Gateway Cycling » Club News » Committee Update – Group Rides

Committee Update – Group Rides

I’m sure like every other club, the committee (and you know what they say about committees) has spent a lot of time and effort looking through the government’s and British Cycling’s guidelines in order to see the way forward to riding together as a club again. This included looking at whether Risk Assessments were needed for the rides, obviously these giving rise to a lot of work, preplanning and a loss of spontaneity.
However, it was decided, with the help of (co-opted) Noel’s experience of all things organisational, that these are only necessary for organised club rides such as the Christmas ride, charity ride or recreational rides where less experienced, non-members participate.  They would not be necessary for the usual Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday group rides, other than for the meeting points. These rides can therefore resume providing that they comply within the guidelines.
The most important thing would be for everyone to be familiar with them.  See below. Of course, you’ve all read them already.
Some highlights:
Strong hand hygiene should be practiced by all involved before, during and after all cycling activity
2.3.1 Participants must not attend a ride or session if they have Covid-19 symptoms, have someone in their household who does and are in the extremely vulnerable category or if they have been asked to remain at home by the UK Government track and trace system
2.3.5 Consider space needed for meeting points, coaching areas, planned stops and breaks to enable participants to follow social distancing guidelines while considering the practicalities of keeping safe
2.3.8 Do not exceed group size thresholds (maximum of six people in a group)
2.5.3 Any participant developing symptoms after a session should notify the organiser/leader or designated point of contact so that other members of the group can be advised and all should refer to the latest NHS advice
A summary from the documents: 
Group size
Up to 6 for club, group and recreation programme rides. However, we recommend smaller groups on the public highway unless social distancing is possible and it is practical to ride safely and responsibly.
Social distancing and hygiene
2m : must be adhered to. Hygiene protocols in place.
We appreciate that in certain circumstances maintaining a two metre distance may not be safe or feasible – such as when overtaking other cyclists on busy roads or when navigating a junction on a small group ride. In light of the new guidance from Government, we are changing our guidance to say that in such instances you should maintain 1m plus mitigations (ie. avoiding face-to-face contact).
Insurance
Riders who are members of British Cycling Insurance cover continues to be in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, provided Government guidelines and British Cycling guidance are adhered to. Failure to follow these may invalidate your insurance.
There are also personal decisions to make, remembering your own vulnerability and those of people you live with. Also bear in mind that whilst riding your adherence to the guidelines will impact on the people you are riding with as well as yourself.
So after all that hand wringing it will probably be a case of seeing how things develop. And how many riders turn up.
Meetings places at Orsett and Bulphan probably allow enough room for social distancing. The normal organic grouping system should ensure small enough groups and ‘no man left behind’.
And in the words of Hill Street Blues ‘Let’s be careful out there’.
Philip Baker

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2 Responses to "Committee Update – Group Rides"

  1. robert drake robert drake says:

    Thanks to all those involved for their hard work on behalf of the club.

  2. Jon Lane says:

    Echoing Bob’s appreciation for the efforts – Thanks Committee folks (-: Cheers! Jon Lane