Road Cycling - Hand gestures in a paceline?

Are there official hand gestures? I've ridden in a group of 6-8 where people are scratching their asses, patting their asses, pointing to things on the ground and going that direction, pointing to the ground and going the other direction, tapping their knee, cocking their heads to the side, and I'm left wondering what on earth they're trying to say.

The pointing to the ground is so people notice some obstruction on the ground (hole, branch, etc) so you the group can more around it (go in the other direction). In a really fast paceline i have noticed that a few people will "signal" with their hand near their butt (well.. becuase thats what you're looking at in a fast paceline) so you are ready when they jump of the line and head for the back. as for the knee and the point and go in that direction.. i have no idea.

pointing to the ground and going the other direction

If the point is directly down-
"Look out! pothole..crack...glass...etc!"



pointing to things on the ground and going that direction

If the point is kind of to the side-
"Look out! I'm moving over"

I'm not sure about the butt patting and scratching going on :o

If the point is directly down-
"Look out! pothole..crack...glass...etc!"

If the point is kind of to the side-
"Look out! I'm moving over"

I'm not sure about the butt patting and scratching going on :o

A lot of em just point down and to the side. Diagonally :(
It's near impossible to tell sometimes. Well, at least they're not patting each other's butt's...

Also, is there a hand gesture for "I need to blow my nose way yonder in ye' direction?"

Other than the common turn/brake hand signals I've learned some of these others over the years:

When approaching an intersection where a right-turn only lane appears and I want to go straight through, in addition to a regular turn hand signal to indicate I'm moving into the next lane, I also gesture downwards at the through lane and make a forward and back motion to indicate I'm going straight.
Point downwards to point out obstructions/hazards/potholes/etc
Pointing and/or wavey hand motion to indicate loose terrain/sand/gravel
Drawing a line across your backside to indicate a lateral/wide obstruction/hazard/bump such as a railroad track
Longitudinal hand motion to indicate a grating that could trap your wheels (most often just use #2 instead though)
Sorward scooping motion to indicate that you want the rider behind to pass you


In a really tight and fast moving paceline, some people will forego with hand signals and just call out stuff verbally.

Scratching the butt: "My butt itches."
Patting the butt: "My butt looks fine."

Just ask. Every group seems to have there own dialect of this language.

All I ever do is point out a hazard, and flick an elbow out as I move over to motion the guy behind me to pull through. Also, when you are pulling off the front, pull off into the wind.


Im a big advocate of not yelling "clear" when approaching an intersection, I think that everyone is responsible for their own decisions and actions out there. I don't want someone to get greased by a car, because they heard someone else say clear, and didn't look for themselves.

I am a big advocate of yelling "car back" however, since it impossible for anyone to get a workout if they looking over thier shoulder every 30 seconds

Just ask. Every group seems to have there own dialect of this language.

I'll ask but when everyone's churning away out of breath, I don't wanna strike up a conversation.

there's a group of guys i ride with sometimes in prospect park, brooklyn.

one of their signals is tapping on their butt and pointing to a particularly fine female they've spotted jogging alongside the path.

there's a group of guys i ride with sometimes in prospect park, brooklyn.

one of their signals is tapping on their butt and pointing to a particularly fine female they've spotted jogging alongside the path.

How did I know that was coming?
;)

there's a group of guys i ride with sometimes in prospect park, brooklyn.

one of their signals is tapping on their butt and pointing to a particularly fine female they've spotted jogging alongside the path.

Well that solves ONE mystery of butt tapping in prospect park! :)

All I ever do is point out a hazard, and flick an elbow out as I move over to motion the guy behind me to pull through. Also, when you are pulling off the front, pull off into the wind.


Im a big advocate of not yelling "clear" when approaching an intersection, I think that everyone is responsible for their own decisions and actions out there. I don't want someone to get greased by a car, because they heard someone else say clear, and didn't look for themselves.

I am a big advocate of yelling "car back" however, since it impossible for anyone to get a workout if they looking over thier shoulder every 30 seconds

the group im riding with will not say anything if the coast is clear so it is up to individual riders to ensure all is well...but if there is a car coming they will yell "car left" or "car right" depending on which direction...most of the time its pretty obvious there are cars before anybody says anything because you hear the 30 people infront of you unclip:D.
when railroad tracks come up people signal by making two horizontal lines (kinda looks like traintracks i guess).
when stopping at a stop sign, etc. one hand just goes palm out against your butt/lower back.
and of course the pointing and hazards.

Also, is there a hand gesture for "I need to blow my nose way yonder in ye' direction?"

I think etiquette requires you to wait 'til you're at the end of the line, or at least swing out of line (and probably subsequently move to the back).

There are a lot of times when it's too late and you can't let go of the bars to signal. In which case, you yell. "Gravel" and "slowing" are the most common.

Smoothie104 mentioned pulling off into the wind... Hmm. Around here, the leader pulls off toward the center of the road, no matter what the wind, or the pace. That way, you aren't forcing the whole line further out into the lane. OTOH, if the group you're riding with does it, what the hey. If they know how to sort it out when a car comes along, no prob. Watch, learn, and do what they do. In any case, to be the first without letting others know somehow would cause an awful lot of confusion.

We ride an echelon when encountering a crosswind, by pulling off into the wind it keeps people from chopping the guy whos on your leeward side. We are usually on rural roads, and are rolling along at 25mph plus so the traffic coming from behind has a long time to get a look and realize that we have taken the lane. In higher traffic areas, this is of course, a no no.

there's a group of guys i ride with sometimes in prospect park, brooklyn.

one of their signals is tapping on their butt and pointing to a particularly fine female they've spotted jogging alongside the path.


The park seems aptly named. :D

I'll ask but when everyone's churning away out of breath, I don't wanna strike up a conversation.
No I mean like if you meet everyone at such and such parking lot at 5:00 PM before the ride ask what the group does for signals.

Patting the butt is the indicator. If they touch the hamstring, it means hit and run. If they touch the shin, that means suicide steal. If they do a slash motion across their neck, it means shut up, your girlfriend or wife is coming up behind you.

Hope that helps.

55/Rad

Here is one that is pretty much universal:

Patting the butt is the indicator. If they touch the hamstring, it means hit and run. If they touch the shin, that means suicide steal. If they do a slash motion across their neck, it means shut up, your girlfriend or wife is coming up behind you.

Hope that helps.

55/Rad

What the hell? LoL. Sounds like you're talking about baseball...

I rode many years ago with members of an Italian team. They had many hand signals other than the one just mentioned.

Scratching the butt: "My butt itches."
Patting the butt: "My butt looks fine."


I thought it was scratching the butt = my butt itches and
patting the butt = your butt itches