Club Rides

So... I'm a new member and learning how BRBC does group rides. Clearly numbers matter and if the group is too large (like more than 8) it becomes near-impossible to control as a leader. I'd say if the numbers are reasonable you can give a signal ( like yelling AND raising your arm straight up) to alert the group that you will soon be pulling off and to be ready to do the same. To make this work requires that you inform the group of the signals, tell them where on the route to expect traffic so that all will be alert to the possibility, and make the motion at an appropriate time, like 30-60 seconds before the turn off. This does require all members ot the group to understand, to communicate with others, and be ready to follow your cues. If even one person doesn't get it, it becomes immediately unsafe. Having a trailing assistant to keep the tail of the group in line helps.

Generally 2-wide is fine, but it does make it difficult if not impossible for the leader or anyone else to move down the line to inform riders of what's coming, so then you have to ask riders to "pass it on" for upcoming hazards. Regardless, if the group is 15 riders all together, you are likely to be an obstacle on the road and to piss someone off if you stay like that for long.

Jim Carroll, Route Mgr, North WNC & TN

Excellent points made in these posts. The Club is making every effort to come up with clear guidelines that will help make our rides safer and more compatible with motorists. Group size is a big factor, but so is the cohesion of a group. Large groups often harbor the unsafe condition of a diversity of skill sets and physical capacities among the riders. Being with a group in which all the riders know how the others will behave under typical riding conditions is a critical factor for safety. Therefore, one of the important considerations for the Club is to define clearly a guide for ride selection -- fitting a ride's pace and rider skill set to a particular group designation, and restricting rides to those riders within the guidelines. Currently, the group designations are ambiguous. Thus, particularly at the beginning of rides, large groups that start as with 15-30 or more riders are diverse and unsafe to themselves, an obstruction to car traffic, and a dangerous accident waiting to happen.

The Club must come up with clearer guidelines for group rides to which riders and ride leaders adhere and consistently enforce. To do otherwise is irresponsible and a threat to the excellent reputation the Club has in its community.

I like David's reply which addresses the Law and how riders must work within the Law the keep themselves safe. My brother once said "If everyone was a defensive driver no one would get anywhere." The more I ride I realize that people are worried about being courteous towards motorists. And what people call courteous, I call un-safe and yielding the right of way. In the state of NC, if you have the right of way, you are legally obligated to take it, to do otherwise holds up other whose intentions you don't know and makes for un-safe operation of vehicles. Courteous is starting to become synonymous with dangerous.

Why are drives so concerned about getting around cyclists? Both car and bike, at the very minimum, have a federally protected, Constitutional Right to move free across roads within the US. In the state of NC, Motor Vehicle Drivers have a lawful obligation to reduce speed and safely navigate around slower moving vehicles and other hazards. It doesn't matter why a cyclist is on the road, work or pleasure. Is motoring behind a cyclist for 1min, or 5min really a bad thing? Is it going to make you so late for whatever your doing that it's going to ruin your whole life? Because if you get worked up and pass that cyclist on one of these back roads, on a curve, or approaching the top of a hill, and a car is coming, you swerve and hit them, you're possibly going to end their life. And what's more important, your inconvenience or a cyclist life.

I've heard the argument that some drivers make; "I'm driving a dump truck/Uber/Delivery Van/etc. and on the clock, I have more of a right to be there than a cyclist who is out for pleasure and shouldn't have to deal with them holding me up." To that I say, the majority of my miles are to work and home, 5.3mi to work, 7mi on my lunch brake, and anywhere from 5mi to 15mi home, 3 days a week, even through the winter. For someone to assume they have more right to the road than anyone else is absurd, see my first point about federally protected rights. For anyone to tell me I should move off the road to let cars pass, I ask where is that written in the law that I have to do that? The law only states that if I do move over it has to be on a public "driveway" like a side street, maybe a parking lot. There aren't many public access roads to safely pull into on WNC roads. On top of that, if I'm commuting, why am I being asked to delay my time? I left with enough time to change a flat if need be, the fact that a motorist didn't leave early enough to deal with road hazards isn't any of my business.

