Group etiquette?

[stine]

I'm fairly new to road racing and have been doing some of the recent PPA races. I start very near the back but want to move up soon... I was wondering if anyone could give me a few tips on group etiquette coz I've seen some waving and butt-slapping and I'm not quite sure what it all means! Also some riders come whizzing up on the right-hand side of groups and I'm sure thats not right! Some basic tips would be appreciated!

[Weekend_Warrior]

Try not fart

[Li Mu Bai]

If someone is wheelsucking behind you and not willing to share the load, fart!

check before you blow your nose and spit that you are not doing onto someone behind you. Dont shout 'hold your line' - nothing says jerk better than doing that. rather hold out a hand and touch the guy next to you on the leg/hip so that he knows you are there and shouldn't crowd into your space or cut you off.

Dont overlap your front wheel with the guy just in front of you, if he swerves for a pothole, or decides to move to the side unexpectedly, you are going down when his rear wheel hits your front wheel.

notify others of glass/obstacles/holes in the road.

dont look behind you, you will drift into someone else. when drinking, practice removing/replacing your bottle with your eyes on the road. in a close bunch you may fall if you take your eyes off whast happening infront of you.

if you pass someone with a flat, enquire if they are ok, and give them a spare tube if you have one, what goes around comes around.

when racing, dont cross the white line, oncoming cars dont wait, and trying to get back across to the left of the road may be difficult with others in your way.

above all else, have fun.

Rude2008-10-12 13:32:02

[stine]

 

If someone is wheelsucking behind you and not willing to share the load' date=' fart!

check before you blow your nose and spit that you are not doing onto someone behind you. Dont shout 'hold your line' - nothing says jerk better than doing that. rather hold out a hand and touch the guy next to you on the leg/hip so that he knows you are there and shouldn't crowd into your space or cut you off.

Dont overlap your front wheel with the guy just in front of you, if he swerves for a pothole, or decides to move to the side unexpectedly, you are going down when his rear wheel hits your front wheel.

notify others of glass/obstacles/holes in the road.

dont look behind you, you will drift into someone else. when drinking, practice removing/replacing your bottle with your eyes on the road. in a close bunch you may fall if you take your eyes off whast happening infront of you.

if you pass someone with a flat, enquire if they are ok, and give them a spare tube if you have one, what goes around comes around.

when racing, dont cross the white line, oncoming cars dont wait, and trying to get back across to the left of the road may be difficult with others in your way.

above all else, have fun.

[/quote']

 

Learned that one the hard way last week. The roasties are still healing

 

[ccc2]

butt slapping means that there is an obstacle coming up on the left so be prepared to swerve to avoid, Some riders just wave with their hand towards their back

[Yang]

With his advice Rude is obviously actually quite polite... except where he says fart if nobody else is pulling. Sies man-  what a brilliant idea!

 

Also- don't stick out your bottle as if you are offering a drink to someone- bring it straight up from the bottle cage to your mouth and back. It still happens, and one day I'm gonna take it out of the guy's hand, I swear!

 

Never suddenly stop pedalling to stand and stretch when you have a whole bunch of people behind you- they shxt themselves when that happens- rather go off to the side or back of bunch to relieve the tension in your backside or legs.

 

Point at glass and potholes for the ppl behind you.

 

Slap your bum if there's an obstacle ahead- pedestrian, car (usually taxis), slow rider, cow, downed rider, etc

 

Just hold your line- don't swerve from side to side when there are riders around you, unless you can see there's a gap to go into. Nobody likes nervous riders in the bunch. 

 

If you've pulled enough at the front and nobody is helping, either slow down, because someone behind you will get the message, or else if you're at the head of a long line, pull out to the side to expose the guy behind you to the front, and drift back into the line.

 

Otherwise welcome to the world of cycling- too late to pull out now!!!!