For those of you who are not sure how the "Second man drop off system" works, here is a description of what should happen. This was kindly provided by Denis O'Neil. If anyone would like to modify Denis's suggestion in any way, please email me, Bob Johnson.
Before the start you need to
identify both the leader and the tail end Charley, MAKING A
MENTAL NOTE
OF THEIR BIKES AND CLOTHING.
When you are the second man in the
pack, and the leader turns off the main route to the left or the right. You
should stop and mark the route for the rest of the pack. When you see the tail
end Charley you should rejoin the pack just in front of him. In this way
with each man taking his turn, you will gradually get to the front of the pack
and may become second man
again.
Two golden
rules, which must be applied in combination with each other to make the system
work.
When you are the second man
who has dropped off and are indicating the way
wait for as
long as it takes for the tail end Charley, ( Do not under any circumstances
move off until he comes along).
Always keep the man
behind you in sight, if you haven’t seen him for some time, slow
down and if he still doesn't show, stop and wait for him, if a problem (say
breakdown ) arises this process will then be passed forward to the lead man
who will soon know because there will be no one behind him.
When rejoining the pack after
marking the route, try and rejoin just in front of the tail end Charley but
this is not always possible or safe. In which case rejoin after he has past
and overtake him as soon as it’s safe to do so.
At islands where the leader goes straight on we do not normally mark the islands, but where straight on is not obvious (Island with more than four adjoining roads) it is best to mark the route. if in doubt, mark it. It does no harm to over mark.
When marking the route it is best to stop just inside the mouth of the road into which we are turning in clear view of the rest of the pack. Every junction is different and it may be best to stop just in-front of say a left hand turning with your left hand outstretched pointing the way. But above all you must put your own safety first.
If you are new to the system and don't feel confident in taking your turn, don't worry just keep towards the back of the pack calling riders past and giving the thumbs up sign to let then know everything is OK. After you have ridden with us a few times you will soon catch on.
Because of their size combos do not take a turn as second
man and should be towards the back of the pack. I would suggest that when a
combo finds himself in second position that he finds a safe place to pull over
and let the rest of the pack pass him. Otherwise when the combo becomes
second man it falls to the 3rd man to drop of which causes complication and
confusion and the lead man can't always see if the third man is on his tail
and has marked the route.
Some leaders of the pack will give
a left hand gesture to the second man pointing to where he wants you to stop
and mark the route.
You may feel that some turnings are obvious, and don't need
to be marked. But what seems obvious to one person is not always obvious to
others. Marking a turning you think is obvious will do no harm but not marking
a turning because you think its obvious may mislead followers.
Try and have a little
empathy and see things from other peoples point of view. When you have been
left behind and worried about where to go and then see a fellow rider waiting
and marking the way for you, it's very welcoming and makes you feel part of
the group..
Your constructive comments are welcome.
Den