Safety Is the First Rule
The first rule in being a Ride Captain is to lead a safe ride. Keep Club Rides to the speed limit plus or minus five. Some Tennessee roads are a challenge for some riders to ride the posted speed limit. Club Rides are paced so most riders should be able to maintain the posted speeds.
Any rider on a trike or Can-Am will ride directly in front of the Sweep. Sometimes the Sweep will be a trike rider. Place slower riders directly in front of the Sweep and adjust your speed accordingly to the type of road conditions. Placement of slower riders may change if there are trikes in the ride group. The slower rider then will be placed in front of the trikes (which are in front of the Sweep).
We have stated that there shall be no more than 8 bikes per group. Riders who do not RSVP to the Ride Captain may be asked to not ride if there are not enough Ride Captains and Sweeps for another group of riders. Please RSVP—we hope to not have to make that kind of decision on the day of a ride. The club goal is to have fun and conduct safe rides for all riders.
If a Ride Captain observes a rider in the group who is not riding in a safe manner, the Ride Captain should talk to the rider and, in the worst case, ask the rider to leave the ride.
All Ride Captains and Sweeps will carry cell phones and exchange phone numbers in case of a need to talk with each other during the ride.
Show Up and Ride: The same guidelines apply concerning number of riders per group. It will be up to the riders present to enforce the safe number guideline. These rides still need someone to lead and someone to Sweep.
Understand Group Riding Dynamics
All Ride Captains should be familiar with group ride dynamics, which can be found on our Website under Safety/Group Riding. This includes the use of hand signals to communicate intentions to the group.
Experience and Riding Skills
All Ride Captains should be proficient riders and are encouraged to take an experienced rider course, plus additional advanced rider courses to enhance their skills. Ideally, they should also take the CPR course offered by the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department. Ride Captains should carry a practical first-aid kit. See our Website under Safety/First Aid for a listing of items Ride Captains should carry.
Plan the Ride Route
Use the Ride Captain’s Checklist to organize your ride.
Select the date of ride and a rain date, then then send your email announcing your ride to the Ride Committee Officer. The Ride Committee Officer will ask the Web Master to post your sign up sheet to the “What’s New” section of the web site. The Ride Committee Officer will then post the Ride Captains email to the membership on their behalf. Instructions will be provided to all new Ride Captains on proper formatting of the email to be sent including all pertinent information.
Ride Captains should pre-ride the route to check condition of roads and availability of comfort stops. Allow for adequate comfort stops—especially important after the first hour in the morning and after lunch.
Communicate with All Club Members
Ride Captains email will be sent out 2-3 weeks prior to the event with a reminder 1 week before the ride.
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- Notify members of the intended meeting place, time, KSU, route, distance, and approximate return time, degree of difficulty, rest stops, etc.
- Ride Committee Officer will review all procedures with New Ride Captains to ensure your smooth transition as a ride leader.
- Note to members: Remember, if you do not RSVP, the Ride Captain may ask you to not ride if there are not enough Ride Captains and Sweeps for another group of riders.
Choose a Sweep and other Ride Captains to assist if you need them. Solicit their support before the day of the ride, if possible. If you decide to break the group, you need to solicit the support of other Ride Captains and Sweeps and provide them with ride route details.
Identify which riders are assigned to each group. You might consider breaking groups based on skill level after consulting with the other Ride Captain and Sweeps.
Day of the Ride/Riders Meeting
Conduct a Riders Meeting before departure to explain the route and expected comfort stops, and to assign riders to groups if needed. Review any confusing turns, expected hazards along the way, etc. Review the hand signals, and the importance of maintaining proper intervals and riding at their comfort level. Don’t get into group think mode. Even though we are riding as a group and everyone needs to understand group riding dynamics, riders must make their own decisions and handle their bikes accordingly.
Sweep Responsibilities
The Sweep ideally is another Ride Captain or experienced rider and, again, ideally is familiar with CPR and carries a first aid kit. Sweeps will have the cell phone number of the Ride Captain.
Sweeps should assist the Ride Captain in the pre-ride meeting, getting signatures of attendees and helping align the bikes in groups or ride order. Sweeps will give the okay that all riders are prepared to go. In the event of breakdown or accident the Sweep will stop and attend to the stopped rider:
- Secure the area and make sure the downed rider is safe from further injury.
- Call 911 if needed.
Note: If you are in an area of no cell phone reception, solicit help from others to go find 911 access and direct someone to report to the Ride Captain. - Solicit help to control oncoming traffic and assist the downed rider.
- Call the Ride Captain and inform him/her of the situation.
Post Ride Reports and Pictures
Download the Post Ride Report in either Microsoft Word or in PDF , fill it out (typed in MSWord preferred) and forward to the Club Historian, along with any pictures of the ride/event. The Club Historian will post the ride reports to the website.