Technique to be a good group leader


From Motorcyclist Magazine - Sept. 2006
  1. Be a leader not a racer. Don't go much faster or slower than your slowest rider. Or better yet, designate a sweep rider to make sure nobody has a problem.
  2. Communicate - Before you begin, tell everybody where the ride is going, how you're going to get there, and any crucial turns/hazards, etc. Make sure everybody has everyone else cell phone number.
  3. Don't take new riders on roads they are not ready for yet - New riders have enough to concentrate on; they don't need a whole new environment - dirt or gravel roads for instance - to deal with.
  4. If you don't know where you are going, don't lead - It'll just make a mess of everything, and ensure you never get picked to lead again.
  5. Ditch the squids - Social niceties end when someone is going to get hurt.
  6. Don't point at every pebble on the road - More people probably crash pointing, and being distracted by the pointing, then from what they are pointing at.
  7. Wait to pass until there's a large open zone in front of the vehicle(s) being passed - After completing the pass, continue to pull away from the vehicle being passed so there's plenty of room for the bikes behind you to pull in without crowding the passed vehicle.
  8. Signal intentions early - There's nothing worse than pointing to a gas station 2 seconds before diving for the entrance. You'll face rebellion if you keep this up. Remember you're steering the whole group, so no sudden movements.
  9. Do a pre-ride briefing - Give a good pre-ride briefing that lays out expectations for the ride, talking about the route, pace and on-road communications. Make sure veryone is on the same page. Remind everyone to ride his or her own ride. Have everyone mark maps if possible. Explain basic hand signals, before the ride. Ideally the leader will have ridden this route before, and made sure that everyone has proper riding and rain gear.
  10. Make sure everyone's gassed up before leaving - Or, start the ride at a gas station. There's nothing worse than leaving on a ride and having to stop 10 miles later for someone to gas up.
  11. Tell the group that you'll stop whenever the route changes direction - This is key, and takes the stress off of folks who feel like they need to ride over their head to keep up or risk losing the group. They can ride at their own pace and not worry about trying to keep up or following directions - just keep moving forward until they meet up at the next intersection.
  12. Stop at all yellow lights - Don't blast through them, this usually splits up the group.
  13. Staggered? Not always - Let everyone know that there's no need to maintain a staggered riding formation through the twisty bits. It could screw up a linear-thinking rookie enough to cause trouble.