The safety of our bike rides is really important. It is essential to know and practice how to ride in a group safely, exercise good judgment and thus not endanger others.
Cycling on the road can be perilous and riders can be at risk of injuring themselves. Riding in a group poses additional risks because you will be moving fast in close proximity to others with traffic all around you. Riders are responsible for riding within their limits as well as assisting others to make sure our rides and events are safe and enjoyable.
HOW WE RIDE TOGETHER
Most of the time road conditions will require that we ride single file. The Ride Leader will call “Single File!" and hold up one arm. We always ride “tight to the right” of the lane. We may be able to ride in a double line, where we pair up to ride two-by-two. As a group, we always aim to ride predictably and smoothly, avoiding sudden actions that could surprise riders and traffic around us. All our rides are “no-drop” rides, as such we ride as fast as the slowest rider to ensure that the group stays together and no one gets overextended or frustrated.
We encourage each other, lead by example, and provide advice on safety practices and skill improvement.
TOP 10 RULES FOR GROUP RIDING
HAVE QUESTIONS? ASK YOUR RIDE LEADER: THEY ARE THERE TO HELP.
A bell and LIGHTS are REQUIRED
A bell is required at all times, by Ontario Law.
By law, lights are to be turned on thirty minutes before sunset and are to remain on thirty minutes after sunrise. For early/late season rides, all riders need functioning lights.
GROUP RIDING AND RED LIGHTS
Follow the “eight-second rule”: if the countdown timer is estimated to reach seven by the time the group is at the line, the group should stop,if it’s at nine or above the group continues as one unit through the light.
NO EAR BUDS
Ear buds, music and phone calls are not permitted on club rides. Safety, spatial awareness, communication and respect for your fellow riders all take precedence. If you have arrived at a club ride with ear buds in, please remove them and put them in your back pocket. If you need to conduct a phone call, please remove yourself from the ride to do so.
NO AERO BARS OR TRI BIKES
Group rides are all about safety, trust and etiquette. Riding with aero bars in a pack is dangerous. You have less stability and are unable to react to changes in the pack, road conditions, hazards and pace. We want your hands close to your controls… specifically your brakes. There are reasons triathlons and time trials are individual events and do not allow drafting. Bring a road bike and enjoy the group tactics and draft. If you have clip on aero bars attached to your road bike, please remove them before joining a club ride.
RIDING ON SLIPPERY SURFACES
Rain/snow is something all cyclists must ride through at some point. In the wet, the grip of your tires is reduced. Slow down extra for corners and do your best to use extra caution or try to avoid rolling over anything metal (train tracks, metal construction plates, sewers) as they become slippery when wet. When in doubt, dismount and walk.
TIPS FOR RIDING ACROSS METAL ROAD OBSTACLES:
A Road Bike
You must bring a multi-geared, drop bar, road bike for all group rides.
The bike should be in good operating condition. This includes proper air pressure in tires, chain lubed, brakes aligned with sufficient braking power available, components in working order, etc.
You must have a bell or other sound making device attached to your bike. This is required by Ontario Law.
If the Ride Leader deems your bike to not be in rideable condition, you will not be able to participate in the ride as it is a safety issue for the group.
A Helmet
This is required, you will not be able to ride without a helmet.
Your Cycling Kit
It is not required, but it is highly recommended that you wear our Bike Asylum Kit as it identifies you as part of our club group. It is highly recommended that you wear a pair of padded shorts and a cycling jersey. These will keep you comfortable (top and bottom) over the duration of the ride. For colder rides, you may wish to bring layers and/or arm/leg/knee warmers. Keep in mind, as you ride you may warm up and these will need to be packed away.
Spare Tube / Puncture Kit
It is inevitable that you will get a puncture while on the road. It happens to everyone at some point, sometimes multiple times per ride. Make sure you have a spare inner tube that fits your tire, tire levers to get your tires off and some way to re-inflate your tire such as a hand pump or a CO2 cartridge.
Emergency Contact Info
Your emergency contact info should be readily available. You should also have a way of contacting the ride leader or the shop with you during the ride.
Nutrition
On most rides, you will need one bottle of water and one bottle of electrolytes and food. Nothing is worse than being an hour away from the nearest town and running out of energy. Plan on one bottle of water/electrolytes for every 45 minutes of activity and burning a few hundred calories per hour at a minimum. It is highly recommended to bring an energy bar (~250 cals) and a few gels (100 cals each) to any ride. Bananas are great portable energy too. Eat them before you get hungry.
Lights
For early morning rides, evenings rides, as daylight fades, or in wet or foggy conditions you should have lights for your bike. In most circumstances, a white front light and a red rear light will suffice. However, if you are riding pre-dawn, or in dusk, you should have a front light with enough power to allow you to see road hazards (500 or more lumens).
Riding in groups is one of the best cycling experiences around. It can be social enough for a chat and structured to go faster than you ever could on your own. The exact execution of these groups is dictated by the rider skill level and range of structure, with the most structured and disciplined group riding being the fastest and most efficient. Regardless, there are huge benefits to utilizing a paceline as soon as you are comfortable with it.
A few tips to keep in mind:
We routinely ride using a single paceline or a double rotating paceline as shown in the animations at the bottom. Which type is used at any given time is subject to the road, traffic, weather and group conditions. The ride leader will give the group instructions to use one type or another.
Communication while riding is incredibly important. As you are part of the flow of traffic, you need to be able to communicate with your fellow drivers and riders. The graphic at the bottom shows some of the most common hand signals that we use as a group to enable this communication. Remember, wind noise, traffic, and other audio interference over the length of a peloton make verbal communication unreliable and verbal communication with motor vehicles is impractical. Hand signals are the best approach for communications.
There are nuances to signaling that are explained in the various GCN Videos linked below. Sometimes it may be more appropriate to yell instead of using a hand signal. This will be covered in the links.
We organize by pace in order to deliver an experience that fits the skill level of our riders.
Average Pace/Speed - Speed will vary at different points of the ride dependent on road conditions and terrain. Therefore, this is the average pace/speed that will appear on your Strava post at the end of your ride.
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