Our Riding & Group Membership Guidelines

Cycling in a group is great fun but requires additional care compared to cycling on your own. Be aware that riders are cycling at their own risk at all times.

Cycle Roadworthiness
All bikes need to be roadworthy. We are predominantly a touring/road cycling group and touring/road bikes are best suited for most of our rides.

Riding Safely in a Group
Riding behind another cyclist can reduce effort by up to 50% so generally people can cycle longer distances more easily in a group .

The following guidelines should be observed:
• ride in single file when appropriate, and never more than two abreast. The ride leader may give instruction depending on circumstances.
• when riding “doubled up” try to keep pace with the rider next to you – it’s not a race
• if you are at the back of the group when riding on a narrow singletrack road and you realise that a car is waiting to overtake, shout “tail” to signal this to the riders in front and let them know to move into single file
• if you are at the front of the group when riding on a narrow singletrack road and you see a car approaching, shout “nose” to signal this to the riders behind and let them know to move into single file
• if your “nose/tail” signal is ignored, you may wish to shout “SINGLE UP!”
• when riding in fairly close formation, always remember to call out and point to obstacles (potholes etc) so that riders behind you will be aware of them

Ride Leading
Leading a ride is a significant responsibility. All our ride leaders are experienced cyclists, as are most of our club members. We ask that all members follow the Ride Leader’s instructions at all times. Anyone who cycles in front of a designated ride leader is not part of the group and not covered by our insurance. On occasion the ride leader may be at the back of the group to offer assistance but there will always be another ride leader at the front.

Please note that we expect attendees on our rides to follow any reasonable ride safety requests that the ride leader may make. We also expect everyone attending our rides or using any social media involving CTC Glasgow to act in a manner respectful of other members. Failure to comply with either of these may result in the person concerned being asked to leave the ride or the group.

While we appreciate that this sounds like a lot of information to assimilate, all our members will offer assistance and any new rider should follow the lead of others around them and will rapidly become accustomed to group riding.

If you are planning to join one of our rides, or perhaps are interested in leading one of our rides, there is more information here here.