does not know a thing about the area of the ride. Abe has never ridden on those roads before, and hasn’t a clue where he is. Suddenly Abe takes off, as if pursued by the Furies. He has just dropped the ride, and ridden away from anyone who would help him navigate back home. Usually I see this when I'm in the midst of a recovery ride, and my urge to pursue the idiot is actually pretty low.

Just what is Abe the Attacker trying to accomplish here? Is he really so invested in being the “fastest rider around” that he will accept getting hopelessly lost on unfamiliar ground? Hah!? What gives?

Then there’s the flip side of the coin. There’s another rider, let’s call this one Slow Joe. Joe is decidedly not fast. He doesn’t care if he’s not. In fact he’s happy and content to be a slow poke. That works. But in a group ride situation, Slow Joe can be more than a bit of a problem. The question is, at what point does some member of the group have a responsibility to hang back and ride slowly with Joe? Is it right for Joe to risk the whole group’s objectives because he can’t, or won’t keep up?

Folks, those are tough questions. I’m intending to set out some guidelines here. What we are about is a group tour. More, it will be a self supported group tour. That means we will all be riding heavy bikes through hilly country. Some of us will be on heavier bikes than others. Some of us will be inherently faster than others.

I hope that the reason for our going out together will be for the joy of experiencing the day in good company. I know, from long experience, that someone will likely start “pushing the pace,” and that someone else will be hanging back. I’d really rather not see Abe the Attacker, Slow Joe, or Attila the Hun on this ride.

So here’s a set of guidelines to live by on this tour.
1) No one has the right to force others to go faster. If you ride ahead of the group, we still love you, but you are on your own. That also means we won’t look for you if you don’t show up at an agreed upon checkpoint. You have to do your own navigating. Leave the group and you take full responsibility for yourself.

2) No one has the right to be a “dragging anchor,” holding the group back. If you can’t keep up, you will be dropped. I’m sure that compassion will modify this somewhat, but it would be foolish to count on it.

3) No one has the right to put others at risk. Absolute adherence to traffic laws, and good safe, courteous, and responsible riding is mandatory. No exceptions.

Okay, that could be a bit of a problem. How do we know that we can stay with the group, not run away, and not be a “dragging anchor”?

The answer is pretty simple. Train and test. For more on that, please see tomorrow’s post.

As for the rest of the possible touring etiquette questions. Well, common sense, good manners, and a simple regard for your riding partners is about all that is needed. Pretty much, we’re a classy, decent bunch of people. Good manners have been bred into us. Essentially, let’s agree to keep our tempers, respect each other’s idiosyncrasies, give room when necessary, and look out for each other. In other words, let’s let the Golden Rule be our guide.

So that’s it. Mostly stay with the group. Don’t be a pain. Follow the law. Ride safely. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

I can’t think of another thing to add.

As always, I’m interested in your comments, and welcome suggestions and questions.

Keep the shiny side up, and a smile on your face.