Formation Riding will be in a Standard State Patrol (staggered)
formation. In staggered formation, the bikes form two columns, with the
leader at the head of the left column, so they will be able to view all bikes
in the formation in his/her rearview mirrors, and be able to see around
vehicles the group approaches. The second bike will head the right column,
and will ride approximately 1 second behind the leader (and in the opposite
side of the lane). The other riders will position their bikes 2 seconds
behind the bike directly in front of them, which puts them 1 second behind
the diagonal bike. This formation allows each rider sufficient safety space,
and discourages other vehicles from cutting into the line. The Tail
Gunner is the last rider in the formation, and rides on whatever side they
choose. They may
have to change sides during the ride, based on the situation at the moment.
When the group exceeds 15 bikes, it should be broken into smaller, more
manageable groups. If a bike falls out of formation leaving an empty space,
the rider behind it should move forward and fill the space. DO NOT CROSSOVER!
Gas Stops.
When the Ride Leader stops for fuel, ALL bikes should refuel regardless of need.
After fueling, move you bike to a safe location, close to your designated
Road Captain. This will keep the pump area clear for the next user,
and let your Road Captain know you are ready to go.
Ride Leader: The Ride Leader must be aware of the length of the columns,
and must gauge the passing of merges, highway entrances and exits, etc., to
allow for maximum safety and keeping the group together. They must make sure to
leave enough time/space for the formation to get into the appropriate lanes
before exits, etc. All directions come from the Ride Leader. The Ride Leader
makes all decisions regarding lane changes, stopping for breaks and fuel,
closing of gaps, turning off at exits, any concerns of what lies ahead,
accepting/rejecting radioed messages from other individuals, and so on. No
individual will assert himself independently without direction from the Ride
Leader to do so. The Ride Leader should determine
which riders are new or inexperienced and assemble them formation accordingly. Ride Leader shall have a SAFETY BRIEFING
before each ride.
Tail Gunner: The Tail Gunner serves as the eyes of the Ride
Leader. They watch the formation, and informs the Ride Leader of any potential
problems within the group. They watch other vehicles, and informs the Ride
Leader (and anyone else with radios) of hazardous conditions approaching from
the rear, such as vehicles trying to cut into the formation and trucks passing
with potentially dangerous wind blasts. They will watch for merging lanes, and
will move into a merging lane (or stay in a merging lane just vacated by the
group) in order to "close the door" on other vehicles that may
otherwise find themselves trying to merge into the formation. At the Ride
Leader’s request, the Tail Gunner changes lanes before the formation,
to secure the lane so the formation can move into it. Should an appointed Tail
gunner not be available, the Ride Leader will designate an experienced rider to
fill that position.
New Riders: The position of new (inexperienced with GROUP riding)
riders within the group is significant. New riders should be positioned as close
to the rear as possible.
Lane Changes: All lane changing starts with a radio request
from the Ride Leader to the Tail Gunner. The Tail Gunner will (when it is
safe to do so) move into the requested lane and will inform the Ride Leader
when the lane is clear. At this point, the Ride Leader has three options.
(A.) Simple Lane Change: This is an ordinary lane change, and can be
used in most situations. After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the
Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication that they
are
about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional signal,
they
also turn their signal on, so the riders following them get the signal. The leader
then initiates the change. All other riders change lanes too. The important
concept is that NO ONE moves until the bike in front of him has started
moving.
(B.) Block Lane Change: This can be used interchangeably with the
Simple Lane Change. It requires a little more work, but it is well worth the
effort. It’s quite impressive to watch, and gives the riders a tremendous
feeling of "togetherness". This sounds a little complicated, but
is actually very simple to do. After the Tail Gunner has secured the new
lane, the Ride Leader will put on his directional signal as an indication
that they are about to order a lane change. As each rider sees the directional
signal, they also signals the turn, so the riders following them get the signal.
The leader then raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this
signal. Then, as the leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which
they are moving, they actually initiates the change. All other riders lower
their arms at the same time and change lanes too. This allows the entire
formation to move from one lane to another as a single block.
(C.) Rear Fill-in: This is sometimes necessary if a long enough gap
cannot be maintained in the new lane, for example when trying to move from
the right lane to the center and vehicles from the left lane keep cutting
into the opening. After the Tail Gunner has secured the new lane, the leader
(usually at the suggestion of the Tail Gunner) will call for the group to
fill in the space from the rear. They signal this by raising their hand to
shoulder height and "pushing" it towards the new lane. All riders
repeat the signal, and the last bikes move into the space in the new lane
ahead of the Tail Gunner, then the next-to-last bikes move in ahead of
those, and so on until the Ride Leader finally moves into the space ahead of
the entire formation.
Emergencies: In the unlikely event of an emergency condition, the Ride
Leader will make every attempt to move the formation to the shoulder in an
orderly manner. If a bike breaks down let the rider move to the right. DO NOT
STOP. The Tail Gunner will stop with the problem bike. The Ride Leader will lead
the group to a safe stopping place.
Tolls: The Ride Leader should be aware of tolls and collect money from
all riders in advance. When the formation arrives at the tollbooth, the Ride
Leader pays for all bikes, and all bikes proceed through the toll. Many
tollbooths have counters that count the number of vehicles coming through. To
accommodate these, ride through the tollbooth one at a time. If some people in
the group are using EZ Pass, they will split out from the group, and the
formation will reform on the other side of the toll booth. Make sure the Ride
Leader knows in advance how many bikes they are paying the toll for.
Hand Signals: Each rider (and passenger) should duplicate all hand
signals given by the rider in front of him, so that the signals get passed all
the way to the back of the formation. The following signals are used in addition
to the standard (right turn, left turn, slow/stop) hand signals.
Block Lane Change: The leader (after having the Tail Gunner secure the lane)
raises his left arm straight up. Each rider repeats this signal. Then, as the
leader lowers his arm to point to the lane into which they are moving, they actually
initiates the change. All other riders lower their arms at the same time and
change lanes too. Fill in from rear after having the Tail Gunner secure the lane
and putting on his directional signal (which is repeated by each rider), the
Ride Leader raises his left hand to his shoulder and "pushes" his open
hand toward the lane into which they want to move. This signal is repeated by all
riders, and each rider in turn, rearmost first, moves into the space ahead of
the riders behind them.
Single Up: When conditions warrant single file (narrow road, anticipated
wind-blast from trucks, obstruction, pedestrians, etc.) the Ride Leader will
raise his left hand straight up, holding up just his index finger. All other
riders will repeat this, and the two columns will merge into one.
Staggered Formation: After singling up, when single file is no longer
necessary, the Ride Leader will raise his left hand with thumb and pinky out,
other fingers closed, rotating his wrist back and forth (indicating left, right,
left, right). All other riders will repeat this and resume staggered formation.
Tighten Formation: When the Ride Leader feels that the formation should be
tighter (bikes closer together) (usually after being informed by the Tail
Gunner), they raise their left hand with fingers spread wide and repeatedly closes
them into a fist. All other riders repeat this and close up all unnecessary
space in the formation.
Road Hazard: This is the one signal that can be initiated by ANYONE.
Anyone seeing a hazardous condition on the road surface (roadkill, oil, gravel,
significant pothole, etc.) will point at it. All following riders will repeat
this, and all riders will avoid the hazard.
Need to stop: Thumbs Down. This will be relayed to the Ride Leader via
the tailgunner.
Note: Failure to follow these simple rules may result in your removal from group
riding for the safety of the group.
