Web Design By Antonio Ansioso
Welcome to the EMS ANGELS MC Road Captain's section. I consider my greatest
responsibility to be the safety of our members on any and all rides so if you want
to ride with us please be assured that safety is #1. My second goal is to have a
lot of fun while riding motorcycles with friends. That's it!
Our ride schedule runs from April to October but we do ride year round so
please check the ride schedule . We have one monthly ride on a Saturday or
Sunday and Bike night rides on Thursday or Wednesday's of each month.
Please check the Ride Schedule for all the details.
Be safe,
_________________________
Please take the time to read the following guidelines for group riding.
The Road Captain: a person who devises group riding rules or guidelines for an
organized group ride. And who communicates these guidelines to the group,
and who generally plans and lays out group rides. The Road Captain may or may
not ride lead for a particular ride.
The Lead Bike determines the group’s direction, speed, choice of lane, and
formation. He or she often must make quick navigation decisions in the face of
road hazards, changes in road surface conditions, poor signage, construction
and other obstacles while maintaining control of his or her bike and
communicating to those following. If there are three groups on a ride, there will
be three Lead Bikes.
A person who rides in the last position in a group is the Drag Bike. The Drag Bike
must secure a lane for the rest of the group during lane changes into faster
traffic (move first to block oncoming traffic) and close the door (move to block
passing traffic) when a lane is lost in a merging lane situation. Usually this is the
most experienced rider in a group, for the Drag Bike is the rider who stops to
assist a rider who has mechanical trouble, loses control, or drops out of a ride
for some other reason. The Drag Bike should be prepared to render aid to a
downed or disabled rider in a group. If there are three groups on a ride, there
will be three Drag Bikes. The rider in this position is sometimes called the tail
gunner.
For group parking all bikes in a group follow the Lead Bike in single file into a
parking lot, making a U-turn such that they can all line up next to each other in
the space available with the rear of their bikes against the curb or edge of the
lot, the front tires pointing outward.
When riding in Parade formation, all the motorcyclists in a group ride two
abreast.
In Staggered formation, motorcyclists in a group in which the Lead Bike rides in
the left track of a lane, the next bike in the right track(slot), and the next bike in
the left track, and so on. Bikes in a group generally maintain a minimum interval
of two seconds travel time between bikes in the same track, and one second
travel time between each bike in the group. The Drag Bike may ride in the left or
right track depending on the number of bikes in the group. It is preferable for
the Drag Bike to ride in the left track, so as to have the same visibility line as the
Lead Bike.
For Single file formation, all the cyclists ride in one track of a lane.
When entering traffic, the Lead Bike for each group sees that all riders are
helmeted, sitting on their bikes, motors running, and ready to depart, he or she
will check for traffic and enter the roadway. Usually the Lead Bike will not
attempt to exit a parking lot unless there is room for all or most of the group to
follow immediately. If the group is split, the Lead Bike will normally take the slow
lane and keep the speed relatively low until the group can form up in the
positions the riders will keep for the duration of the ride. This may mean
traveling slower than surrounding traffic, to encourage four-wheelers to pass
and allow the group to form up. Occasionally this cannot be accomplished until
the group has made a lane change or entered a freeway, depending on where
the entrance ramp may be.
Regardless of the Lead Bike’s signals, a rider is responsible for his or her own
safety at all times. Ride Your Own Ride.
Once all members of the group are together, the group will take up a staggered
formation and will stay in it most of the time during the ride, unless the Lead
Bike signals for a change or the need for a change is obvious. Reasons for
changing out of a staggered formation could be a passing situation or poor road
surface (single file), dog or other animal charging the group (split the group), or
coming up to a traffic signal (two abreast while waiting for a light).
When a group of motorcycles is changing lanes, many safety considerations
come into play. Should every rider move into the adjacent lane at the same
time? If not, should the Lead Bike go first, or should the Drag Bike move first to
“secure the lane”? What if another vehicle sees a gap in traffic and tries to cut
into the group? If part of the group gets separated from the other riders, should
everyone change relative positions (tracks) so that the new Lead Bike is now
riding in the left track? The recommended procedure for a group lane change
maneuver depends on how the surrounding traffic is moving at the time. The
goal for the bike which moves first is to create a gap into which the other bikes
can fit.
Regardless of what other riders in the group are doing, each rider must
personally check to see that the new lane is clear of traffic before entering it.
Changing Lanes as a Group:
There is virtually no time (absent an emergency) when a group of riders should
all move at the same time into a different lane, in regular traffic conditions. The
wide gap required for a whole group to move is difficult to find in heavy traffic,
and if it exists, it will be an invitation for other drivers to jump into it, perhaps
while the group might be moving.
