Preparedness
This is how we do it, and what we expect from each other on the road: where to sit in the lane, who does what, how we talk to each other at speed, and what happens when it goes wrong.
Six things we hold each other to. Everything below is how.
Know your position. Ride predictable.
The default on open road. The lead takes the left third of the lane, the next rider sits in the right third about a second back. You end up two seconds behind the rider in your own track, which is enough room to react, while the group still takes up a short stretch of road.
When: Highways, straight roads, normal traffic.
Everyone in one line, two seconds apart, taking the whole lane. Use it any time the road stops being simple. In a corner your line changes as you lean, and a staggered rider has nowhere to go if you run wide. Never take the line of the rider in front: pick your own, on what you can see and what you and your bike can do.
When: Curves, intersections, bad surfaces, construction, narrow roads with oncoming traffic.
Two bikes level in one lane. Fine at walking pace in a parking lot, dangerous anywhere else. Neither rider has room to swerve, and you both lose the escape route the other is sitting in.
When: Parking lots and photos. Not on the road at speed.
Who does what.
Knows the route, sets the pace, and picks it for the least experienced rider present rather than the best one. Signals hazards early enough to be useful, and holds a pace the back of the group can actually maintain.
Rides last and stays last. Nobody is behind the sweep, so if you can see them in your mirror something has gone wrong. They stop with anyone who drops out and carry a phone, a charger, and the lead's number.
Hold your position and your gap. Pass the hand signals back so they reach the tail. If you want to go faster than the group, this is not the ride for it, and nobody will think less of you for saying so before we set off.
Six things that keep a group safe.
Two seconds to the rider in your track. If someone tailgates you, let them past at the next stop rather than speeding up. Closing gaps to look tidy is how the whole group ends up braking at once.
Groups get split by lights all the time. That is normal and fine. The lead pulls over past the junction, or the group regroups at the next stop. A rider who runs a red to keep up is worth less to us than a two minute wait.
Overtaking as a pack pressures the car driver and hides bikes in blind spots. Make the pass individually when you personally have the room, and slot back into the formation afterwards.
The pace is not a test. If a corner is faster than you like it, go slower and catch up at the next stop. Riding beyond your skill to keep up with strangers is the single most common way a good ride goes bad.
The back of a group always moves more than the front. A lead going 30 to 50 can have the tail doing 65 to close the gap. Leads: build speed gradually and check your mirrors for the whole group. Back half: let the gap stretch and close it slowly. A gap is not a problem.
A driver needing to merge into the group gets space, not a wall of bikes. Don't accelerate to close them out, don't box them in, don't swarm past to punish them. Make room, let them through, and reform when there's room. We share the road with them either way.
Before kickstands go up, everybody hears the same thing.
Nobody here thinks less of you for it, and it changes where we put you: near the front behind an experienced rider, not buried at the back where the accordion is worst and nobody can see you. The pace gets set for you, not for the quickest bike present.
The two minute version, every time.
Rain, standing water, gravel, fog, wind, heat, debris. The lead can slow the pace, change the route, stop early, or call the rest of it off, and nobody argues about it on the roadside. There are no points for finishing a route that stopped being safe halfway through.
Hand signals. Pass them back.
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Left arm straight out | Left turn |
| Left arm bent up at 90 degrees | Right turn |
| Left arm out, palm down, moving down | Slow down |
| Left arm up, fist closed | Stop, pull over |
| Left arm down, finger pointing at the road | Hazard on the left |
| Right foot out, pointing at the road | Hazard on the right |
| Left arm up, one finger raised | Single file |
| Left arm up, two fingers raised | Staggered formation |
| Tap the top of your helmet | Police ahead |
| Open and close your hand | Your turn signal is still on |
| Point at the tank, or thumb to mouth | Fuel or food stop |
| Pat the seat behind you | Follow me |
At speed you cannot shout and most of us are not on comms. Signals only work if they get passed back, so whatever reaches you, send it on to the rider behind.
Nobody gets left behind.
Do not chase. Carry on to the next planned stop at your own pace and wait there. This is exactly why the route gets shared before we leave, and why the sweep has the lead's number.
Get off the road, get behind a barrier if there is one, and put your hazards on. The sweep will stop with you. Nobody gets left on the roadside, but you will wait more comfortably somewhere the traffic is not.
Protect the scene first, then call it in. The steps below are the first few minutes, before anyone with real training arrives.
The first few minutes at a crash.
Stop safely and shield the scene
Park where you shield the scene without blocking the responders' way in. Hazards on. You are no use to anyone as the second casualty.
Send one person to call 911
Give them a road name, a junction, or a mile marker. Everyone assuming somebody else called is a real thing that happens.
Stop serious bleeding with firm direct pressure
Blood loss is the thing most likely to be fixable on a roadside. Use a tourniquet only if you have been trained on one, and note the time you put it on. The dispatcher will talk you through what to do — do what they tell you.
Leave the helmet on
It is holding the head and neck in line, and taking one off badly does real damage. Don't remove it unless it is the only way to give lifesaving care and you know how to do that safely. If you are not sure, you are not sure — leave it and tell the dispatcher.
Do not move them
Unless they are in immediate danger from traffic or fire. Kneel where they can see you without turning their head.
Tell the medics what you saw
The speed, what they hit, whether they were knocked out, and for how long. You were there and they were not.
An emergency card holds your medical information and next of kin behind an NFC tag or QR code on your helmet or tank. If you cannot answer questions, it answers them for you.
Look out for each other. That's the D76 way.
