The Guardian
09-05-2009, 09:37 AM
The purpose of riding in an organized group instead of an undisciplined pack is to provide the additional safety that a well-organized group inherently generates. This comes from within the group and from the outside. When a group rides in an orderly fashion, people don’t get in each others way, and the organization of the formation itself discourages cars from attempting to cut in. EVERYONE Riding with any Shifted group is expected to follow these guidelines. Anyone violating them, and compromising everyone elses safety, will be warned, and if their actions continue, will no longer be welcome to ride with the group. The following are compiled from a number of sources. Most groups that ride in orderly formations follow similar rules. Details may vary from one group to another, sometimes because of the style of riding they do, or sometimes because there are a number of reasonable options, so they chose the one they prefer.
Drinking or any other intoxicant that will effect your ability to think clearly is not Condoned by any Shifted Group. If someone is seen doing either, they will be dismissed from the ride, as they will be a hazard to themselves, other participants in the ride or the general public.
Formation Riding: Will be in a standard Staggered formation. In staggered formation, the bikes form two columns, with the leader at the head of the left column, so he will be able to view all bikes in the formation in his/her rear view mirrors, and be able to see around vehicles the group approaches. The second bike will head the right column, and will ride approximately 1 second behind the leader (and in the opposite side of the lane). The other riders will position their bikes 2 seconds behind the bike directly in front of them, which puts them 1 second behind the diagonal bike. This formation allows each rider sufficient safety space, and discourages other vehicles from cutting into the line. The last rider, or Sweeper, may ride on whichever side of the lane he/she prefers.
Ride Leader: The Ride Leader must be aware of the length of the columns, and must gauge the passing of merges, highway entrances and exits, etc., to allow for maximum safety and keeping the group together. He must make sure that he leaves enough time/space for the formation to get into the appropriate lanes before exits, etc. All directions come from the Ride Leader. The Ride Leader makes all decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel, closing of gaps, turning off at exits, any concerns of what lays ahead, accepting/rejecting radioed messages from other individuals, and so on. No individual will assert himself independently without direction from the Ride Leader to do so.
Sweeper: The sweeper serves as the eyes of the Ride Leader. He watches the formation, and informs the Ride Leader of any potential problems within the group. He watches other vehicles, and informs the Ride Leader (and anyone else with radios) of hazardous conditions approaching from the rear, such as vehicles trying to cut into the formation and trucks passing with potentially dangerous wind blasts. He will watch for merging lanes, and will move into a merging lane (or stay in a merging lane just vacated by the group) in order to "close the door" on other vehicles that may otherwise find themselves trying to merge into the formation. At the Ride Leaders request, the sweeper changes lanes before the formation, to secure the lane so the formation can move into it.
Road Captain(s): The primary concern of the Road Captain(s) will be the safety and integrity of the group. They will give a pre-ride safety speech reminding people of the road rules and any exceptions to the rules if necessary. The Road Captain(s) will assign an emergency responder, and if necessary several road guards to serve during the ride. Road Captains should watch for bikes leaving the formation during the ride and make sure that the Emergency Responder is handling the situation. They may assign any rider to any position in the formation of the ride to insure the safest conditions. They may request a rider to leave the formation if conditions warrant.
Emergency Responder: The emergency responder will be responsible for helping any riders that leave the formation. He/She will ride near the rear of the formation. He/She will carry a cell phone and have the Ride Leaders cell phone number available. The Emergency Responder will stay with the Rider that left the formation and after assessing the situation he/she will notify the Ride Leader. It will be the Ride Leaders decision about how to handle the situation.
New Riders: The position of new (inexperienced with GROUP riding) riders within the group is significant. New riders should be positioned as close to the front as possible.
Lane Changes: All lane changing starts with a request from the Ride Leader to the Sweeper. The Sweeper will (when it is safe to do so) move into the requested lane and will inform the Ride Leader when the lane is clear.
At this point, the Ride Leader has three options:
1. Simple Lane Change: This is an ordinary lane change, and can be used in most situations. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then initiates the change. All other riders change lanes too. The important concept is that NO ONE moves until the bike in front of him has started moving.
2. Block Lane Change: This can be used interchangeably with the Simple Lane Change. It requires a little more work, but it is well worth the effort. Its quite impressive to watch, and gives the riders a tremendous feeling of "togetherness". This sounds a little complicated, but is actually very simple to do. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which he is moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and change lanes too. This allows the entire formation to move from one lane to another as a single block.
