A Basic Guide to Bunch Riding Safety
Riding in a bunch is not only a fun and social way to train with others, it is also the most efficient and energy-saving way to ride. You can significantly reduce the effect of drag – particularly in windy conditions – and expend up to 30% less energy simply by riding sheltered within a bunch. This enables you to ride faster and for longer than you ordinarily would on your own.
Bunch riding requires skills and techniques that take a long time to learn and perfect, however, and it’s not a good idea to experience bunch riding for the first time in a race situation, or to enter a big race without having had a chance to practice riding with others beforehand. Because of the speeds that are reached on a bike, and the fact that you need to ride at very close proximity to others in order to benefit from the shelter they provide, inexperienced bunch riders can pose a very real danger not just to themselves, but to everyone around them. While training alone will still help you develop and improve general bike-handling skills, you’ll never learn to ride safely and efficiently with others unless you train within an organised group – and although good bike-handling skills can be enough to get you out of trouble in some situations, they won’t do anything to help ensure you’re not the one riding dangerously within a group.
The Bike Challenge runs a variety of courses aimed at helping you learn the intricacies of bunch riding, at a level suitable to your own bunch riding experience and cycling ability. Below is a basic safety guide for bunch riding, containing just the essentials to remember in a race situation. If you have any questions about the information below, contact us or keep checking this site for upcoming Bike Challenge skills courses.
From a safety perspective, there is essentially just one important point to remember when riding with others, and that is to be predictable. All of your actions affect the group as a whole, making unpredictable riders very dangerous to everyone including themselves. Bunch-related crashes are often caused by unexpected or unpredictable actions, and there’s a lot you can do to make sure you’re being as predictable as you can be when riding in a group. Here are the top six things we recommend you do to ride predictably:
1. Obey all road rules
This means stopping at stop signs and red lights, slowing for give way signs, indicating before you turn, sticking to the bike lane wherever possible, always riding on your side of the road, and only riding two abreast if it’s safe to do so without obstructing traffic behind you. Always make your own call at intersections – never just follow a bunch through a give way sign without looking for yourself that the coast in clear, or follow a bunch through an orange light if you don’t think you’ll make it across before it turns red. Not following road rules is confusing for drivers and other cyclists around you, and dangerous because it makes your riding seem erratic and unpredictable.
2. Hold your line
If you’re at the front of a group this means riding as far to the left as practicable, and if you’re riding behind someone this means riding directly behind their back wheel – as opposed to slightly staggered off to either side. Be aware that any slight swerving or twitching of your handlebars (even if it’s so small that you don’t realize you’re doing it) can be extremely disconcerting to those around you, making you seem unreliable. Positioning yourself directly behind someone is hard – particularly if you haven’t had much practice at it, or don’t fully trust the person in front of you – but it is the safest way to ride because it means your bunch looks tidy, organised and predictable to other road users. If riding directly behind someone just makes you too nervous and you feel you have to stagger slightly to one side, take care never to overlap your front wheel with their back wheel – a slight directional change or gust of wind is all it would take for you to touch wheels (and fall) in this scenario.
3. Maintain a consistent speed
This means you need to keep pedaling smoothly when you’re within the bunch, and hold a consistent speed rather than surging forward when you’re moving up to take your turn at the front. Avoid repeated braking, instead using your gears and cadence to keep your speed consistent. There is nothing more disruptive to the smooth rotation of a bunch than inconsistent speed – either because of frequent free-wheeling, surging at the front of the bunch, or repeated braking.
4. Point out obstacles that make you change you line/speed
If hazards/obstacles in the road cause you to change your line and/or your speed, point them out to the people behind you so that they can anticipate your evasive actions. This means pointing out gravel, glass, potholes, parked cars and any other obstructions on the road well in advance of moving around them or slowing down for them.
5. Communicate clearly
This means speaking clearly and loudly so people can hear and quickly understand you. If obstacles in the road are dangerous (like very big potholes) or approaching too fast for you have time to point them out with plenty of notice, call them out loudly to get people’s attention. If you join on to an organised bunch in an event but don’t really know what to do, communicate this to someone – they’ll be keen to quickly explain the basics to you, and even just that much is safer than bumbling cluelessly within an organised group.
6. Be alert
Effective and safe bunch riding requires focus, and just a moment of inattention can be enough to cause a crash – even amongst professionals! Look ahead of you on the road so that you spot and point out hazards/obstacles well in advance, giving the rest of the group plenty of time to react. If you’re alert and attentive to what’s going on around you, you’ll better be able to anticipate potential problems, and control your own riding so that it’s always safe and predictable for others.
