Ride Leader Best Practices

These Ride Leader Best Practices identify key issues and recommendations to assist in planning and leading rides that are safe and enjoyable.

Design or identify a route
Scout the route in advance to check for safety, points of interest, re-group points, destinations (e.g., places to eat), rest rooms and ride distance
Prepare a Route Slip as appropriate
Gather SAG materials needed for the ride. Go to Be Prepared under Safety tab.
Notify any commercial place (coffee shop, restaurant, etc.) where the ride will stop and provide an estimated number and time of arrival

Arrive at the ride location before published start time
Bring Route Slips and SAG materials as appropriate
Greet and introduce riders
Check that all ride participants are members or First Ride visitors. Inform First Riders that they are covered by our insurance and that if they wish to ride with us again they must become a member.
Count the number of riders participating
Make sure that everyone has a helmet
Distribute Route Slips as appropriate
Describe route, regroup locations and destinations
Identify known route conditions or features that may present safety problems
Describe if and how different rider paces will be accommodated
Describe if and how route alternative subgroups will function as applicable
Make sure any pace and route alternative subgroups know who is part of their group
Identify No One Left Behind practices to be used by the group or subgroups. The base practice is that the next-to-last rider automatically becomes the last rider's buddy.
Remind riders that they are responsible for modeling best Safety practices.
Ask if any riders plan to deviate from or not complete the planned route

Begin the ride at published start time
Check to see that everyone arrives at each regroup point
Insure that everyone is part of a group for the return trip from the destination/coffee stop.