2017 TASMANIACS WINTER LAKES RIDE FINAL CALL

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Just under 4 weeks to go until we head off on the 2017 Tasmaniacs Winter Lakes Ride. Now is the time to get your bikes ready. MITAS tyres are offering WLR riders discounted fresh rubber through Servicemoto. Call in and see them – you will need all the grip you can get.

  • IMPORTANT – You have 7 days left to book your lunches via the link at the top of the page. If you require catering please book now or carry your own lunch.
  • IMPORTANT – We are asking riders to arrive earlier – we are leaving at 8:30AM so please be at Wayatinah Golf Club geared up by 8am for riders briefing. Anybody not attending the riders briefing should not ride.
  • IMPORTANT – You need to be self-sufficient. This is a social charity ride with no entry fee or forms so you need to be ready for anything. This included being stuck in sub zero temperatures for hours at a time. There is a very real risk of hypothermia.
  • If you have any questions, ask them before the ride. Better to be clear at the start than lost for 2 hours.

CORNERMAN BASICS

  • You have a lead rider (in front all day) and a sweep rider (at the back all day)! They usually both wear bright vests so you know who they are. You ride between them all day!
  • If you are behind the lead rider coming up to a corner, he will point at the corner. This means you stop your bike, face it in the direction he went, blocking the other direction. Once everyone has passed, the sweep rider will wave you on to go in front of him. If he doesn’t wave wait for his advice. There may be a stricken bike or rider stuck on the track.
  • Often on main roads with tracks running off them the lead rider may not drop cornermen there, it is obvious that they are not turning, so neither should you.

RIDERS RESPONSIBILITIES

  • NEVER LEAVE YOUR CORNER. Sometimes you can be there for an hour if someone has broken down. Stay at your corner! The system depends on everyone!
  • Nod at the lead rider so he knows you recognise you have to stop when he is pointing.
  • If you are behind the lead rider and you pass a corner that the lead rider does not see, that you think people may get confused on, stop anyway.
  • Be careful when passing people. We are trail riding, not racing. If someone is behind you wanting to get past, point a leg out to let them pass at a suitable point

OTHER TIPS

  • To help keep the group moving count the riders going through, and be ready to ride off when the sweep rider gets there. Don’t pull your helmet off and light a smoke – we will leave you behind Top Gear style if we see that.
  • If the sweep rider is behind you and you are coming up to the next corner, tap your helmet so that cornerman knows he should be ready to take off.
  • Slower riders (especially in Winter) should take off at the front of the group after everyone has stopped. The ground will be less cut up and it will be easier to get up the hills, before all the good riders carve it up.
  • Do not stop around blind corners. Give each rider an opportunity to see you and which way to go.
  • The lead rider may stop you before a hazard, such as a log or bog hole, not just a corner!
  • Look before you cross a road, even if there is a cornerman there! It is your life, keep it!

MOST IMPORTANT!! If you get lost, go back to the last place you know you have seen people from your group and wait. Don’t move again. Someone will realise your lost and back track to find you.

HAND SIGNALS

  • Pointing ahead means go go go. Often this is only a nod so be looking for it.
  • A hand straight up from the rider in front or behind means slow down or get ready to stop, there is something on the track ahead or we need to regroup.
  • Arms straight out to the left or right give an indication to the riders behind that the next turn is a left or right and to be ready for it.
  • Arms up or down diagonally means check out that large tree, animal, geographic feature.
  • Patting a basketball motion means slow down for livestock or rubberneck tourists.