Spacing Out; Especially on less-congested rural backroads, the riders in a group
may spread out to create larger intervals between motorcycles. This allows a
rider to relax a bit, to enjoy the scenery and the ride. If no four-wheelers are
trying to pass the group, this is fine. However, the riders should remain close
enough to each other to be able to see hand signals being passed back from the
Lead Bike. It is possible that a rider will also “space out” in terms of losing his
concentration and will forget to practice safe riding strategies. If a rider is not
riding safely enough to avoid endangering others in the group (because of lack
of experience, medical problems, fatigue, or some other reason), the Lead Bike
will usually discuss the problem privately with that rider at the next stop. If a
problem cannot be solved reasonably in this way, the Lead Bike has absolute
discretion to request that a rider leave the group and is entitled to expect the
group to support this decision. In the case of a mechanical or minor medical
problem, it is not unusual for another rider to accompany the distressed rider to
get help. Sometimes if the Lead Bike just re-assigns the riders to new positions
within the group, this is enough to bring a spaced-out motorcyclist back to a
state of alert awareness.
Checking Out The Curves:
On any stretch of curvy road and in any corner, a group may ride in single-file
momentarily, to enable each rider to corner at his own speed and to have as
much room as possible for maneuvering. This is especially important to riders
with little experience in a group, as they may “wobble” or be nervous about
making turns with another bike to their side or riding close behind them. This is
an accepted variance to staggered formation; usually the Lead Bike will not
signal for single-file at each turn but will expect the riders to choose their own
path of travel.
Hand Signals
Certain hand signals are optional in group riding: turn signals on the bikes
ahead will usually advise a rider that a turn is coming up, for example, and hand
signals in a turning situation may actually add to the danger for some. However,
other hand signals are extremely helpful to the rider who has no other means to
communicate. The most important two hand signals are these: pointing to an
obstacle in the road, warning the rider to avoid it; and pointing to the tank. See
Hand Signals page.
Exceptions to Normal Guidelines
The often-heard rule, “Ride Your Own Ride,” means that any guideline for group
riding can and should be ignored when it doesn’t make sense. Determining
whether this is the case and acting prudently is each rider’s individual
responsibility at all times. Under normal circumstances, the Lead Bike will
choose a lane, will determine the speed at which the riders are to travel, will
suggest the formation which makes maneuvers most safe, and will navigate.
Common exceptions to these guidelines occur with a rider who is not yet
experienced with group riding. If a maneuver looks too dangerous or awkward
for the new rider to complete safely, he or she should do what he needs to do to
protect himself and avoid an accident. This may mean passing up a turn or taking
it very slowly, or parking somewhere not with the group, or going more slowly
through a curve than the riders ahead of him.
Each rider commands his entire area within a lane and may move to left or right
in it as required.
Another exception: the Drag Bike may not travel in the same path as the rest of
the group. If, for example, a two-lane road is narrowing so that a lane is about to
be lost, the Drag Bike will frequently “close the door” by moving out of the
group’s staggered formation into the lane which is soon to disappear. This is to
prevent a four-wheeler from trying at the last minute to pass part of the group
and then have to cut into it when the pavement runs out. Even if the riders near
the back of the group observe that the Drag Bike is no longer in the position
where he has been riding most of the time, they should maintain their own place
in the group.
Rubber-Band (“Yo-yo”) Effect
Reaction time for a motorcyclist when confronted with an unexpected threat is,
on average, about one second. If the need to react is anticipated (such as when
a turn has been announced), then riders can usually react within about half a
second after the bike ahead begins to react. When a group of riders change
speeds very gradually, however, it usually takes two or three seconds for a rider
to recognize this and begin to change his speed to maintain his position in the
group.
This doesn’t sound like much time, but experienced group riders manage their
risks reasonably well with a minimum one-second interval between each bike
and a minimum two-second interval between bikes that are traveling in the same
track. When the group has more than six bikes in it, however, gradual changes
in speed within the group can become tricky.
When a Lead Bike begins to accelerate, the second bike doesn’t instantly start
to travel at the faster rate. Instead, a gap grows between them while the second
bike is reacting -- and it continues to grow until the second bike is fully up to the
increased, stable speed of the Lead Bike. Clearly, once the speeds are the
same, the gap will remain the same size. However, since most groups prefer to
keep a one-second minimum interval between bikes (two seconds between
bikes in the same track), the new gap caused by the Lead Bike’s acceleration
may be larger than is desired. When this occurs, the second bike must go faster
than the first one for a brief time in order to “catch up.”
