I ride in a group that fluctuates in numbers, and we are always open to any newcomers. As we ride off road, we always have a few escape routes back home, just incase the newcomer is not up to level of fitness. We have even worked out a newcomers route that gives them about 1/3 on cycle tracks, 1/3 on road, and 1/3 of fairly flat true offroad, covering about 25 miles but with the escape routes at 4 miles, 9 miles and 13. If they do more than 13, they might aswell stay with us as there is not a shorter way home.

We only have 2 rules. The first one to the top of the hill, gets cold waiting for the rest of the group. the second is that they must wear a helmet. We only ever had one newcomer refuse to wear a helmet, so we lost him in the first couple of miles.

What "Rules" do the rest of you have within your riding groups?

The organized rides out of our shop were pretty much an insiders deal, if you weren’t a tested experienced rider known to the rest of the group or a visiting pro you just didn’t know the when and where.

That doesn’t mean that there weren’t lots of other group rides some hosted by ROMP and others by customers. Then some beginner rides for new bike owners that were more like training rides to show them where the trail heads were and what to expect on each of those trails. It seemed that all rides in Los Gatos convened at the Coffee Roaster for pre trail discussion and then moved up the street to the Velomeister for last minute adjustments and departure. Sometimes a group would leave and a few would say behind to then take a plebe up onto death&dying for an initiation ride, and then be waiting for the rest at the ridge or some other pre arraigned spot like the emergency ward.

For the advertised weekend group rides it was the Bicycle Outfitter, a much larger store that always had two levels of rides open to anyone. They always started together with a sprint down a four mile stretch of service road that skirted the expressway. The riders that didn’t get dropped were allowed to ride in the advanced group.

Rules…. What are rules? ……. You mean these rules?

Don’t wipe your ass with the poison ivy.
If you dab on trials-rock you will be ridiculed in front of your girlfriend.
Don’t run down a Semperviren with your bike.
Don’t reveal the location of the hidden trail heads.
Don’t ride on wet clay.
Don’t run out of water and expect anyone to give you some.
Don’t turn your light on during a night ride unless the leader turns his/hers on.
Don’t get caught. If you do get caught never reveal the names of the others in the group, or that you or anyone was ever on that trail.

Don't abandon your riding partner(s). I've been surprised by riders that will drop a friend behind with a flat, rather than hang until the repair is done and then ride on.


jim

This is the reason I quit group rides many years ago. There's not much point in calling that a "group" ride. That's a bunch of individuals all riding in the same direction.

I ride with a groups from two different LBS, one in Scottsdale the other in Phoenix. Each group knows the people in the other and sometimes we ride together, as we did last Friday. The rules, if you want to call them that is everyone must ride with a helmet. We generally ride together, however there are times due to peoples abiliity we get strung out over a block or so. Generally, we ride between 12 to 15 MPH, if the group gets to strung out the lead group will pull up and wait for the rest. We do the best we can to stay together as a group and should there be a problem, the person with the problem is never left to fend for themselve.

just one rule. no one over 50.

Ride safely: communicate, don't overlap wheels, call out or signal obstacles.

I ride on mid-level club rides, not fast training rides or hammerfests, where the "rules" usually vary according to the ride leader. That is, some ride leaders are more solicitous of weaker riders than others, who readily drop people without a second thought; sometimes, the entire group will stop with the rider with a mechanical, other times, a rider or two will stay to help, then re-group later.

On the rides I lead, we re-group at tops of hills and at turns when slower riders have dropped back out of sight. If someone is laboring and needs to shorten the ride, there's usually a volunteer or two to accompany them. Again, these "rules" seem best on the rides I do, where we can get less-experienced riders, who may not be safe on their own.

I'd rather ride alone,at my pace and at my time on the days i want to.

It took me a year or two to become comfortable and confident enough to ride alone. Now, I enjoy that.

But I also agree with michaelwlf3's comment about some rides being a group of individuals who just ride in the same direction. I enjoy group rides, too, in part because I like helping new riders, on group rides, as they enter the learning curve: neither good, safe riding habits nor some elementary mechanical knowledge is inherent, and people have to learn these things. Experienced riders tutored me, and it's nice to pass along helpful information.

While not a group, I enjoy having a riding partner. Due to that, I amped up from about 125 mi/mo to 75-125 mi/wk.

I found that I would bail out too easily on my own. You don't like disappointing a partner.


jim