Advocacy & Safety - Bicycle Clubs and Safety

I want to ask how many of you are members of a bicycle club, and if you think it would be worth it to have Safety Personnel to insure ride safety.

Would it be a good idea to have a "Course Marsall" inspect the planned route and remove road debris? Alert the group to any hazards , such as new potholes?
How about a Motorcycle Escort? Can we have a Security Guard in uniform riding a Police style Motorcycle , complete with flashing lights? Would the lights have to be yellow?

Are you asking would I pay an additional amount of $20.00 for MC escort on top of what I already for club membership dues?

On club rides you should follow the rules of the road, no motorcycle escort needed. My club has two different level of rides today and three tomorrow.
Are you talking about large organized rides where the clubs put on a supported ride and charge for it? On those the riders are supposed to follow the rules of the road.

I rarely ride with clubs... I think the last time was a couple years ago to a memorial service for a cyclist...

So this whole aspect would do nothing for me... Can I get a MC escort when I commute.


;)

I don't know if there is a choice in this poll for me. I pay for membership in two clubs. For large rides, volunteers (club members) scout the routes prior to the ride and road conditions are reported on as part of the pre-ride safety talk.

Where would a motorcycle escort ride? On small group rides they would be unnecessary. On large group rides the groups spread out so much that one escort wouldn't be useful to many people.

Speedo

I think hotbike might be envisioning a ride group the size of the peleton in the TDF with riders spread out with the motorcycles in between each group.

I want to ask how many of you are members of a bicycle club, and if you think it would be worth it to have Safety Personnel to insure ride safety.

Bicycling is not a dangerous activity. It is like asking us if it would be worth it to have a medical team standing by in your bathroom when you take a shower. (An activity that is more dangerous than riding a bicycle.)

Much of my answer would be like ChipSeal, the rest of it is if you don't feel "safer" riding with other club members in a group something else is very wrong IMHO.

Crikey. MC escort? Road sweepers? I'd rather have seven virgins at the end of each ride, fanning me and feeding me grapes.

This is just silly. If you ride safely and obey the rules of the road, what do you need an escort for?

Of course, I rarely see clubs riding safely or obeying the rules. One of the reasons I skip the whole "club ride" thing.

I pay 70 dollars a year and don't expect a motorcycle escort. Why would we want that. Some expect the moon. Our dues to include insurance on the bike and on the rider . In case of damage or injuries. That's why we have to have a medical exam.

Well, it looks like this idea won't fly. I thought it might add to a sense of ... "Authenticity" , as perceived by motorists. I was surprised no one voted for "Police already have motorcycles, I expect a free MC escort". Then again, I don't go on club rides, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I guess there is a "safety in numbers" aspect.

On the other hand, I think the County should send a street sweeper, on request, along the route of a bicycle ride, perhaps a day or two in advance.

Speedo wrote: "For large rides volunteers (club members) scout the routes prior to the ride and road conditions are reported on as part of the pre-ride safety talk."
-So that's already an established practice.

Thanks for participating in this poll. The poll will remain open until the end of the month, if anyone else has anything to add.

In my case, My County is not going to do any road sweeping until spring, on account of the budget crisis. There is a lot of sand on the road shoulders. I shoveled up some sand myself, and put the sand in cardboard boxes. I must've picked up 350 or 400 pounds of sand, and put it in beer cases. But it's a losing battle. I was thinking of more volunteers, or paid volunteers.

I should re-state the question like this: "in light of the current economic crisis, with governments cutting back on services, would you pay more for bicycle club membership, and have the BC assume those duties in a quasi-official role?".

If the club is riding legally, there's no need for that. ARe they going to go out and clean 60 miles of road for today's ride? With three rides that would amount to cleaning close to 150 miles of road. If a bicycle club can do that every week, then why couldn't a few full time government workers accomplish the same thing?

Some people don't like riding on club rides because they get dropped big time when they obey the law.

Crikey. MC escort? Road sweepers? I'd rather have seven virgins at the end of each ride, fanning me and feeding me grapes.


Can that option be added to the poll?

Speedo

Then again, I don't go on club rides, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

I think that's the case. I don't mean that in an obnoxious way. I think before you start making lots of suggestions you owe it to yourself to go on some big club rides and see what they are like.

I don't do a lot of club rides. Maybe a half dozen or so a year. Small rides require about the same amount of organization as a ride with any group of friends. Big rides are another matter. The amount of planning and preparation that goes into a large group ride is pretty incredible.

Arranging for a place to start (parking!)
Food and water stops
Arrowing and route scouting
Mechanical support (at start and on the road)
Sweeps and Sags
Bathrooms (Don't forget to rent the Port-O-Sans!)
Buying and distributing whatever gifty being given out (water bottles, t-shirts)
Food and drink for the volunteer party after the ride.

