New Riders - Cycle-Zone

New to the Group Riding?

1. Take time to practise your bike and bunch skills; attend scheduled skills sessions.

2. Good bunch skills improve your safety.

3. Be courteous to other road users, many are protected by steel.

4. Get help from experienced riders, or a properly trained cycling coach.

5. Ride towards the back of the bunch.

6. Introduce yourself to the Ride Captain before the ride.

7. Complete and sign the Club Disclaimer Form.

8. Listen to your ride captain and obey their instructions.

The Basics

Be on time
Maintain your bike in good order
Carry enough food, water and spares
Learn to call and signal all hazards
Stay alert, and chat only when it’s safe
Pass the Calls – Up and Down

Riding tips on Group Etiquette

Why ride with a bunch?

Some do it to motivate themselves to get up and train, others do it for safety in numbers on the road or simply for social reasons. Many friendships have been forged while spinning away the kilometres. Some view bunch riding as a personal challenge: if only I can keep up with them going up this hill then I know I’ve really made it.

So how do you join a bunch?

If you join on the road, keep on the back unless you have permission to move towards the front. Some bunches are groups of cyclists who are paying a coach and others are not keen to ride with a cyclist that they do not know.

Don’t join a bunch unless they show some kind of support. Some will support slow riders by waiting at the top of long hills or having some kind of recognized short cut on the course. Others support faster riders by having some fast sections for them that don’t break up the bunch too much.

There should also be some support for those suffering punctures or mechanical breakdowns when either the whole bunch stops or one or two people stop and help. Most bunches ride two abreast as it is safest to take up one lane of the road.

Riding tips

ACCELERATING:

Accelerating away from lights and across lanes should be done in a more dignified manner than when you are on your own, so that other cyclists are not dropped.

BRAKING:

Avoid braking as much as possible and give warning beforehand. When stopping for lights, do so gently without slamming the brakes on. The same goes for stopping pedalling suddenly, which can cause an accident.

CORNERING:

Give your partner plenty of room in the corner and keep level with them. Corner at a safe speed so that everyone behind can keep up and hold your wheel. If you find that you are continually ‘losing wheels’ then it is time to do some cornering practice.

DOWNHILL:

If you are at the front of the bunch, keep pedaling down gentle gradients. If you don’t everyone else will be putting on their brakes.

HALF WHEELING:

Half-wheeling is one rider always riding in front of his partner, which then puts the whole bunch out. It is essential that you keep level with your partner if at the front: keep your handlebars level with the handlebars of the rider next to you, rather than your front wheel level with theirs.

SITTING ON:

Keep reasonably close to the cyclist in front of you and again keep level with your partner. If too much of a gap is left the bunch is always playing ‘catch up’. Keep your head and eyes up. Don’t watch the gap between bikes. Scanning ahead will give you early warning of changes.

UPHILL:

In some bunches everyone splits up and goes up at their own pace while other bunches try and stay together. If that is the case and you feel like dropping off, pull off quickly so that others don’t get caught behind you. When climbing a hill and deciding to get out of the saddle do it in one continuous flowing movement. Otherwise the wheel slows momentarily and can hit the wheel of the cyclist behind, causing a fall.