If we assume that the Lead Bike speeds up from 60 to 70 mph over a period of
two seconds, the second bike will have to ride at 75 mph for two seconds (after
his reaction time passes) in order to close the gap. Then he will take another
one second to decelerate back to 70 mph to create a gap of the proper size. If
there were only two bikes in the group, this example is easy to follow. But when
the group is larger, and the bikes involved are riding further back in the pack,
the “rubber band” effect can be especially dangerous to all bikes from the
middle of the group to the Drag bike.
For example, the third bike in the group has this problem: About two seconds
after the second bike has begun to accelerate, the third bike responds. Now,
however, the second bike is moving at 75 mph rather than at 70 mph like the
Lead Bike. The third bike must use even more effort to catch up to the second
bike than the second bike did to match his speed to the Lead Bike’s new speed,
if the gap is to stay relatively constant. He will have to move at 75 mph for four
seconds, not two, to catch up. The fourth bike will have to accelerate to 80 mph!
In a group of only six motorcycles, the last one will find the gap between himself
and the fifth bike has grown to 143 feet before it begins to close, once he starts
to speed up, given these average reaction times. And it will be at least 11
seconds after the Lead Bike first began to accelerate before the sixth bike does
so.
Now, imagine what happens in the group if, while this is taking place, the Lead
Bike must apply his brakes! This rubber-band effect becomes extremely
important if the Lead Bike happens to make an abrupt and major change of
speed at certain critical moments, such as when approaching a sharp turn or a
tricky curve. Those who ride as Lead Bike, or near the lead bike for their group
should be aware of the importance of avoiding sudden changes in speed if at all
possible, so as to reduce the risks to those following.
The rubber-band effect can be reduced by following these guidelines:
-Lead Bike changes speed more gradually
-All riders watch farther ahead than just the bike immediately in front of them in
order to notice and to react quicker to changes in speed
-All riders restrain the impulse to “crank it up” in order to quickly re-establish
normal spacing.
-Lead Bike does not increase speed within 15 seconds of entering a curve
which may require braking or some slowing down to maneuver it safely.
-All riders abandon the one-second spacing rule when riding twisties.
Home
Rules of the Road
Hand Signals
responsibility to be the safety of our members on any and all rides so if you want
to ride with us please be assured that safety is #1. My second goal is to have a
lot of fun while riding motorcycles with friends. That's it!
Our ride schedule runs from April to October but we do ride year round so
please check the ride schedule . We have one monthly ride on a Saturday or
Sunday and Bike night rides on Thursday or Wednesday's of each month.
Please check the Ride Schedule for all the details.
Be safe,
_________________________
Please take the time to read the following guidelines for group riding.
The Road Captain: a person who devises group riding rules or guidelines for an
organized group ride. And who communicates these guidelines to the group,
and who generally plans and lays out group rides. The Road Captain may or may
not ride lead for a particular ride.
The Lead Bike determines the group’s direction, speed, choice of lane, and
formation. He or she often must make quick navigation decisions in the face of
road hazards, changes in road surface conditions, poor signage, construction
and other obstacles while maintaining control of his or her bike and
communicating to those following. If there are three groups on a ride, there will
be three Lead Bikes.
A person who rides in the last position in a group is the Drag Bike. The Drag Bike
must secure a lane for the rest of the group during lane changes into faster
traffic (move first to block oncoming traffic) and close the door (move to block
passing traffic) when a lane is lost in a merging lane situation. Usually this is the
most experienced rider in a group, for the Drag Bike is the rider who stops to
assist a rider who has mechanical trouble, loses control, or drops out of a ride
for some other reason. The Drag Bike should be prepared to render aid to a
downed or disabled rider in a group. If there are three groups on a ride, there
will be three Drag Bikes. The rider in this position is sometimes called the tail
gunner.
For group parking all bikes in a group follow the Lead Bike in single file into a
parking lot, making a U-turn such that they can all line up next to each other in
the space available with the rear of their bikes against the curb or edge of the
lot, the front tires pointing outward.
When riding in Parade formation, all the motorcyclists in a group ride two
abreast.
In Staggered formation, motorcyclists in a group in which the Lead Bike rides in
the left track of a lane, the next bike in the right track(slot), and the next bike in
the left track, and so on. Bikes in a group generally maintain a minimum interval
of two seconds travel time between bikes in the same track, and one second
travel time between each bike in the group. The Drag Bike may ride in the left or
right track depending on the number of bikes in the group. It is preferable for
the Drag Bike to ride in the left track, so as to have the same visibility line as the
Lead Bike.
