The Road Captain (RC) is the ride leader. The RC plans the route and controls the run to assure the safe and pleasurable passage of everyone. The RC stays in the front position and controls the pace and tone of the ride. The RC will plan rest and gas stops, but YOU should arrive with a full tank and an empty bladder. YOU are responsible for your own warmth, dryness and personal comfort and are expected to have your machine in a state of good repair and readiness.

The Sweep Rider remains at the rear of the group. The Sweeper assures that no one gets stranded on the road and tries to maintain the "wholeness" of the group. The group is in effect sandwiched between the RC and Sweeper. The Sweep will signal blockers to rejoin the ride and provides a consistent "last person". Should you decide to leave the group, it is best to signal with an OK sign and goodbye wave.

Blockers assist in getting the band through intersections safely, quickly, and efficiently. While technically illegal, blocking also eases the effect of the passage on traffic in general. It also helps to avert any rider or riders from making a risky choice rather than chance being separated from the rest. Blockers, when directed to a position by the RC, should activate their flashers just prior to pulling out of formation. The flashers should be shut off after rejoining just ahead of the sweeper. While blocking it is wise to remain in gear and ready to move should another vehicle ignore the request to wait A "stop" hand signal is suggested while blocking and is most easily accomplished by the passenger if present. A "thank you" signal by blockers and sweeper as well is a nice touch and usually appreciated. Since a blocker assumes the responsibility of holding up traffic, plus a remote possibility of a traffic violation, it is of course voluntary. Should you have no desire to block, position yourself toward the rear of the pack. In the event that you later anticipate being called upon, signal rearward riders ahead of you at an appropriate time. NEVER do what you are not comfortable doing.

Group Riding

Maintain your level of comfort! Do not feel you must keep up or meet anyone's expectations and sacrificing safety as a result. We will not lose you and the group will adjust to everyone's comfort level. Always think safety for both you and your fellow riders.

Try to keep the formation tight, but allow traffic to merge through the group to enter and exit the highway. Don't feel impatient to regroup if a car integrates. We are not tethered together. You do not have to act recklessly on the impulse that a car has split the group. Most cars are as uncomfortable being in between bikes and in time they will leave. Just be patient!

Passing other vehicles should be done one-by-one, two's at the most but never as a group. The lead bike should not attempt to initiate passing unless he/she estimates that there will be sufficient room and time to allow the entire mini-group to pass safely. The rightmost rider should yield extra space so the leftmost rider has room to pass.

Maintain your lane position unless you need to ride up to fill a gap in the formation.

Fill gaps in the event a rider drops out of the ride. This should take place with the vacated column moving forward. In other words, Rider 1 is up front on the right. Rider 2 is to the left, rider 3 to the right, 4 left, etc. If rider 2 drops out, riders 4, 6, 8, etc should move forward filling the gap. This minimizes the danger of right and left shifting lanes as would happen if rider 3 had moved into position 2.

At traffic signal stops, pull side-by-side. When starting out again, both bikes leave together with the right being allowed to accelerate a little faster in order to re-stagger the group.

Hand Signals should be understood by every rider in the group and passed back when used by the lead riders. Print these examples and learn them.

Avoid waving to other riders or pointing to things while riding in a group which may be misinterpreted as hand signals.

If another bike gets too close to your comfort level, signal him/her to back off.

On turns at intersections, let the rider who was travelling ahead of you go first.

Know the route ahead of you and never run stop signs or traffic signals to keep up... the group will slow down, pull over or exercise the Last Rider Rule, allowing all to catch up.

The Last Rider Rule: After making a turn, look behind you. If the group has separated from behind you - WAIT - at that intersection for the rest of the group to catch up, so they don't miss the turn. Any section of the group ahead of you will be waiting at the next turn to direct you, and so-on. This is important so that everyone knows where the group has made turns.

If you are going to leave the group inform the group leader. If you become separated from the group, stay on the designated route. If you make any stops, stay within view from the road so as to be spotted by road captains.

