Group Riding Protocols

Applies to all club rides and all bikes

These protocols apply to every HBC rider. The goal is the same for everyone: ride predictably, stay legal, and tell the people around you what is happening before it becomes a problem.

1. Ride Like Traffic

  • Obey traffic laws. Bicycles are vehicles.

  • Stop at stop signs and red lights.

  • Do not ride on sidewalks.

  • Do not cross the double yellow line to pass, to hold two-abreast, or to hold a position. If the group needs to single up, single up.

  • Ride as far right as is safe, but leave about a foot from the edge so you have room to move for debris, drain grates, and uneven pavement.

  • Ride no more than two abreast, and only when the lane and traffic allow. Single up for cars, hills, poor sight lines, and narrow roads.

2. Be Predictable

  • Hold a straight, steady line, including through a corner—no sudden swerves, stops, or surges. Holding your line means not pushing the rider to your left over and across the center line 

  • Do not make sudden moves in a group.

  • Do not overlap wheels with the rider in front of you. If wheels touch, you are the one who is likely to go down.

  • Look past the rider in front of you — at their back and through to the road ahead — not down at their rear wheel.

  • Keep about a 1–2 foot gap in close groups. Give more room if you are new to group riding, on an e-bike, or in wet conditions.

  • Never use aerobars in a group.                             

  • Leave more of a gap when climbing and descending hills to prevent bunching up.                                                                                                                                                                   

3. Communicate

Call it early, call it loud, and pass the call up or down the group. Hand signals help; your voice matters more.

  • Call: “Car back” — vehicle coming from behind

  • Call: “Car up” or “Car front” — vehicle coming toward the group

  • Call: “Car left” / “Car right” — vehicle at an intersection or driveway

  • Call: “On your left” — passing another rider (pass on the left only)

  • Call: “Slowing” / “Stopping”

  • Call: “Hole” / “Pothole” — point down at it

  • Call: “Gravel” / “Sand” / “Glass” / “Debris”

  • Call: “Tracks” / “Bump” / “Stick”

  • Call: “Walker up” / “Runner up” / “Rider up”

  • Call: “Dog” — and which side if you can

  • Call: “Standing” — before you stand to climb

  • Call: “Last rider” — when someone is rotating onto the back

  • Call: All turns, “Left Turn”/”Right Turn”

  • If you need to drink, eat, adjust a layer, or look at a computer, do it toward the back, not at the front or in the middle of a tight line.

4. Point Out Hazards

  • Point down and to the side of the hazard so riders behind can see it.

  • If both hands need to stay on the bars, use the verbal call anyway.

  • Pass the warning back. The people behind you cannot see what you just missed.

  • Same for animals, parked-car doors, driveways, and people stepping into the road.

5. Passing and Position

  • Pass on the left only. Announce “On your left.”

  • Do not pass on the right — that is a blind spot.

  • After you pass, give space before moving back in. Smooth transition, no sudden moves.

  • Do not squeeze riders toward the ditch or the yellow line.

  • On climbs, slower riders stay right. Faster riders pass only when there is room.

  • On descents, do not block riders who are carrying more speed. Stay right if you are not with that group’s pace.

6. Speed and Effort in a Group

  • Ride the pace of this group. Do not jump the group, gap it, or turn the ride into a race.

  • If you come through to the front, hold the same speed. Do not accelerate.

  • Do not coast or soft-pedal at the front.

  • Try not to grab the brakes. Instead, sit up, move a few inches out of the draft, or feather the rear brake.

  • Never slam the brakes at the front of a line.

  • If someone opens a gap, close it smoothly. Do not sprint up and then chop the brakes.

  • If you are too tired to pull, rotate through without lifting the pace and sit at the back.

7. Paceline Extras

Use these when the group is rotating.

  • Signal before you pull off: pat your hip or wiggle the arm on the side you want riders to come through.

  • Keep pedaling as you pull off until the next rider has started through.

  • Keep the line tight. Ragged lines and riders sitting off to one side make the group less safe and less efficient.

  • When coming back on at the rear, start pedaling two or three riders before the end so you do not have to jump on.

  • If wheels contact, turn toward the wheel in front. If handlebars or bodies touch a rider next to you, relax and keep the bike straight — do not turn away.

8. Intersections, Dogs, and Surprises

  • Each rider is responsible for their own safety at intersections. Do not blindly follow someone through a stop or a light.

  • If a dog chases, do not swerve into the group or across the yellow line. Hold your line if you can, call “Dog,” and accelerate only if it is safe and does not endanger riders around you.

  • If you must stop or pull off, say so, move out of the line first, then stop.

9. Equipment and Self-Sufficiency

  • Helmet on every ride.

  • Bike in good working order: tires, brakes, quick releases or thru-axles.

  • Carry what you need: tube or plug, pump or CO2, water, and a way to get home if you cannot finish.

  • E-bike riders follow the same protocols and stay with the pace group that matches their group-riding skill, not just the motor.

  • Always have the route loaded, have a phone, money or a credit card for payment at a store.

10. Ride Leaders

Ride leaders can change formation, pace, or route for safety. They can also ask any rider to move back or leave the group for unsafe or discourteous riding.

The motor, the fitness, and the bike do not change the rules. Ride with the group. Talk to the group. 

Keep the group safe.