Guide to Group Riding

Here are some tips to help ensure a fun and safe group ride:

Arrive prepared. Ariive on time with a full gas tank.

Riders' meeting. Before the ride discuss things like the route, rest and fuel stops, and hand signals. President and Road Captain's will lead. Seargeat at Arms will sweep (tail) rider. Cages (cars) should trail all bikes and be seperate from the group formation. Everyone's riding skills and the group's riding style will be taken into consideration for the ride. If the ride is slow please understand there may be a reason. If it is too fast let one of the Road Captains know. The goal is a safe and enjoyable ride. Don't deviate because you have a better route or its not the fastest. This is a group event.

Ride prepared. If you have a cell phone, have the Road Captain's phone numbers. If a problem occurs stop and call the Road Captains's first.

Ride in formation. The staggered riding formation (see diagram below) allows a proper space cushion between motorcycles so that each rider has enough time and space to maneuver and to react to hazards. The President rides in the Right third of the lane in front. The Lead Road Captain rides in the left third of the lane. The other Road Captain will ride in right third etc. This is necessary for the President and Road captain's to communicate. The next rider stays at least one second behind in the left third of the lane; the rest of the group follows the same pattern. A single-file formation is preferred on a curvy road, under conditions of poor visbility or poor road surfaces, entering/leaving highways, or situations where increased space cushion or maneuvering room is needed.

Avoid side-by-side formations, as they reduce the space cushion. If you suddenly needed to swerve to avoid a hazard, you would not have the room to do so. You don't want handlebars to entangle.

Periodically check the riders following in your rear view mirror. If you see a rider falling behind, slow down so they may catch up. If all riders in the group use this technique, the group should be able to maintain a fairly steady speed without pressure to ride fast to catch up.

If you're seperated from the group, don't panic. Call a Road Captain and he will plan a regroup. Don't break the law or ride beyond your skills to catch up.

For mechanical or medical problems, use a cell phone to call for assistance as the situation warrants.

MSF's Guide to Group Riding: Hand Signals