RULES OF THE ROAD

1.  On our group rides, no one should feel that they have to keep up with the faster riders in the club, or, for that matter, run with the slower ones.  We have so many members, now, that we have all skill levels and all riding styles.  Some like to just cool it, and enjoy the scenery, so to speak.  Others like to continually test or improve their skills by taking the curves as fast as they safely can.  And, then, there are those in the middle.  No one should feel that they have to ride just like everyone else.  We are all individuals, and each has his / her own riding style, and doesn't really feel comfortable, or safe, trying to ride any other way.  So, on group rides, let’s just go at our own, individual pace.  We always know where the destination is, and you know that the first ones there will wait for the rest of us.  No one is going to be left behind.  So, go at your own speed, and enjoy the ride.  It's a lot safer that way!

2.  When riding in groups of two or more bikes, statistics show that it’s safer to ride in a staggered formation.  The lead bike should pick a line (left or right of center, avoiding the “grease strip”) and stay with it so the bike behind can ride offset to the right or left, and so forth down the line.  If a rider should have to suddenly hit the brakes (for a dog, deer, etc.) the following bike(s) will have a place to go.  If the lead bike wanders from side to side and back again, it causes the entire row of bikes to weave back and forth, all over the road, in an attempt to keep the stagger.  If we combine this technique with the “3 to 5 second rule” (ride at least 3 to 5 seconds behind the bike in front of you), we should be able to avoid most embarrassing, and even dangerous, panic situations.  Of course, it is impractical as well as unsafe to try to maintain the staggered formation through the turns on windy mountain roads.