Riding Guidelines
Ride Guidelines
COLT want to encourage all members to join in our cycle rides. Without wanting to set out a whole series of rules and regulations we would appreciate people taking the time to read the following guidelines and bearing them in mind for their own and others safety.
It’s important to remember that you are riding as a member of a group and not as an individual – you are also representing COLT.
Anybody who rides on the training rides does so at their own risk.
All bikes must be in a roadworthy condition.
Helmets must always be worn: no helmet – no ride with COLT.
COLT encourage their members to become members of Triathlon England as this gives them many benefits including liability insurance.
Every effort will be made by the leader(s) to ensure a safe ride and their advice & direction is there to help you, however this does not make them liable for anything that happens on the road. Individuals are responsible for their own safety.
Any type of (roadworthy) bike is allowed on training rides however, we are a triathlon club and the majority of us use road bikes (top tip they’re lighter & faster) if you ride a mountain bike, hybrid or penny-farthing you may put yourself at a disadvantage and struggle to keep up with the group.
No TT bars
No disc wheels
When riding in wet/wintry conditions then please consider using mudguards
We are a triathlon club & the rides try to cater for differing abilities, but they are intended to make you sweat and get out of breath.
Please bring a puncture repair kit (and know how to use it), mobile, money and/or an emergency plan to get home in the event of a problem.
Look where you are going, be aware of the other riders around you and think about how your actions might affect them. Do not coast, speed up or stop suddenly when riding as a group especially when at the front.
Please be aware of and obey the highway code and be courteous to other road users (if there’s any shouting & swearing at motorists to do, leave it to the ride leader). See here for a summary of what the recent changes mean for cyclists
Often riding two abreast is best but do consider the road context and your riding skills. For information on why this is better – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGRQgw6PDA. When riding in pairs ride in line with the pair in front of you; avoid riding outside the line of the group and, no ‘half-wheeling’ each pair of should ride ‘shoulder to shoulder’.
When riding in large groups (say more than 2 x 6) then please think about splitting up into two smaller groups with a gap of a few metres between
For additional useful information please visit https://www.britishtriathlon.org/roadsafety