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Red Herring · 31-07-10, 12:52 PM

I must confess to sitting on the fence a bit at the moment over riding on the AR. I'm still trying to sort my life out enough to get away next weekend but things are looking good at the moment, and it would be rude to come all the way to Wales and not enjoy the roads there. I did ask a while back about how the AR is going to be organized because I've a fair bit or experience around such things and personally I won't enjoy riding in a procession.

The problem with having dedicated "markers" is that you either need enough of them to cover every junction and start with them at the front (unlikely) or they need to be able to move through the group to get back to the front in time to mark the next junction, in which case the leader needs to keep the pace down enough for this to happen....and you end up in a procession. By keeping the pace down you also tend to end up with big groups, and there have also been several valid comments about the impact that can have on other road users.

Personally I'm a big fan of the drop off system where every rider has the potential of being a marker. If you're not sure how it works it's fairly simple. There is a dedicated leader at the front, and sweeper at the back, both wearing something distinctive... When the leader reaches a junction whoever is directly behind them stops and marks the junction until the sweeper arrives, then they rejoin in front of them. The advantage is that the leader can set a reasonable pace and hopefully string the group out over several miles, which means that every rider can ride at their own pace with room around them. If you want to ride fast then you generally end up marking a lot of junctions, if you want to ride at a slower pace then you don't ever have to stop, which helps keep the ride moving.

It's not my place to be dictating how you guys are going to run this but with 150-200 potential bikers to look after you're going to have your work cut out. My suggestion for what it's worth would be to break the whole affair up into four or five groups, each with a dedicated leader and sweeper, and allocate each group a particular pace. Set the more progressive group off first, followed by successive slower one. That will allow riders to choose which group they want to be in, and should they find themselves in a group that is a bit to quick for them they can simply stop, tell their sweeper they will be joining the group behind, and wait for the slower group. Likewise if the group is to slow they can move up a group at the petrol stop. Just a suggestion.....

31-07-10, 12:52 PM	#35
Red Herring Member Mega Poster Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,708	Re: Doing the rideout? I must confess to sitting on the fence a bit at the moment over riding on the AR. I'm still trying to sort my life out enough to get away next weekend but things are looking good at the moment, and it would be rude to come all the way to Wales and not enjoy the roads there. I did ask a while back about how the AR is going to be organized because I've a fair bit or experience around such things and personally I won't enjoy riding in a procession. The problem with having dedicated "markers" is that you either need enough of them to cover every junction and start with them at the front (unlikely) or they need to be able to move through the group to get back to the front in time to mark the next junction, in which case the leader needs to keep the pace down enough for this to happen....and you end up in a procession. By keeping the pace down you also tend to end up with big groups, and there have also been several valid comments about the impact that can have on other road users. Personally I'm a big fan of the drop off system where every rider has the potential of being a marker. If you're not sure how it works it's fairly simple. There is a dedicated leader at the front, and sweeper at the back, both wearing something distinctive... When the leader reaches a junction whoever is directly behind them stops and marks the junction until the sweeper arrives, then they rejoin in front of them. The advantage is that the leader can set a reasonable pace and hopefully string the group out over several miles, which means that every rider can ride at their own pace with room around them. If you want to ride fast then you generally end up marking a lot of junctions, if you want to ride at a slower pace then you don't ever have to stop, which helps keep the ride moving. It's not my place to be dictating how you guys are going to run this but with 150-200 potential bikers to look after you're going to have your work cut out. My suggestion for what it's worth would be to break the whole affair up into four or five groups, each with a dedicated leader and sweeper, and allocate each group a particular pace. Set the more progressive group off first, followed by successive slower one. That will allow riders to choose which group they want to be in, and should they find themselves in a group that is a bit to quick for them they can simply stop, tell their sweeper they will be joining the group behind, and wait for the slower group. Likewise if the group is to slow they can move up a group at the petrol stop. Just a suggestion.....