When I lead bike club rides, I follow Bike Club Rules. The bike club exists to make riding accessible to anyone and everyone, and the rules they have about riding single file on busy roads, Splitting up groups into no more that 6 or 8, pre-ride briefing and intros, are wonderful and cautious things that they do to keep people safe that are tested over time and proven to work in order to make interfacing with the motoring public the best experience, regardless of what I've already said here.

Now, I'm gonna go strap on my head light and turn signal backpack and go share the road to work while asserting my legal right to full use of the lane.

Last summer, I got caught behind a large group of Cyclists on crab Creek Road riding between tally and Cascade Lake. I was in my pick up headed to Dupont for a quick mountain bike ride. It was about 25 or 30 riders riding two breast and there was no way I could pass.

I was shocked that they did not move to single file at all. I could not pass until they turned off the road.

I asked two cycling buddies after the incident if I was in the wrong. One said ignore it, and the other said they were in the right to block the traffic the whole way for safety reasons. I think the Cyclists should’ve been more courteous.

From Ann Groninger's "Ride Guide" book on NC cycling laws and cycling safety (https://www.bikewalknc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/BIKELAW_RG_NC_2019_WEB.pdf)...

"GROUP RIDING

Benefits of group riding: Many bicyclists who ride recreationally enjoy riding in groups. Group rides are a great way to interact with friends and enjoy the outdoors at the same time. They also help with training, as riders push each other and work to get stronger.

Riding next to another bicyclist or group of bicyclists does take up more space and therefore makes you more visible, which is safer. Also, a group of bicyclists will usually occupy the lane, requiring motorists to wait until they can safely pass in the next lane.

The downside: Bicycle group riding is a popular activity around the state and is growing. Yet when you hear motorists complain about bicyclists, the complaint you hear most often is about the “group of 50 cyclists blocking rush hour traffic” or a similar complaint about a large group. You get the idea. So what is the law on group riding, and how do you square group riding with the concepts of safety and courtesy we have discussed already?

Group rides and riding two abreast is legal: First, there is no state law addressing group riding. Anyone who tells you the law requires you to ride single file is incorrect except in very limited places, typically designated by county or municipality. On almost all

roads, riding two abreast is perfectly legal. Some municipalities have “no more than two abreast” ordinances that are often mistaken for requiring single file riding. Check out your municipal code at www. municode.com to see if there are any areas that apply to your ride.

You may sometimes hear motorists say that bicyclists should ride single file, as a courtesy to motorists. By doing so, the bicyclists sacrifice some of their safety advantage by allowing motorists to pass in the same lane. Also, it is not necessarily true that it is easier for motorists to pass bicyclists riding single file. Six bicyclists riding two abreast are (very roughly) about the length of two and one-half cars; at single file, they are twice that length and require more time to drive around. Riding two abreast also increases the group’s efficiency at intersections.

There is no law obligating bicyclists to make passing easy for motor vehicle drivers. A smart and courteous bicyclist, however, chooses his or her route and bicycling time wisely. If riding recreationally, it is preferable to choose as many lesser traveled routes as possible or routes where it is easier for motorists to pass, if possible, and

not ride lengthy stretches of congested arterials during rush hour traffic. Since our roads and neighborhoods are not typically built with bicycle connectivity in mind, it is not always possible to avoid busier roads. As a bicyclist you have the absolute legal right to use the road as you wish, within the rules of the road. You have an obligation to others – including other bicyclists who will share your reputation – to use your rights wisely."

BRBC Ride Leaders rarely have their groups ride two abreast (even though it would be safer for all the riders) and attempt (but not always successfully) to break larger groups into smaller groups to minimize impeding traffic and not add to motorists ire with cyclists.

I'm just curious what people's consensus is on the matter of riding side by side on a two lane road in a large group. In my mind if the group is more than 6 I would break the group up so when there is a clearing cars behind can safely pass a smaller group. This is my thinking or is this too difficult. I just witnessed a LARGE group of cyclists riding side by side coming down through the Pisgah Forest creating a big line of traffic behind them and I felt it was a little selfish and dangerous. This is my opinion but I'm looking for other input. Maybe I'm wrong.