For Single file formation, all the cyclists ride in one track of a lane.
When entering traffic, the Lead Bike for each group sees that all riders are
helmeted, sitting on their bikes, motors running, and ready to depart, he or she
will check for traffic and enter the roadway. Usually the Lead Bike will not
attempt to exit a parking lot unless there is room for all or most of the group to
follow immediately. If the group is split, the Lead Bike will normally take the slow
lane and keep the speed relatively low until the group can form up in the
positions the riders will keep for the duration of the ride. This may mean
traveling slower than surrounding traffic, to encourage four-wheelers to pass
and allow the group to form up. Occasionally this cannot be accomplished until
the group has made a lane change or entered a freeway, depending on where
the entrance ramp may be.
Regardless of the Lead Bike’s signals, a rider is responsible for his or her own
safety at all times. Ride Your Own Ride.
Once all members of the group are together, the group will take up a staggered
formation and will stay in it most of the time during the ride, unless the Lead
Bike signals for a change or the need for a change is obvious. Reasons for
changing out of a staggered formation could be a passing situation or poor road
surface (single file), dog or other animal charging the group (split the group), or
coming up to a traffic signal (two abreast while waiting for a light).
When a group of motorcycles is changing lanes, many safety considerations
come into play. Should every rider move into the adjacent lane at the same
time? If not, should the Lead Bike go first, or should the Drag Bike move first to
“secure the lane”? What if another vehicle sees a gap in traffic and tries to cut
into the group? If part of the group gets separated from the other riders, should
everyone change relative positions (tracks) so that the new Lead Bike is now
riding in the left track? The recommended procedure for a group lane change
maneuver depends on how the surrounding traffic is moving at the time. The
goal for the bike which moves first is to create a gap into which the other bikes
can fit.
Regardless of what other riders in the group are doing, each rider must
personally check to see that the new lane is clear of traffic before entering it.
Changing Lanes as a Group:
There is virtually no time (absent an emergency) when a group of riders should
all move at the same time into a different lane, in regular traffic conditions. The
wide gap required for a whole group to move is difficult to find in heavy traffic,
and if it exists, it will be an invitation for other drivers to jump into it, perhaps
while the group might be moving.
Spacing Out; Especially on less-congested rural backroads, the riders in a group
may spread out to create larger intervals between motorcycles. This allows a
rider to relax a bit, to enjoy the scenery and the ride. If no four-wheelers are
trying to pass the group, this is fine. However, the riders should remain close
enough to each other to be able to see hand signals being passed back from the
Lead Bike. It is possible that a rider will also “space out” in terms of losing his
concentration and will forget to practice safe riding strategies. If a rider is not
riding safely enough to avoid endangering others in the group (because of lack
of experience, medical problems, fatigue, or some other reason), the Lead Bike
will usually discuss the problem privately with that rider at the next stop. If a
problem cannot be solved reasonably in this way, the Lead Bike has absolute
discretion to request that a rider leave the group and is entitled to expect the
group to support this decision. In the case of a mechanical or minor medical
problem, it is not unusual for another rider to accompany the distressed rider to
get help. Sometimes if the Lead Bike just re-assigns the riders to new positions
within the group, this is enough to bring a spaced-out motorcyclist back to a
state of alert awareness.
Checking Out The Curves:
On any stretch of curvy road and in any corner, a group may ride in single-file
momentarily, to enable each rider to corner at his own speed and to have as
much room as possible for maneuvering. This is especially important to riders
with little experience in a group, as they may “wobble” or be nervous about
making turns with another bike to their side or riding close behind them. This is
an accepted variance to staggered formation; usually the Lead Bike will not
signal for single-file at each turn but will expect the riders to choose their own
path of travel.
Hand Signals
Certain hand signals are optional in group riding: turn signals on the bikes
ahead will usually advise a rider that a turn is coming up, for example, and hand
signals in a turning situation may actually add to the danger for some. However,
other hand signals are extremely helpful to the rider who has no other means to
communicate. The most important two hand signals are these: pointing to an
obstacle in the road, warning the rider to avoid it; and pointing to the tank. See
Hand Signals page.
Exceptions to Normal Guidelines
The often-heard rule, “Ride Your Own Ride,” means that any guideline for group
riding can and should be ignored when it doesn’t make sense. Determining
whether this is the case and acting prudently is each rider’s individual
responsibility at all times. Under normal circumstances, the Lead Bike will
choose a lane, will determine the speed at which the riders are to travel, will
suggest the formation which makes maneuvers most safe, and will navigate.
