It’s been an action packed few weeks on the roads with lots of incidents involving motorists and cyclists.

We need to make sure we’re looking after our friends, fellow club members and everyone else that feels the desire to cycle with our great club on one of our rides.

Ride leading doesn’t mean you have to have intimate knowledge of the route; it doesn’t mean you have to possess General Peter Cosgrove leadership qualities and it doesn’t mean you have to have matching kit 😉

Sometimes ride leading is just about keeping the group safe and making sure everyone gets back to coffee in one piece if possible.

Cars turning across our path and cars coming up from behind are normally our biggest concern.

As ride leader it’s worthwhile spending a good chunk of time at the rear of the group;
1. It allows you to monitor the whole group
2. You can keep an eye on traffic coming up from behind
3. You’ll know when people are dropping off the group (whether it’s mechanical, an injury or fatigue) and you can make sure they’re ok/have a buddy/spares and tools, etc.
4. You can acknowledge the good/patient motorists with a wave of the hand and promote positive interaction between road users

It would be great to see more people putting their name down as ride leaders on the blog or even just approaching Pete (el Pres) on Saturday morning and asking if any help is required.

Also, for the experienced cyclists who are not ride leading, please don’t “switch off”. Make sure you’re doing your bit (if/when required) to help the ride leader and help yourself and your fellow cyclists stay safe.