3. Rear Fill-in: This is sometimes necessary if a long enough gap cannot be maintained in the new lane, for example when trying to move from the right lane to the center and vehicles from the left lane keep cutting into the opening. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the leader (usually at the suggestion of the Sweeper) will call for the group to fill in the space from the rear. He signals this by raising his hand to shoulder height and "pushing" it towards the new lane. All riders repeat the signal, and the last bikes move into the space in the new lane ahead of the Sweeper, then the next-to-last bikes move in ahead of those, and so on until the Ride Leader finally moves into the space ahead of the entire formation.
Emergencies:
In the unlikely event of an emergency condition, the Ride Leader will make every attempt to move the formation to the shoulder in an orderly manner. If a bike breaks down, let the rider move to the right. DO NOT STOP. The Emergency Responder will stop with the problem bike. The Ride Leader will lead the group to a safe stopping place.
Hand Signals:
Each rider (and passenger) should duplicate all hand signals given by the rider in front of him, so that the signals get passed all the way to the back of the formation. The following signals are used in addition to the standard (right turn, left turn slow /stop) hand signals.
1. Block Lane Change: The leader (after having the Sweeper secure the lane) raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which he is moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and change lanes too.
2. Fill in from rear: After having the Sweeper secure the lane and putting on his directional signal (which is repeated by each rider), the Ride Leader raises his left hand to his shoulder and "pushes" his open hand toward the lane into which he wants to move. This signal is repeated by all riders, and each rider in turn, rearmost first, moves into the space ahead of the riders behind them.
3. Single up: When conditions warrant single file (narrow road, anticipated wind-blast from trucks, obstruction, pedestrians, etc.) the Ride Leader will raise his left hand straight up, holding up just his index finger. All other riders will repeat this, and the two columns will merge into one.
4. Staggered Formation: After singling up, when single file is no longer necessary, the Ride Leader will raise his left hand with thumb and pinky out, other fingers closed, rotating his wrist back and forth (indicating left, right, left, right). All other riders will repeat this and resume staggered formation.
5. Tighten Formation: When the Ride Leader feels that the formation should be tighter (bikes closer together) (usually after being informed by the Sweeper), he raises his left hand with fingers spread wide and repeatedly closes them into a fist. All other riders repeat this and close up all unnecessary space in the formation.
6. Road Hazard: This is the one signal that can be initiated by ANYONE. Anyone seeing a hazardous condition on the road surface (road kill, oil, gravel, significant pot hole, etc.) will point at it. All following riders will repeat this, and all riders will avoid the hazard.
Drinking or any other intoxicant that will effect your ability to think clearly is not Condoned by any Shifted Group. If someone is seen doing either, they will be dismissed from the ride, as they will be a hazard to themselves, other participants in the ride or the general public.
Formation Riding: Will be in a standard Staggered formation. In staggered formation, the bikes form two columns, with the leader at the head of the left column, so he will be able to view all bikes in the formation in his/her rear view mirrors, and be able to see around vehicles the group approaches. The second bike will head the right column, and will ride approximately 1 second behind the leader (and in the opposite side of the lane). The other riders will position their bikes 2 seconds behind the bike directly in front of them, which puts them 1 second behind the diagonal bike. This formation allows each rider sufficient safety space, and discourages other vehicles from cutting into the line. The last rider, or Sweeper, may ride on whichever side of the lane he/she prefers.
Ride Leader: The Ride Leader must be aware of the length of the columns, and must gauge the passing of merges, highway entrances and exits, etc., to allow for maximum safety and keeping the group together. He must make sure that he leaves enough time/space for the formation to get into the appropriate lanes before exits, etc. All directions come from the Ride Leader. The Ride Leader makes all decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel, closing of gaps, turning off at exits, any concerns of what lays ahead, accepting/rejecting radioed messages from other individuals, and so on. No individual will assert himself independently without direction from the Ride Leader to do so.
Sweeper: The sweeper serves as the eyes of the Ride Leader. He watches the formation, and informs the Ride Leader of any potential problems within the group. He watches other vehicles, and informs the Ride Leader (and anyone else with radios) of hazardous conditions approaching from the rear, such as vehicles trying to cut into the formation and trucks passing with potentially dangerous wind blasts. He will watch for merging lanes, and will move into a merging lane (or stay in a merging lane just vacated by the group) in order to "close the door" on other vehicles that may otherwise find themselves trying to merge into the formation. At the Ride Leaders request, the sweeper changes lanes before the formation, to secure the lane so the formation can move into it.
