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Serk Ride Leader Guide

 

Thanks for taking the time to help out with the ride. We really appreciate your time and assistance !

Benefits :

1. You get a free ride on the day. Lets be honest though being a ride leader can be a pain in butt as you'll most likely be looking after the slowest / least experienced rider so you might not be as enjoyable as your regular Serk ride where you can ride at your own pace with your mates. So to make up for that we offer you ;

2. Another free ride on any week you choose. We will add on 1 ride to your ride pass so you'll get your chance to ride at your own pace with your mates !

3. Free coffee pre ride and free beer post ride. Please come at 6am (summer) to grab your coffee ! After the ride you are welcome to a free beer from the fridge at Serk.

 

What you need to do :

 

1. Pre-ride

Familiarise yourself with the route. Check it out on RidewithGPS and make sure you know how to get around it roughly incase your technology fails. Put the route on your Garmin. Load it on the Garmin to make sure it works. Riders will be relying on you for navigation so make sure it all works ! Check out locations to stop for water. These will often be marked in the GPS files. If unsure ask Shannon.

Ensure your bike is in top working order. Pump your tyres up the night before, fill your bottles before you get to Serk. You'll be busy helping people so wont have time to do these things just before the ride.

Make sure you have a pump with you and a spare tube. If you have space take a second one which a rider may need. Serk will replace the tube if used by a guest rider.

 

2. Help load bikes in the morning

Please arrive at 6am (summer time) to help load bikes into the vans. Check with Ride Day Serk Leader if there is any special loading order beforehand. Encourage riders to head into the shop to check in for the ride and grab a coffee. Grab their bike and load it onto the van. The Serk Merc also needs to be loaded. It is a little more complicated so usually one of the Serk staff will load it. If you know how the rack system works please feel free to help with the loading!

 

3. Provide info to riders

When its time to go we will all jump into the vans and depart. Try to spread the ride leaders across the vans so that riders have someone to ask questions to on the journey out. If you can't answer a question just ask Liman, Shannon or JJ on WeChat and we will try and get back to while on the road!

Before we get to the starting point in the vans please kit up so you are pretty much ready to go as soon as we stop. We will need your help to unload bikes and answer questions pump tyres etc etc.

 

4. Help unload bikes + assemble for the ride

Help the drivers unload the bikes. Find a place to securely store the bikes - against a wall or gently place them flat on the ground.  Some riders may need help using the pump or sorting out a mechanical issue with their bike. Help them if you can.

Designate a location to assemble the riders for your group and let everyone know the location (usually we just suggest next to one of the vans)

 

5. Ride briefing

Once all the riders are kitted up and ready to go and assembled its time for a quick chat.

Always ask for a quick hands up for who does not have the route on their garmin or phone. Take a note of these riders as you will need to pay special attention to them. Try and pair up riders that don't have the route with those that do. Check everyone has water, spare tube and pump.

Make sure that the riders assembled are in the right group - i.e. it would be a disaster if a C rider started on the A loop.

Go over the rough order of the route - Eg - 5 climbs all together, first climb at point xxx, etc

Set the tone of the ride. Suggest an easy start to keep the group together and regroup at the top of the climbs. If there are big differences in abilities between the fastest and slowest rider this might not be possible.

Make sure that riders have the emergency contact numbers (these are listed in the group notice in the ride WeChat group)

 

6. Start riding

Hopefully the ride start out nice and calmly and everyone has a chance to chat. Once the first climb arrives you will soon see who the stragglers are and who the riders are that want to power ahead.

Try and stay with the slowest rider unless they know where they are going and are comfortable navigating on their own.

If a group goes ahead make sure they know the way otherwise they need to wait for the ride leader at corners so nobody gets lost.

 

7. Finishing the ride

When you arrive back at the vans try and fill a van and send it back to beijing.

When van is full make sure there are no bags on board from other riders and take a photo of the van so you have a record of who is in there.

8. Loading the Vans

Assist the drivers putting the bikes in the van - one at a time and pay special attention to the rear derailleur. 

Load riders' bikes first and make sure every van has a person sending Alf/Xi a message that they are on the way and the ETA of the van. After the last van is loaded and ready to go, load your own bike 😉

Make sure there is a piece of cloth between the bikes.The early vans can leave without every seat taken if there was space in the vans when they left serk. Ie. If total headcount was 27 and there are 29 seats available then the first bus can leave with 2 vacant seats if riders are in a hurry to get back. Serk staff will let you know the headcount.

When back at Serk please make sure that hire bikes are put back in the shop.

9. In case of emergency

If a rider crashes or has a serious problem this is the process you should follow ;

A. Attend to the riders needs first

If they have crashed help them get up and move away from the road. In the case that they have injured their back or neck do not move the rider. Instead send someone up the road to warn oncoming traffic. If there is no one around find an object to put on the road in the distance to alert drivers.

 

B. Call a Serk staff member

Liman 135-0122-5775

Shannon 134-2647-4634

JJ 132-6976-0236

Pang Shifu (head driver - Chinese only) 139-1033-6132
C. In case of serious incidents call Ambulance and Police on 999.

 

9. Basic First Aid

Here is a link to some basic first aid advice for cyclists :

https://totalwomenscycling.com/commuting/first-aid-tips-common-cycling-injuries-29501/