Every ride has it's nuances. Being the newbie in the group is always a struggle. Hopefully, this will help new riders understand what is going on.
This ride has loosely been happening since about 1998. Stories on how the ride formed depend on which of the OGs (old guys) you ask.
This ride spun out of Veloce Santiago. Feel free to visit their site and explore their club. This club is incredibly structured, which is good for learning how to do an organized "team" ride. This structure has driven some of this ride's etiquette, in good and bad ways. The good is you know what will happen. The bad is that newbies maybe be spoken to in loud tones (yelled at) for not playing along. If you are new, please take the loud communication with a packet of salt and realize the yeller is speaking over all the road noise.
Be safe and don't be a jerk!
Call out hazards and make sure the rider behind you knows what you are doing.
If a traffic light splits the group, we tend to soft pedal or wait until the group comes back together.
We stop for mechanicals and flats until the problem is fixed.
There will be designated regrouping points that will tend to have water and bathrooms.
Passing tends to be on the left, but if you need to pass on the right, then announce yourself to the rider you are passing.
Roll time is 7:30. Don't drive into the parking lot at 7:30 and expect the pack to wait for you to get ready. Unless you are buying ALL the coffee after the ride.
Maintin your bike and bring stuff to fix flats.
Learn how to ride a rotating pace line. It is more fun.
The long and medium rides, the pace will pick up and a pace line will start.
This is NOT a competition. Do NOT rotate to the front and then hammer to show how strong you are. Maintain the pace.
Speed changes need to be gradual, not surgy. When you are in the front, think like you are driving a tractor trailer.
If you need to hammer and attack, go look for the boy racer rides, such as: Como Street, Canyon Velo, Food Park, Coffee Crew, and so on.
Left turns are controlled by the person at the back of the group. This means:
The last person in the group eases up to put a few bike lengths between them and the group.
Look for car traffic.
If there are cars, yell "CARS" so everyone else knows there are cars coming and the riders should stay in the bike lane.
If it is safe to turn left, yell "CLEAR" so the group knows it is safe to turn left.
YOU MUST do this if you are on the back. The people in the front cannot see through the pack and see the traffic. Plus, the front people will cause crashes if they have to slow down and look back for traffic.