Basic Group Ride Etiquette   

• Ride two-by-two unless the Ride Leader signals or calls out to ‘single up!’.
• Maintain your place in the line/group, even at stop lights.  This means that you stay in the same 2-by-2 formation that you have been in during the ride.  There is no reason to bunch up at stop lights, to try to move to a different position in the group, or weave your way through cars to get to the front.  Staying in the 2-by-2 formation helps make the group more predictable to automobile drivers, as well as to each other, thus keeping the group safer.
• Watch the bike in front of you, and protect your own front wheel.  This is your safety zone and your responsibility.  Stay directly behind the bike in front of you, following the same path that they do, within a safe, braking distance.  For less experienced riders this could be several feet.
• When climbing, please leave a greater distance between you and the rider in front of you, in case that rider gets up out of the saddle.  This can often cause them to slow initially, causing you to hit them from behind.
• No half-wheeling.  Half-wheeling is when a rider’s front wheel overlaps the rear wheel of the rider in front of them.  If either rider swerves, turns, or gets out of the saddle for climbing, the above-mentioned wheels may rub or hit each other, most often causing the rider behind to go down.
• Keep your hands on your handlebars, fingers wrapped around the bars or hoods at all times, and preferably not on top of the bars (unless climbing).
• Never ride ‘hands-free’ in a group as a single pebble or bump could cause you to lose control of your bike and wobble or crash, along with many behind you.
• Keep braking to a minimum on a group ride.  Do not automatically brake when you see an obstacle, as this is dangerous and unpredictable for the riders behind you.
• When you have to brake, always call out ‘slowing!’ or ‘stopping!’ or ‘light up!’ first, then give enough pause so the riders behind you have time to react.  Understandably, this is not always possible, but everyone must make their best effort to warn the cyclists behind them when they must slow or stop.
• All voice and hand signaling needs to continue LOUDLY ALL the way down the line of riders to keep those in the back safe too.  This is an absolute.  There can never be too many people calling out a warning.  Everyone needs to call out
• Each rider in the line of cyclists should follow the cyclist in front of them to avoid obstacles.  For example, if a rider calls out “Door! Right Side!”, both lines of riders should call out, give the hand signal if possible, and move left, following the riders in front of them, and avoiding the car door on the right side.  Of course, always use caution if you must move outside of the bike lane (see below).
• Always stay in the bike lane or as far to the right side of the road as is safe, avoiding drains, asphalt/cement lips, parked cars, car doors, and other obstacles.
• The Ride Leader or rider in front should ask the group to ‘take the lane’ if the bike lane or shoulder is unsafe (debris, drain grates, too narrow, parked cars).  This means to take the right-hand driving lane (when safe also).  The whole group moves into that lane after individually making sure it is safe and clear of cars.
• On single-lane roads or narrow roads without a shoulder or bike lane, always ride single file, as far to the right as safely possible.
• Use your peripheral vision to know what’s going on around you with cars, pedestrians, lights, and other riders, while keeping your eyes forward on the bike in front of you.  Signal to the rest of the group if you see anything coming up that hasn’t been called out.
• Be a ‘steady wheel’.  This means that you should consciously try to keep your front wheel steady and smooth. This makes it easier and safer for those riding behind and around you – remember ‘predictability’!