Road Captain(s): The primary concern of the Road Captain(s) will be the safety and integrity of the group. They will give a pre-ride safety speech reminding people of the road rules and any exceptions to the rules if necessary. The Road Captain(s) will assign an emergency responder, and if necessary several road guards to serve during the ride. Road Captains should watch for bikes leaving the formation during the ride and make sure that the Emergency Responder is handling the situation. They may assign any rider to any position in the formation of the ride to insure the safest conditions. They may request a rider to leave the formation if conditions warrant.
Emergency Responder: The emergency responder will be responsible for helping any riders that leave the formation. He/She will ride near the rear of the formation. He/She will carry a cell phone and have the Ride Leaders cell phone number available. The Emergency Responder will stay with the Rider that left the formation and after assessing the situation he/she will notify the Ride Leader. It will be the Ride Leaders decision about how to handle the situation.
New Riders: The position of new (inexperienced with GROUP riding) riders within the group is significant. New riders should be positioned as close to the front as possible.
Lane Changes: All lane changing starts with a request from the Ride Leader to the Sweeper. The Sweeper will (when it is safe to do so) move into the requested lane and will inform the Ride Leader when the lane is clear.
At this point, the Ride Leader has three options:
1. Simple Lane Change: This is an ordinary lane change, and can be used in most situations. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then initiates the change. All other riders change lanes too. The important concept is that NO ONE moves until the bike in front of him has started moving.
2. Block Lane Change: This can be used interchangeably with the Simple Lane Change. It requires a little more work, but it is well worth the effort. Its quite impressive to watch, and gives the riders a tremendous feeling of "togetherness". This sounds a little complicated, but is actually very simple to do. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication that he is about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal, he also turns his on, so the riders following him get the signal. The leader then raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which he is moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and change lanes too. This allows the entire formation to move from one lane to another as a single block.
3. Rear Fill-in: This is sometimes necessary if a long enough gap cannot be maintained in the new lane, for example when trying to move from the right lane to the center and vehicles from the left lane keep cutting into the opening. After the Sweeper has secured the new lane, the leader (usually at the suggestion of the Sweeper) will call for the group to fill in the space from the rear. He signals this by raising his hand to shoulder height and "pushing" it towards the new lane. All riders repeat the signal, and the last bikes move into the space in the new lane ahead of the Sweeper, then the next-to-last bikes move in ahead of those, and so on until the Ride Leader finally moves into the space ahead of the entire formation.
Emergencies:
In the unlikely event of an emergency condition, the Ride Leader will make every attempt to move the formation to the shoulder in an orderly manner. If a bike breaks down, let the rider move to the right. DO NOT STOP. The Emergency Responder will stop with the problem bike. The Ride Leader will lead the group to a safe stopping place.
Hand Signals:
Each rider (and passenger) should duplicate all hand signals given by the rider in front of him, so that the signals get passed all the way to the back of the formation. The following signals are used in addition to the standard (right turn, left turn slow /stop) hand signals.
1. Block Lane Change: The leader (after having the Sweeper secure the lane) raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which he is moving, he actually initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and change lanes too.
2. Fill in from rear: After having the Sweeper secure the lane and putting on his directional signal (which is repeated by each rider), the Ride Leader raises his left hand to his shoulder and "pushes" his open hand toward the lane into which he wants to move. This signal is repeated by all riders, and each rider in turn, rearmost first, moves into the space ahead of the riders behind them.
3. Single up: When conditions warrant single file (narrow road, anticipated wind-blast from trucks, obstruction, pedestrians, etc.) the Ride Leader will raise his left hand straight up, holding up just his index finger. All other riders will repeat this, and the two columns will merge into one.
4. Staggered Formation: After singling up, when single file is no longer necessary, the Ride Leader will raise his left hand with thumb and pinky out, other fingers closed, rotating his wrist back and forth (indicating left, right, left, right). All other riders will repeat this and resume staggered formation.
5. Tighten Formation: When the Ride Leader feels that the formation should be tighter (bikes closer together) (usually after being informed by the Sweeper), he raises his left hand with fingers spread wide and repeatedly closes them into a fist. All other riders repeat this and close up all unnecessary space in the formation.
6. Road Hazard: This is the one signal that can be initiated by ANYONE. Anyone seeing a hazardous condition on the road surface (road kill, oil, gravel, significant pot hole, etc.) will point at it. All following riders will repeat this, and all riders will avoid the hazard.