Ride rules & etiquette.
How we ride safely together. Every rider — and every ride leader — follows these guidelines.
Getting ready
Check your bike
- Tire wear and pressure
- Charge electronics and lights
- Brakes, gears and frame connections/alignment
- Gravel rides: gravel tires, 38mm minimum width recommended
Check your gear
- Helmet
- Shoes and cleats
- Clothing for the weather
Check the route
- Upload it into your GPS or print the cue sheet
What to bring
- Flat kit: tube, pump/CO2, levers, patches
- Road ID with emergency contact info
- Cell phone and credit card
- Food and drink for the ride
Riding an e-bike?
E-bikes are increasingly popular, so the Board of Directors has set a policy for their use on group rides. Please read it.
On the road
Ride formation
- Break larger groups into pods of no more than 6 — much easier and safer for cars to pass.
- Pods keep the ride’s advertised pace, at least 50 meters apart.
- Ride single file on busy or narrow roads; never more than two abreast.
- Ride slightly offset to the wheel in front of you to see further ahead (see the diagrams below).
- Stay to the right, within a handlebar of the white line; never ride near the yellow line.
Ride rules
- Above all, be courteous, use common sense, and be safe.
- Follow all traffic laws.
- Be predictable; no sudden moves.
- Never overlap the wheel in front of you.
- Use hand and voice signals.
- Watch for cars, pedestrians and fellow cyclists.
- Pass only on the left, and avoid passing on downhills.
- Keep at least one hand on the handlebars, near the brake, at all times.
- No aero bars or iPods on group rides.
- Don’t surge ahead of the group; stay together.
- Share the lead; rotate out after a 20–30 second pull.
Riding a pace line
Pace lining, also known as rotating through a group, is one of the joys of group riding. It’s the ultimate in cycling teamwork and energy saving, as riders take turns at the front. Most RBC pace lines are single or double, as shown in the diagrams.
- Take 20–30 second pulls at the front, then rotate off.
- Check the lane and signal before rotating out.
- Alert the rider behind to take the lead with a flick of the elbow.
- The new lead rider keeps a steady pace — no surging.
- The rotating rider slows only when clear of the line.
- Let the line pass, and get to the back as quickly and safely as possible.
- The last rider in line says “Last” when passing the rotating rider, as a signal to join the back.
- If a car appears before the rotating rider reaches the back, a rider in the line calls it clearly and slows to let that rider “Come in”.
- Once clear, the rotating rider leaves the line as before and goes to the back.
Group ride formation
Single formation / double formation. Ride single file when conditions aren’t suitable for riding two abreast.
Rotating through a group. Riders take turns at the front, then drop back.