Group Riding Basics -Do's and Don'ts

A ride is a perfect way to unwind - and it is more fun when you are with friends. A group ride is one of the best ways to enjoy the company of friends on a long ride. When you plan for a ride, there is no spoil spot like having a breakdown and realizing that you have left that elusive part back at home. If all the riders follow some basic rules, a group riding can be a very enjoyable experience. 

First - choose a Lead (or Spot) and a Tail (Sweep). Spot should be a guy who knows the route, or some one who have good understanding of the way all are heading, and he should know the comfort speed of the group. The tail should be some one with enough practical knowledge to fix the bike in case of a break down, and he should be patient enough to sweep the whole lot of riders. No one should overtake the lead and no one should go slow than the tail.

Keep your headlights / pilot lights ON all the time - it is very easy to spot and coordinate the group. 

Keep staggered formation when riding in a wide enough road, but when road becomes narrow, follow a single file pattern.

Keep at lest 2 bike length distances from the bike in front of you, and always make sure you can see the headlight of the bike following you.

Fix both the rearview mirrors. They are life savers. 

Never overtake any one from left side. If you want to overtake the rider in front of you, honk and use flasher to inform him and then over take. 

Wear helmets - both rider and pillion. 

Wear shoes, not chappals. Wearing basic protection gear like Jackets and Gloves is very much recommended. 

Don’t ever follow the rider in front of you blindly, especially when he is overtaking a vehicle. Wait till he over takes and then overtake.

Spot should give hand signals indicating road breakers, potholes etc and should signal when he wants every one to slow down. The signals from spot should propagated through the group. 

Pull over to road shoulder or left most lane to stop. use both indicators and hand signals while stopping. When spot decides to stop, every one should stop.

Decide on meet up / re-union points en route. If any one gets lost or suffer a break down, he can catch up with others at these points. When one has a break down, tail should stop and assist him to fix. If any one is having a break down, inform fellow riders by honking and flashing. 

When you go for a ride, service your bike at least 2-3 days before and make sure you ride it around - don’t go for a long ride on a freshly serviced bike - you never know what will go wrong.

Always carry your Driving license, RC book (copy or original), Insurance papers and PUC certificate.

Carry some basic spare parts and a basic tool kit and medicine kit.

Don’t forget to pack in:

Spare cables
Spare bulbs, especially head and tail lamp
Spark plug
Spare tube
Chain link
A piece of wire
Insulation tape
Bungee chords
Commonly used spanners
Pliers
Screw driver


And don’t ever forget - with more power, comes more responsibility. The next guy has as much freedom to use the road as you. Remember, it is not a race, but a ride. Let us make sure of our safety and that of others - be responsible riders.