Understanding Your Role: The Cyclist Responsibility Form

As a cyclist, be aware that there are risks, hazards and dangers inherent in cycling. It is your responsibility to operate your bicycle and conduct yourself in an alert, cautious and prudent manner at all times. Your assumption of this responsibility is imperative as Cycle of Life Adventures strives to ensure your safety and the safety of others in the group.

Your personal responsibility includes, but is not limited to, the following cycling practices and principles:

• * Always wear a helmet.
• * Ride with traffic (on the right side of the road)
• * Ride single file - never ride two or three abreast.
• * Call out your intentions.
• * Control your speed on the downhill. Know that there may be sand, gravel or other debris commonly on the road. Never take your hands off the handlebars during the descent.
• * Be alert for changing road conditions, potholes, gravel, sand, standing water, and even ice.
• * Beware of the hazards of riding in a paceline and other forms of drafting. It is safer to keep at least two bike lengths between you and the cyclist in front.
• * Walk over railroad tracks and cattle guards if you are not experienced, particularly if you cannot cross these hazards perpendicularly.
• * Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• * Use hand signals when turning and stopping to alert cyclists and motorists alike.
• * If you stop cycling for whatever reason, pull completely off the road.
• * Dogs - try to outrun them if you feel reasonably confident that you will win the race. If you lose, or decide to dismount and walk through the dog’s territory, keep your bike between you and the dog. Dogs usually won’t chase you past their territorial boundaries. Do not veer out into the center of the roadway to avoid the dog.