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"You will always be in our hearts and on our roads." - @Giro d'Italia on Michele Scarponi
@The_Other_Rob
Just to add my 2 cents as someone who is looking to join (don't worry @shannonball, its all in hand) and has been out on the last two shorter rides.
The standard of riding varied greatly from those that had hardly ridden a bike to those that had obviously been riding in groups for a long time. As someone that is pretty comfortable on the bike and I feel I have pretty good bike handling skills (commuting into London each day from High Barnet), but have never ridden in a group.
It may have been a good idea for the leader of the ride to make sure that everyone understood the signals (pot hole, slow, etc) and the shouts, prior to the ride - there are only a few and it wouldn’t take long.
Secondly as most people looking to join will generally join the shorter rides it would be good if the members "buddied" up with those faces that arent familiar and took the time to find out a bit about them and their riding experience.
Safety is paramount and I am sure is the primary concern for all (I assume we mostly have to go back to work on Mondays). So maybe before someone is accepted as a member they have to go along to the group riding workshop, even if that is just a basic introduction.
Finally, for me, Sunday rides are all about the social aspect, so I would happily ride two abreast at all times and happily chat to who ever I was paired with. And happily encourage those that are nervous and new to the whole thing. Cycling should be inclusive not exclusive.
(aka rubertoe on Bikeradar)