Thank you for leading Tarwheels rides!   Group rides are the point of the Tarwheels.  The time and energy you put into leading rides directly contribute to the vitality of the club.  If there is anything we can do to facilitate your efforts as Ride Leaders, please do not hesitate to contact our Ride Coordinator or Club President.  For insurance purposes, Tarwheels Ride Leaders must be current, paid up members of the club.  Click here if you need to join or renew your membership.

The Tarwheels endorse the group cycling guidelines recently developed by BikeWalkNC and representatives of cycling groups across the state.  If you have not done so recently, please review Group Bicycling Best Practices: Skills and Techniques.   We believe following these guidelines will greatly increase the both the safety and enjoyment of your ride.

Note: BikeWalkNC is developing guidelines for group ride leaders.  The Tarwheels will be adopting these as well.  If you wish to contribute to this process, please consult Survey of Group Ride Leaders and Organization Practices.  For now, the Westchester cycling club has an extensive and excellent document, Ride Leader Guidelines, which details many elements of being a safe and effective ride leader.  Here is the Tarwheels with Ride Leader 101 with specific information for our club.

Ride Leader Checklist

  1. Select the route, ensure that there are no detours or closures on the route (check Road/Bridge Closure Discussion)
  2. Prepare a cue sheet of the route. You can create a map and cue sheet via our Ride with GPS account.
  3. While we are encouraging riders to submit an Electronic Waiver (http://tarwheels.net/ewaiver) it may be prudent to print out a copy of the release & waiver of liability form in case riders show up without having completed the waiver and don’t have a device to do it on site.
  4. Announce the ride on our Meetup site.   Here are instructions for announcing Tarwheel rides on Meetup.
  5. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time
  6. Welcome all riders, make introductions, ask new riders to identify themselves
  7. Verify that all Tarwheels members have completed their annual waiver and non-members have completed a waiver for this specific ride.
  8. Brief participants on the details of the ride and discuss basic ride safety.
  9. Make sure all riders are wearing helmets for the duration of the ride.
  10. If the ride includes a sweep, identify the sweep and the sweep’s pace.
  11. Roll at the scheduled time.
  12. Ride at the advertised pace.
  13. If an accident with injuries occurs on the Ride, the Ride Leader should fill out an Incident Report and contact the club Insurance Coordinator and President (contact list) within 24 hours with preliminary information and a brief description of the incident so that the report can be filed with the club’s carrier.

Suggested items for ride leaders

  • Maps and/or queue sheets
  • Tire pump and patch kit
  • Tool kit
  • Cell phone
  • Extra water bottle
  • Don’t forget your bicycle and helmet!