11/19/2025
Please use Hand signals:
-Four fingers up like an indicator to show an obstacle on your left or right.
-Motion your arm behind your back if a rider needs to move in.
-Double flick of the elbow if you're about to stand on the pedals.
If someone gets dropped from your group ride, the strongest rider failed. Not the weakest.
Strava and racing culture have convinced riders that the group ride is where you prove your worth. It’s where you prove you can put your ego aside.
The function of a group ride is simple: it’s one unit, limited by its weakest link.
Everyone gets home. Everyone gets better. That’s the point.
These are our Roadman club rules for Saturday morning spins in Dublin.
Not exhaustive, but they’re what keeps twenty riders safe at 30 + km/h:
- Don’t be late. You’re one part of twenty.
- Bring spares. Tube, CO2, tyre levers. If you puncture and can’t fix it, someone waits.
- Arrive with a bike in good working order. Squealing brakes and skipping gears become everyone’s problem five kilometres in.
- When someone punctures: Make sure they have spares. Maybe one person waits to assist, the rest ride on for a few kilometres and then double back. Keeps everyone warm.
- Hold your line through the corner. No wobbling.
- Don’t half-wheel when on the front. Maintain the speed, don’t increase it. Stronger? Ride longer, not faster.
- No freewheeling while on the front. Ride solid tempo so those behind aren’t coasting.
- Don’t change up riders in the pace line coming over a brow of a hill.
- Hand signals: Four fingers up like an indicator to show an obstacle on your left or right. Motion your arm behind your back if a rider needs to move in. Double flick of the elbow if you’re about to stand on the pedals.
- If you’re taking your hands off the bars, move to the side or the back. Don’t bring the group down if you crash.
- Snot rockets? Move to the side. No one needs friendly fire.
- No shouting “stopping, slowing, hole.” The goal is a calm group.
- Bring an extra layer to put on after the café stop. Your core temperature drops the second you stop.
These are ours. Not exhaustive.
What are the unwritten rules of your group ride that I’ve missed?
Drop them below.