General Cycling Discussion - Group Ride: making the turn

OK, we've been there a million times.
You've got 30 riders in your group, and you have to make a left hand turn from a two-lane road to another two-lane road.
Do you:
A. go in small groups trying to fit through the traffic window?
B. every man for himself...meet you on the other side?
C. Go as one contiguous group?

My suggestion is to go all as one as if you were all riding on a school bus. No stragglers. This reduces ALL confusion among motorists.

Unfortunately, EVERY single group ride I've seen chooses A or B. Without fail.
Drives me CRAZY!!!

How does your club do it?
Do you LIKE how your club does it?

It depends on the traffic situation and the way you are turning. This is always a big issue (just like my liking to ride in the lane). He is how I do it if I am leading a ride...

This always depends on the type and size of group ride that you are participating in. In our club we have 3 classifications of group so each one will vary. They are the slow leasure group (think slow and talkative), the long distance medium speed group (15 MPH avg) and the fast and faster group (advanced riders, 17+ MPH average).

Fast and Faster group...
Making a right turn
low traffic --- C, Usually slowing a little and running the sign, depends on the width of the road also.
heavy traffic --- B, then we all slow down and wait for everyone to get through, not stop just slow then pound again.

Making a left turn
low or high traffic, B, just like a car, there is no other way to do it. C will just block traffic and make drivers mad, A works in lower traffic but usually in pairs or 3's.

Medium Speed group... the same

Slow group, well I do not know, never have riden with them...

A couple considerations
unless you want to spread out the whole group, B without stopping is a bad idea. A rarely works due to short lights, at stops with heavy traffic it is a good idea. Most right turns we rarly stop at but do slow down. C is almost never a good idea, it is gotten us in more road rage incidents than I care to think.

Do I like it... well leading a group I would prefer that we all stop and regroup but that never happens. It is a necessity so I can not say I like it or not. I do not like when half the group gets dropped. It is reality on group rides though and if I knew a better solution I would.

When I ride with my team we usually try to fit in through the traffic but usually as a group usually around 10 people. When I go with a large group on Saturday or Wednesdays then we stop traffic and go as a group usually to the sound of horns. Hard to get 50+ racers to stop and wait. The thinking is if a couple people get through then they will try to break away then the rest of the pack is forced to hustle and no one wants to work that hard.

. In our club we have 3 classifications of group so each one will vary. They are the slow leasure group (think slow and talkative), the long distance medium speed group (15 MPH avg) and the fast and faster group (advanced riders, 17+ MPH average).


-- I am very impressed at how your club's members have classified themselves into realistic groups.
Well Done.