Cycling in a Group- Etiquette and Basic Skills 2/08

Riding a bike is a singular pleasure, the wind in your face, the sound of your tires humming on the pavement, getting out there and going somewhere under your own power. It’s great by yourself or in a group. Riding in a group offers the advantages of camaraderie and increased efficiency. It is estimated that when riding at 20 mph, a full 30 percent of your effort is spent cutting through the wind. Wind resistance is one of the biggest factors in your total energy output, which is why drafting, or riding behind another rider, is so important. Those big groups of cyclists you see riding wheel to wheel don’t just like the view of each others’ butts- they are conserving energy to be able to ride farther and faster with less effort.

You don’t want to “suck the wheel” or ride behind just anybody though. Group riding in close proximity and drafting are skills to be learned and there is a definite etiquette involved for all riders. I’d like to offer my take on the various skills and customs involved with safe group bicycle riding.

First of all, riding in a group requires communication- loud assertive calling out of dangers and intentions. If 90% of someone’s view is your behind, you owe it to them to call out, “Hole!” and point to it with sufficient time for them to avoid hitting a crater. If you have a rider on your tail, you should call out, “Stopping! before hitting your brakes or ,”Jogger Up!” before overtaking a runner on a path. Here are the most common “Shout Outs” to give when group riding:

Stopping! or Slowing! when applying the brakes or approaching red lights combined with showing the palm of your hand to the rider behind you

Car Left! or Car Right! when approaching an intersection that has cars approaching from the side

Clear! when approaching an intersection that is clear and you intend to ride through w/o stopping

Hole! Glass! or Bump! as appropriate along with pointing to the obstacle in time to avoid it

Walker Up! Or Jogger! Or Dog! or Rider Up ! when approaching these creatures and in plenty of time for your fellow cyclists to react

Passing on your Left! Or Riders Up! (to the jogger) before you overtake someone on a path or trail

Car Back! when you are at the back of a group and a car approaches from behind

Right Turn! Or Left Turn! as you can imagine, before a turn, can be combined with Clear! to let your buddies know the street is free of approaching cars

Standing! when you jump to sprint or climb, combined with stretching your handsoutward twice without taking them off the bars

These basic calls combined with the relevant hand signals are crucial to avoid misunderstandings and mishaps in your peloton. Don’t be shy about calling out in a clear, loud voice. Not every rider in a group needs to call out every hazard, but if you are in the lead and riders are behind you with their vision obscured, call out and let them know. If you are in the middle of a big group and you hear the call, repeat it for others further back to give everyone a heads up. If you are the last rider in a strung out line, call out “Car Back!” and others should repeat it going up the line until everyone is aware.

Now let’s talk about some basic group riding skills to increase your groups’ efficiency and keep you from running into each other. Riding in close proximity to other riders takes smoothness and predictability-no sudden moves. You should be able to pilot your bike in a straight line and at a steady, constant pace. You should be able to make turns in a smoothly radiused arc without cutting across the corner or swinging wide. Here are some basic riding points to practice and follow.

Avoid abrupt moves- accelerate smoothly and gradually when in a paceline.
Avoid sudden braking except in emergencies and call out when braking.
Watch other riders and give plenty of room to unskilled riders who are not riding in a smooth, steady manner.
You should be able to look over your shoulder without swerving.
Look for smooth riders who communicate effectively and ride near them.
Do not use Aerobars in a group. Keep your hands near the brakes.
Do not grab your waterbottle in a paceline. Roll off, go to the back and drink there. A dropped water bottle can cause a crash.
Slow down on wet pavement and when turning on pavement covered in gravel.
Avoid excessive gear shifting in a group. Shift gears one at a time- don’t go from high gear to three lower gears in one shift thereby abruptly changing your speed and cadence.
Hold your line- it’s sometimes better to hit a small obstacle like a pothole than swerve into another rider’s path.
Hold your line in turns, don’t cut off other riders. Make your turn in a smoothly radiused arc. If you are on the inside of a turn, stay on the inside- don’t swing wide. If you are on the outside of a turn, don’t cut the across the lane – stay wide . It’s best for groups to approach turns single file rather than turn two or three abreast. Think ahead and line up neatly. You can tell your buddy,”Slide In!” and slow a bit to let him in, or you can speed up a bit and take the lead.
Lean your bike into turns, but keep your body centered over the centerline of the bike.

Don’t lean your head way into turns when cornering. Keep your pedal on the inside of the turn up, don’t scrape your pedal on the ground.

If you have a flat, don’t slam on the brakes, be mindful of riders behind and safely pull over while letting others know you are stopping. Always carry the means to fix your own flat.

In order to benefit from drafting, your front wheel should be one to two feet away from the lead rider’s rear wheel.

Look with one eye past the lead rider to the road ahead, and with the other eye watch his rear wheel. Watch his pedaling cadence for slowing and pay attention to any gear changes he/she may make.

Keep the pedals moving when in a paceline, even if you’re not applying much pressure, keep spinning the pedals. Don’t coast. Even if you have to feather the brakes a bit, it’s best to spin the pedals constantly.

If you are getting too close to the rider in front of you, encourage them to roll off. Rolling off is when you are in the lead and you want to migrate to the rear of the pack. You do so by speeding up a little, then look over your left shoulder and if it’s clear, signal with your elbow and move left and slow gradually, allowing the other riders to pass you as you slip back to the rear of the group.
Usually a quick outward jab or two with the elbow signals a desire to roll off. You jab your elbow out twice on the side that you want to rider to overtake you on. The next rider then takes his “pull” or time at the front.

When it’s your turn to “pull” or lead the paceline, try to maintain a steady pace without abruptly accelerating or slowing way down. If you find yourself at the front and are spent and can’t keep the groups’ desired pace at the front, try to gut it out for 30 seconds or so, then roll off letting a stronger rider keep the pace. If it’s all you can do to not get dropped, stay toward the back of the paceline and let those rolling off from the front slide in ahead of you.

To overtake a slower rider in a group, look over your left shoulder first (without swerving) then speed up and overtake.

Try to keep your group whole. If some riders get caught at a light, slow down and let them catch up. At crucial turns, a stronger rider should hang back and wait for stragglers so they don’t get lost. The stronger rider should try to pull the others back to the main group if possible by organizing a paceline.

Let other riders know when you are passing. Avoid passing on the right.

Avoid overlapping wheels, that is, riding with your front wheel alongside another’s rear wheel.

If everyone in your group follows these guidelines, you should have a fast, efficient group and be able to go longer and faster than you could ride solo. Happy Cycling !

-Matt Wurth 2/2008 Home