Group Riding

Often at Rallies, or on camping trips, or even short rides after breakfasts, a few people will get together for a ride.  Pace may vary, but most of these suggestions hold true for any type of ride.  Others are geared more towards faster riding.

• Ride in a staggered formation.  This gives everyone good outwards visibility, increases the visibility of the group to other motorists, and gives a bit more maneuvering room if a road hazard is spotted.  Which side the leader is on is beyond the scope of this.
• Keep a consistent speed and interval.  Other riders don't expect you to slow down when there is no apparent danger in front of you, and this causes unneccessary "accordion" action in the group.  If you change speed, let it be for a real reason.
• Don't be afraid to overtake.  I've been on many rides where the leader won't overtake a slow vehicle because there wasn't enough room for the whole group to pass.  As the group grows in size, it's very rare to find an opportunity big enough for that!  If the group is briefly divided, that's OK.  It's a lot easier (and probably safer) to overtake in two or three small groups than in one large group.
• When you overtake, stay on the gas until you are well clear and move to the right, to allow others to follow you.  It's no fun to follow someone in a pass and then have nowhere to pull into.  Keeping to the far right after you pull in opens up more room for others to pull in with you.
• When the road gets interesting and some riders pick up the pace, try to keep other riders' headlights in the mirror.  Alternatively, slow down on the next straight to allow some re-grouping.  Another option, on longer rides, is to agree to wait at the next turn for a full re-group, but this must be agreed on in advance and really only applies where there is a larger disparity in speeds between riders.
• When overtaking, hold up your left arm to indicate to those behind you that the way is clear.  Often an extra set of eyes in front of you can extend the safe range for passing; remember to be that set of eyes when needed.  Conversely, if you see a hazard that the rider behind you (about to overtake) might not see, drop your left arm down towards the road, palm-down.

A more complete set of motorcycle hand signals can be found in the book "Motorcycle hand Signals".

Back to the index

Contact Anton

Javascript and this site

About