NewsArticleBody
WHILE riding in NYC with the 5BBC on some of their many excellent group rides, I learned of their clever system that ensures no one gets lost. Even better, no one except the leader really needs a cue sheet! It's called "Point Drop Sweep", which I attempt to describe below. Perfect for the directionally challenged, and everyone gets to spend more time enjoying the scenery and less time staring at their map holder. - LC
The leader in the front is the "point". The leader in the rear is the "sweep." The person directly behind the leader just before a turn, is the "drop". It is important for the remaining riders to stay between the point and the sweep. When a turn comes up, the point will ask the "drop" to stop at the corner and signal the direction to the other riders. After all riders are past the turn, the drop may leave their post just ahead of the sweep. The rules:
In this way, every single turn bar none is "marked" by a person, so that theoretically, no one needs a cue sheet except the leader, and no one is ever lost. The worst case scenario is that the entire group of rides are stretched out for miles, all standing on a corner pointing! Hopefully, not for too long ... Pictured above right: A big group like the BF Club of NY Queen's Ride 2007 led by 5BBC members Ed and Liz Pino benefits from a system like this. Wouldn't want to get lost and not make it to the Lemon Ice King of Corona stop! Some observations:
Historical note from BF Club of NY leader Jim Dyer ... Longtime NYC bike advocate and activist Steven Faust once explained this: Point, drop and sweep was a standard ride technique for the American Youth Hostel Bike Committee (from which the 5BBC is descended) when I started riding with them in the early 1960s. AYH NY Metropolitan Council had been running bicycle tours probably since AYH was founded in the 1930s, and Bike Committee had certainly been operating its formal bike leadership training program from the 1950s.
|
If you are a drop, drop at least two to three car lengths before the turn (less chance of you being in the way of a car making the turn, and it also gives the oncoming rider advance notice of the turn). Signal right or left turns by an outstretched arm and hand, pointing in the direction the rider should go as soon as a rider is within your view. The sooner a rider knows which direction they must turn the sooner they can plan their strategy for making the turn, especially when they need to move over to the left side of the road in traffic. Do not leave your post as a "drop" until the sweep arrives and verbally tells you it's okay for you to proceed. If there is a mechanical or other problem the sweep, if possible, will designate a someone to ride ahead and let the drops know that it will be a while before the sweep arrives. Be prepared to start riding your bicycle as soon as the sweep is within view, and start riding as soon as you have been given the signal to proceed (it's very annoying for a sweep to have to stop at each "drop" and wait for them to get organized and get on their bike to start riding). Please take your "drop" duties seriously. This is not the time to make a telephone call and possibly be distracted and forget to signal the direction to a passing rider. The 5BBC riders get less mechanicals too ... with this thorough 2-minute bike check before anyone even thinks of pedaling away. Now that's a bike club that knows its business ... Thanks also to John Chiarella, Danny Lieberman and Barry Hartglass of the 5bbc for casting their expert eyes over this article. |
RELATED LINKS
The Five Borough Bicycle Club "NY's Friendliest Bike Club"
The WeekDay Cyclists Tue and Thur rides for those on flexible schedules
BF Club of NY Join the Yellow-cab dodging fold plus links to other NY bike clubs
Bike Friday in NY Little wheels bite the big apple
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME "Never get left behind on a mixed group ride" Kevin Pfeiffer from the YAK! offers this variation that allows hammerheads to have their fun but not leave everyone in the dust .. This reminds me of a very similar (but not so complicated) technique I The one rule: the first rider to reach a turn (or a troublesome fork in If the lead rider knows the route she continues on past any potential turns and the others continue on as well ("always straight ahead"); if Works like a charm and avoids the frustration of "riding cold" (staying -Kevin Observation: A sweep still has to stay at the back so that the first rider knows when all have passed. What defines a fork or turn is sometimes debateable, and subject to the judgment of the person who gets to the spot first, rather than a group leader's overriding decision. Riders will also tend to congregate on corners using this this technique - prhaps it's a slightly more social variant of the 5bbc technique! - Ed +++ Chuck Voigtsberger, Ventura CA says: The Adventure Bicycle folks teach a similar method intheir Ride Manager course. Each rider waits at a turn until the next rider shows up and then takes overwaiting for the next rider. That way a really fast rider who doesn't want to wait an hour or more for the slowest rider to reach the turn doesn't have to wait that long, just until the next rider shows up. If a group is riding together, one rider from the group will stay for the following rider. This manuever is done at all turns except those that are so obvious that you can't make a mistake e.g. dead end at a T-intersection where one leg of the T doesn't go more than 100 yards. |