Leading a Ride
Thank you for being a ride leader. Ride leaders are the life blood of the club and your efforts are greatly appreciated. We hold special social events for Ride Leaders so we cn get to know each other, have fun and share experience on what works as a Ride Leader.
Ride leader basic responsibilities and guidelines can be reviewed in the documents below. Any questions about leading a ride? Ask the SCCCC Ride Director.
How to lead a ride: planning
- To lead a ride we require that you have a personal RWGPS account (they can cost as little as $0, but if you get value from the account then consider paying something, just to help future enhancements!), and have registered that account with the club's RWGPS account. This Link will walk you through both of those actions and should take you but a minute or two.
- Select a RIDE from our Ride Calendar that has a route you'd like to lead. (If you have a route you want to lead that's not on the calendar then please select a 'wildcard' day (the 5th Tuesday or Saturday in a month) for that route)
- Inform the Ride Lead Coordinator for that day what you'd like to lead and they will put your name down as Ride Leader (or, for the Wildcard day, tell them the route and they'll get that imported and organized into a ride)
- Two to three days before your ride send an email to the Rides & Events Forum outlining your ride (make sure you link to the RIDE, not the ROUTE - the RIDE is in the Ride Calendar - in your email)
Here is an example of a Ride Announcement email with the basic information you should include:
Saturday September 25th
Meet at Felton Fair Shopping Center. Pre-ride huddle at 8:55 a.m. Roll at 9 a.m.
Please arrive in plenty of time to be ready to for pre-ride huddle and on-time rollout.
SAT 'C' Ride- 05/07 10:00 - MONc Ft Ord, Gigling, Watkins Gate, Eucalyptus
We'll stop for snacks and restrooms at Big Basin HQ area.
We will meet at Cowboy Grill afterward for delicious eats & beverages and great company!! See route directions for location.
As always: Make sure to bring cell phone, ID, plenty of snacks/hydration, pre-check your bike for good operating condition and have your tool kit, spare tubes and frame pump with you. Make sure you buddy up with someone who will be riding at your pace. If you are new to the group, please let the Ride Leader know!
Timothy Leary
- Make sure you've studied the route well and know some good places to regroup (usually at important road junctions, the summits of larger climbs, places for food, water and restrooms). You want to aim to regroup off the road, not clustered in the road causing traffic issues!
- If you are so inclined, your riders love to see a post-ride recap with photos in our SCCCC Facebook group!!
How to lead a ride:execution
- Gather your group together
- Welcome new members and non-members (be sure to count the non-members)
- Give a brief safety briefing, including reminding everyone to carry their own emergency medical information on their person (phone, wrist-band, paper)
- Tell people about the route, especially any deviations from the route as published, regroup points, whether its a no-drop ride or not. Enough to get them round even if they're not familiar with the area.
- Lead out - either you, or someone you trust in front with you in the rear (leading from the rear is often preferable if there're weaker riders in the group)
Count Your Non-Members
(Waivers were never required as part of insurance coverage, just strongly recommended. However after consulting with the insurance company we decided not to require any waivers - they're implicit in any membership, and given the very small number of guests that ride with us the effort of collecting signatures was deemed not worth the effort. )
Incident reports
If there's an accident during the ride, the club insurance can help members with Excess Medical costs. You will need to fill out the Claimant information of the incident report form. The Safety Director, President or any board member can fill out the rest of the form and submit it. Please also contact
president@santacruzcycling.org.
Incident Reporting Instructions.