| General Guidelines, Bicycle Safety & Rules of the Road
General Ride Guidelines:
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ARRIVE EARLY. Posted ride times are departure times. That means you should arrive 10 or 15 minutes early to visit with biking friends, check tires, eat donuts, etc.
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BRING BASIC REPAIR EQUIPMENT. Bring a pump, spare tube or patch kit, and tire levers. If you don't know how to fix a flat, that's OK! We can only help if you have the equipment. Breakdowns are not fun for you and are not fun for the rest of the group.
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BRING FOOD AND WATER. Hydration, hydration, hydration. At least one large water bottle (two as the rides get longer) and a small snack on longer rides will help keep your engine running.
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BRING CASH. Carrying a couple of bucks is a good idea in case something comes up. You never know when a donut shop or post-ride brew may present itself. A copy of identification and a health insurance card is not a bad idea either.
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RIDE WITH A MOBILE PHONE. You just never know when you may need one – you may need to swap numbers with the cute biker you just met on the ride!
Bicycle Safety:
- Make sure you always wear a helmet. Wearing a helmet is not a law, but can mean the difference between banged and broken. Nobody cares if your hair is messed up. Don’t ruin a perfectly good bike ride with a broken skull.
- Wear the right clothes. Bicycle specific clothing is not required to ride with us (although high fashion is a priority). The right clothing keeps you comfortable, and comfortable is the key to enjoying your ride instead of praying for it to end. Quick dry fabrics keep you cool and dry, breathable jackets keep you warm and dry, and padded shorts are soft where it counts and don’t bind up to cause pressure point problems. At night always wear something reflective so others can see you. There really is function to that fashion!
- Make sure your bike is the right size for you and has all the accessories it needs. Talk with a bicycle professional at your local bike store to help find a bike that fits properly and is suitable for the type of riding you enjoy.
- Make sure your bike is equipped for safety and working properly. You should have a white headlight on the front and red light on the back of your bike for riding in the dark so people can see you. Every bike should have the required reflectors. Check the brakes often to see that they are working. The seat and handlebars should be securely attached and properly adjusted. Get a tune up once a year and keep your chain clean and greased. Basic bicycle maintenance should keep your equipment working and you on the road!
- Stay alert of the possibility of changing conditions and prepare for them before a ride. What appears to be a beautiful blue sky day can quickly change and take all the fun out of a ride. Slick roads are dangerous, muddy trails are only fun on YouTube, and sometimes it can be a long ways back to a warm and dry place.
- Wear sunglasses or some sort of protective eyewear (again, another opportunity for high fashion). Not only do sunglasses protect from the sun and wind, but also keep out dust and debris from passing vehicles.
- Always keep aware of road obstacles. Road obstacles can appear out of nowhere and totally jack up your ride. Always watch for storm grates, potholes, road construction, loose gravel, mud, parked cars, opening car doors, inattentive drivers, pedestrians or any number of attention-getters. Cross railroad tracks at right angles. Trains always have the right-of-way, and always bet on the train in a train/bike encounter.
Rules of the Road:
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Ride as close to the right edge of the road as practical. Always ride in the same direction as the other traffic. Certain conditions allow a bicyclist to move farther to the left, such as broken glass, drain grates, parked cars, left turns and passing.
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Always obey traffic signals and signs. Bicycles are subject to the same traffic laws at vehicles.
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Look before you cross the street or enter any intersection. Look left, then right. If you can't get across the street without injuring yourself or causing an incident, then don't go. If the group gets through an intersection and you don’t, we’ll wait for you on the other side.
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Be Predictable. Do not surprise a motorist, pedestrian or other bicyclist. Act predictably and avoid sudden movements. Hold your line. Do not weave through traffic or in and around parked cars.
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Ride in a single file on the right side of the roadway. Signal to drivers and to each other when turning, stopping or to alert another rider of a road obstacle. A left turn should be signaled with the left arm fully extended out to the side and shoulder level. A right turn should be signed with the left arm at shoulder level and bent at the elbow with the fingers pointing upward. A stop should be signaled with the left arm pointing downward. Obstacles should be signaled by pointing and calling out so that awareness is brought to riders behind you with enough time to react accordingly.
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Remember that pedestrians have the right-of-way. Riding on sidewalks is generally illegal and presents problems to all parties involved. When riding on trails or when overcoming a pedestrian, equestrian, biker or other challenge, signal by calling out ‘passing on your left’, or ‘passing on your right’. Then make sure you pass on the side you called!!
- RIDE DEFENSIVELY! Always maintain a safety first attitude. It doesn’t matter who has the right-of-way… bicyclists always lose! Use every ability you have to protect yourself.
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