First club run....Oh dear!

BlueDynamo

After many months of debating I finally took the plunge and attended my local towns Sunday club run.

Everyone seemed friendly enough and I set off the with the slowest group so I could get used to riding in a group and learn the etiquette.

About 15 minutes into the ride a motorbike was approaching a roundabout at a speed that I judged to be too fast. One person behind me also shouted stop which I took to be a group command so I braked not realising that some of the more adventurous members of the group thought the gap was more than safe enough to cross. A 74 year old precedes to fly straight into me and is left sprawling on the side of the road as I look around wondering whether it was my fault or not. Fortunately he seemed to be ok after only bruising his elbow.

No one in the group gave me a hard time but I couldn't help feeling I'd been a little bit stupid. So lesson learned: when slowing down at a junction shout "stopping" so everyone can hear!

Still a little surprised that the run leaders didn't go through the etiquette/drill before starting out for the benefit of newcomers.

On a good note I comfortably dealt with the pace/distance so think I'll be able to step up to the next group in a few weeks time when I'm a little bit more comfortable riding in groups.

Wirral_paul

Rule number 1 for me when riding in a club - the guy in front of you should be the one to make the initial judgement. If they shout to stop then you stop - so not your fault i'd say.

mattrixdesign2

BlueDynamo wrote:

Still a little surprised that the run leaders didn't go through the etiquette/drill before starting out for the benefit of newcomers.

The etiquette should be explained before each ride, this should include hand signals as well as calls.

It sounds OTT buy when riding in a group it makes a difference!

Shame you had a bad start, don't let it put you off.

JackPozzi

Would expect someone to give a newcomer a heads-up to the signals used by the group but at least everyone is ok. What club is it out of interest?

smoggysteve

Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to shout in a group. I would suggest that when a group ride goes out, someone should take charge so to speak and stay at the front to help control things. When a word like STOP is shouted, many people react in a different way. Some slam the anchors on, some look around and take their eye of the road, some ignore it and continue. It ,in my mind, splits the group and creates confusion. I would be a bit annoyed if someone shouted it in a group I was riding in. I wouldn't lay any fault on yourself for the collision.

Monty Dog

I wouldn't blame yourself, sounds like poor group discipline / rider judgement. The guys at the front should make the call. Stop is a reasonable command if the situation warrants it.

forward_loop

Calls are advisory instructions and primarily are for those BEHIND.

If you decided it was unsafe to cross being in front of the guy shouting stop YOU should also shout stop.

Its logical when you think about it - and the closest you will get to brake lights. Hence the poor guy (probably with 20 years+ cycling ran up your backside)

- a line of ten guys, for the first five its safe to cross (or four of them think so), the sixth guy shouts stops and the guy at the front slams on the anchors..........carnage

similarly if some one shouts "pothole" - its not much use to the guy in front..

Wirral_paul

Can you clarify BlueDynamo - did you actually call out that you were stopping yourself??

Either way, it doesnt sound like the club were doing things very well at all. My own club insisted I ride on the back of the group for my first club ride so (there wasnt anyone behind me). This was despite knowing I raced at Cat 2 level for many years in my younger days - a completely sensible approach to bringing in newcomers and giving them time to learn the specific calls used by the club, and to give the club time to view my own riding standards and confidence.

BlueDynamo

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Can you clarify BlueDynamo - did you actually call out that you were stopping yourself??

Either way, it doesnt sound like the club were doing things very well at all. My own club insisted I ride on the back of the group for my first club ride so (there wasnt anyone behind me). This was despite knowing I raced at Cat 2 level for many years in my younger days - a completely sensible approach to bringing in newcomers and giving them time to learn the specific calls used by the club, and to give the club time to view my own riding standards and confidence.

No, I didn't shout out that I was stopping. The pair ahead of me and the lady who I was paired up with both took the gamble/felt comfortable to cross the roundabout. I think I stopped because I reacted to the call to stop from behind and also my nervousness that I would not have been able to cross the roundabout safely.

Not letting the people behind me know I was stopping appeared to be the error on my part.

SmoggySteve wrote:

Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to shout in a group. I would suggest that when a group ride goes out, someone should take charge so to speak and stay at the front to help control things. When a word like STOP is shouted, many people react in a different way. Some slam the anchors on, some look around and take their eye of the road, some ignore it and continue. It ,in my mind, splits the group and creates confusion. I would be a bit annoyed if someone shouted it in a group I was riding in. I wouldn't lay any fault on yourself for the collision.

There was a group leader at the front in the first pair who crossed safely. I was in the second pair. The shout came from someone behind.

JackPozzi wrote:

Would expect someone to give a newcomer a heads-up to the signals used by the group but at least everyone is ok. What club is it out of interest?

To be fair I made a point within the first few miles of the ride to ask as many questions to the lady I was paired with regarding etiquette i.e. pothole calls etc. I just forgot to ask the obvious question about stopping at junctions!

I'm not going to mention the name of the club as I did enjoy the ride afterwards and don't want my initial experience to put another beginner off attending. Hope that's understandable.

rolf_f

Not your fault - assuming you didn't just do an emergency stop! If a vehicle is on the roundabout already, with priority, then all riders in a group should be making their decision whether to keep moving or stop after the person infront has made theirs. You need to take into account that the person behind you is very close but they shouldn't be relying entirely on you giving a hand signal. I tend to focus on the rider(s) infront and trust mostly to peripheral vision to inform me what is happening with the other road users.

slowbike

My first club run (as a guest of my brother- I'm not a member of a local club) I rode the first bit at the back. Everyone knew that I was a group newbie and it was up to them to give me a bit more space beside or behind me.

The main bit I learnt was that you make gradual changes to speed - unless you give a verbal indication too.

Don't worry - even the more experienced get it wrong - as someone at the front of the pack braked hard without calling - we all ended up in a bit of chaos ... fortunately nobody crashed into anyone else

gary.hounsome

I should think the guy behind you should have been aware of an approaching roundabout, or at least had an idea of what was coming around it sounds like he was just relying on following the rider in front.

What if you had continued to cross? you may have made it through and he would have got hit by the bike for not being aware.