Common exceptions to these guidelines occur with a rider who is not yet
experienced with group riding. If a maneuver looks too dangerous or awkward
for the new rider to complete safely, he or she should do what he needs to do to
protect himself and avoid an accident. This may mean passing up a turn or taking
it very slowly, or parking somewhere not with the group, or going more slowly
through a curve than the riders ahead of him.
Each rider commands his entire area within a lane and may move to left or right
in it as required.
Another exception: the Drag Bike may not travel in the same path as the rest of
the group. If, for example, a two-lane road is narrowing so that a lane is about to
be lost, the Drag Bike will frequently “close the door” by moving out of the
group’s staggered formation into the lane which is soon to disappear. This is to
prevent a four-wheeler from trying at the last minute to pass part of the group
and then have to cut into it when the pavement runs out. Even if the riders near
the back of the group observe that the Drag Bike is no longer in the position
where he has been riding most of the time, they should maintain their own place
in the group.
Rubber-Band (“Yo-yo”) Effect
Reaction time for a motorcyclist when confronted with an unexpected threat is,
on average, about one second. If the need to react is anticipated (such as when
a turn has been announced), then riders can usually react within about half a
second after the bike ahead begins to react. When a group of riders change
speeds very gradually, however, it usually takes two or three seconds for a rider
to recognize this and begin to change his speed to maintain his position in the
group.
This doesn’t sound like much time, but experienced group riders manage their
risks reasonably well with a minimum one-second interval between each bike
and a minimum two-second interval between bikes that are traveling in the same
track. When the group has more than six bikes in it, however, gradual changes
in speed within the group can become tricky.
When a Lead Bike begins to accelerate, the second bike doesn’t instantly start
to travel at the faster rate. Instead, a gap grows between them while the second
bike is reacting -- and it continues to grow until the second bike is fully up to the
increased, stable speed of the Lead Bike. Clearly, once the speeds are the
same, the gap will remain the same size. However, since most groups prefer to
keep a one-second minimum interval between bikes (two seconds between
bikes in the same track), the new gap caused by the Lead Bike’s acceleration
may be larger than is desired. When this occurs, the second bike must go faster
than the first one for a brief time in order to “catch up.”
If we assume that the Lead Bike speeds up from 60 to 70 mph over a period of
two seconds, the second bike will have to ride at 75 mph for two seconds (after
his reaction time passes) in order to close the gap. Then he will take another
one second to decelerate back to 70 mph to create a gap of the proper size. If
there were only two bikes in the group, this example is easy to follow. But when
the group is larger, and the bikes involved are riding further back in the pack,
the “rubber band” effect can be especially dangerous to all bikes from the
middle of the group to the Drag bike.
For example, the third bike in the group has this problem: About two seconds
after the second bike has begun to accelerate, the third bike responds. Now,
however, the second bike is moving at 75 mph rather than at 70 mph like the
Lead Bike. The third bike must use even more effort to catch up to the second
bike than the second bike did to match his speed to the Lead Bike’s new speed,
if the gap is to stay relatively constant. He will have to move at 75 mph for four
seconds, not two, to catch up. The fourth bike will have to accelerate to 80 mph!
In a group of only six motorcycles, the last one will find the gap between himself
and the fifth bike has grown to 143 feet before it begins to close, once he starts
to speed up, given these average reaction times. And it will be at least 11
seconds after the Lead Bike first began to accelerate before the sixth bike does
so.
Now, imagine what happens in the group if, while this is taking place, the Lead
Bike must apply his brakes! This rubber-band effect becomes extremely
important if the Lead Bike happens to make an abrupt and major change of
speed at certain critical moments, such as when approaching a sharp turn or a
tricky curve. Those who ride as Lead Bike, or near the lead bike for their group
should be aware of the importance of avoiding sudden changes in speed if at all
possible, so as to reduce the risks to those following.
The rubber-band effect can be reduced by following these guidelines:
-Lead Bike changes speed more gradually
-All riders watch farther ahead than just the bike immediately in front of them in
order to notice and to react quicker to changes in speed
-All riders restrain the impulse to “crank it up” in order to quickly re-establish
normal spacing.
-Lead Bike does not increase speed within 15 seconds of entering a curve
which may require braking or some slowing down to maneuver it safely.
-All riders abandon the one-second spacing rule when riding twisties.
Home
Rules of the Road
Hand Signals
| Road Captain |