I suspect that if there were a circumstance where a policeman were required, to direct traffic for example, it would be a paid detail, and just part of the cost of the ride. The budget crisis doesn't come into it.

Speedo

I think we need to specify that a club ride is when members of the club get together and ride. This could involve anywhere from 2 to 30+ cyclists. Most likely the larger number gets spread out a bit.
Organized rides are when an organization or club put on a ride and charges a fee to participate. There are SAG wagons and rest stops for these. Some of the larger charity rides like the Tour De Cure for diabetes(see my signature) do have County Sheriff or Highway Patrol support. Usually a couple of officers for the entire ride. Motorcycle riders with radios on the larger rides are great. They are easier to operate around the large number of cyclists and can move around the route easier. In remote mountain areas the motorcycle riders can talk to each other in "dead zones" and relay a message out to radio operators doing SAG.

I think we need to specify that a club ride is when members of the club get together and ride. This could involve anywhere from 2 to 30+ cyclists. Most likely the larger number gets spread out a bit.
Organized rides are when an organization or club put on a ride and charges a fee to participate. There are SAG wagons and rest stops for these. Some of the larger charity rides like the Tour De Cure for diabetes(see my signature) do have County Sheriff or Highway Patrol support. Usually a couple of officers for the entire ride. Motorcycle riders with radios on the larger rides are great. They are easier to operate around the large number of cyclists and can move around the route easier. In remote mountain areas the motorcycle riders can talk to each other in "dead zones" and relay a message out to radio operators doing SAG.

I concur with those remarks. Charity rides are definitely different than club rides. Club rides are every weekend. Charity rides are only once a year, and allow in members of the general public, who may have less riding experience.

I guess I was envisioning a fast training ride, with a rent-a-cop on a Police Harley Davidson to stop traffic and allow the riders to blast through downtown intersections. Seemed like a fun idea when I first thought of it.

I concur with those remarks. Charity rides are definitely different than club rides. Club rides are every weekend. Charity rides are only once a year, and allow in members of the general public, who may have less riding experience.

I guess I was envisioning a fast training ride, with a rent-a-cop on a Police Harley Davidson to stop traffic and allow the riders to blast through downtown intersections. Seemed like a fun idea when I first thought of it.

Well, I guess you can define whatever you want. But in one of the clubs I belong to, the usual weekend rides might have 50-100 people. The big rides are not charity rides. They are things like the annual rally, or the spring, summer and fall centuries. those would have several hundred participants.

Speedo

.... I was envisioning a fast training ride, with a rent-a-cop on a Police Harley Davidson to stop traffic and allow the riders to blast through downtown intersections. Seemed like a fun idea when I first thought of it.

That was my idea. I assume the "Police Harley Davidson" would only have yellow flashing light, since the blue and red are only for Police.

Meanwhile, I've been cleaning up the bike lanes, removing sand. I have also (in months past) trimmed roadside vegetation. I only wish that some of the bicycle clubs would send out volunteers to help in this task.

That was my idea. I assume the "Police Harley Davidson" would only have yellow flashing light, since the blue and red are only for Police.

Meanwhile, I've been cleaning up the bike lanes, removing sand. I have also (in months past) trimmed roadside vegetation. I only wish that some of the bicycle clubs would send out volunteers to help in this task.

Around here, if they caught you trimming the vegetation they'd haul you into court. It happened to a woman that took down a tree in her yard that was dead, and the city wasn't getting it done. She paid for it herself, and the city was going to fine her.

Well, it looks like this idea won't fly. I thought it might add to a sense of ... "Authenticity" , as perceived by motorists.

They'd be as authentic as a funeral procession...and we all know that motorists just love those. :lol:

Around here, if they caught you trimming the vegetation they'd haul you into court. It happened to a woman that took down a tree in her yard that was dead, and the city wasn't getting it done. She paid for it herself, and the city was going to fine her.

Yesterday, I was thaked by a woman who owns the property that I was sweeping in front of. Seems the guy who plowed the snow pushed a lot of bluestone out of her driveway and into the road. I was shovelling the stone and putting it back in her driveway. She didn't offer to pay me, but she said thank-you. I told her I was working for "the Local Bicycle Club" and "We don't want anyone to get killed".

I haven't cut down any trees, I only trim bushes. The trees are protected by law in this locale, one must apply for a permit to remove a tree. We have signs along Forest Avenue reading "Tree City, USA". You can guess why it's called "Forest" ave.

I will admit that I've trimmed some hedges that the County wouldn't touch. The County is afraid of getting sued by the property owners. One property owner told me to stop, I was trimming on his property. But there was a blind spot on the S-curve there. So the work goes on clandestinely.