For Emergency Pull-Off, signal your intentions to the bike following and proceed to the shoulder. A Sweeper rider behind will pull-off to render assistance. The remaining bikes should stay on the road to continue to the next rest stop or designated stop, whichever comes first.

Pay attention to directions and instructions from the Road Captain prior to departure.

Each rider is expected to have their cycle in proper working condition with a full tank of gas (but empty bladder). Be prepared for inclement weather. You should be alert and feeling well. Perform a safety check (tire pressure, turn signals, stop lights, oil, parts loosened by vibration). Your bike is to be licensed, inspected and insured.

Alcoholic beverages and recreational drugs are frowned upon by the club. You're riding in formations and must be sharp and alert.

Group riding involves BrainPower, not HorsePower. It is easy to be mesmerized and/or hypnotized into feeling connected to the bike in front of you. It is important to avoid this, and to stay alert.

Don't be afraid to split from the group if you are uncomfortable or the group is becoming a "bad experience". If the bikes you're with are not riding safe or you're having a tough time, hang a right and get "lost". It's fun to ride in a group but it's equally fun to cut loose on the back roads alone.

Uganda Bikers Association generally rides in a stagger formation for safety reasons. The minimum recommended spacing to the bike directly in front of you should not be less than two seconds (the two second rule). The bike in the lane to your left or right should not be less than one second ahead of you. You will find that two seconds is a long distance when riding at highway speeds. That is it's a long distance when everything is going well. When things go wrong, however, two seconds distance is gone in the time it takes to figure out you are in trouble.

The two second rule is a rule of thumb should try to adhere to this rule when possible, especially at highway speeds. There are times, however when it is best to squeeze together while in city streets & while slowing for a stop. This will help prevent cars from entering the group.

The last bike should ride in the middle of the two bike lanes with all head lights and running lights on. This will help the lead bike see the last bike. Refer to the image to the right.

As a group, it can be difficult to pass a slow moving car on any road with two or more lanes of same-direction traffic. This is especially true with moderate to heavy traffic. Often there is not enough room for the entire group to get between cars in the faster lane.

The way to accomplish this is for the last bike to pull over one lane to the right and hold his position. Each rider should move to the rigth lane as the cars in front of the rear biker pass them. You can then pass the slow car as a group after the lead rider moves to the right lane.

The lead rider should move back to the left lane after passing the slow car by a safe distance. It is very important that the lead rider maintain speed to make room for all the other riders. Each rider should move back to the left lane one at a time once safely cleared the slow car. This can be a real slick choreographed move for other motorists to observe.

It is usually very difficult for a group to pass a slow moving car on a two lane road. Generally the UBA will not pass a car on a two lane road, particularly on local rides, unless it is going very slow. If the lead biker decides to pass the car, each biker must decide on his own if it is safe for him or her. DO NOT follow the bike in front of you unless you are certain that it is safe for you too.

IMPORTANT: After passing the car, keep going. You must make room for all the bikes behind you. 

When stopping as a group at an intersection, break stagger formation and pull up beside the bike in the adjacent lane. This will reduce the length of the group by half. Stay in this formation until you are through the intersection. Because the group is half as long it will take half the time to clear the intersection and increase the odds of keeping the group intact.

If you don't make it through the intersection with the group, don't worry. Don't take a chance and run a red light. The leader will know that you are not with the group and will slow down, or wait for you down the road.

Parking in an orderly method substantially reduces the time for all to get off the road and out of traffic. There is risk of injury for the last bikes that may be blocking the road in an attempt to stay with the group.

A good way to park, if there is room, is for each bike to pull ahead of the intended parking place and then back up into your spot. You can see how this is done on the image to the right. This can be done very fast because you don't have to wait for the bike ahead of you to finish the job.

If you find yourself at the end of the group and can't get off the road while waiting for others to park, GO AROUND. Come back a minute or two later when things have settled down and take your time.