You're The Voice
How far would you go to help a friend in danger?
Each day we see people taking huge risks to save someone who in danger but, thankfully we are not faced with such situations each day. But would you call out to someone to make them aware of a situation that could result in injury?
Most of us would. Bike North’s rides add safety by having trained Ride Leaders, being seen and through cooperation between riders. As pointed out last month, there are also some additional issues caused by riding as a group that need to be considered such as not overlapping wheels.
Another issue is that, when travelling in a group, often forward vision is obstructed by other riders and hazards are not as easy to see. To overcome this, Bike North has developed a suite of signals and calls aimed at communicating the existence of hazards. You can find these on our web site under Our Rides: Calls & Signals
Why not review these now?
Sometimes taking your hands off the handlebar is not a preferred option, but on a Bike North ride, you are the voice.
Use your voice to call hazards and let other riders know what you are doing.
If you are passing a call back, consider turning your head slightly to project your voice back.
Calling “slowing” or “stopping” are very important as we don’t have stop lights.
Did you know that in January, coming to a regroup, a rider ran into the back of another rider who was stopping?
Injuries were minor but this could have been avoided if all riders called “slowing” and “stopping” which may have resulted in the following rider paying more attention.
So remember, “you’re the voice”. Make sure you signal or call hazards and, if others aren’t, please ask them to do so, or refer it to your Ride Leader.
Safety doesn’t happen by accident, and we all need to use the tools available to us to ride safely.
Brian Lynne
Rides Coordinator | Bike North
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