Guidelines for Creating a Club Ride

Some clubs call it “caravanning”, others’ “cruising”, and still others call them “rides”.  No matter what you call them, if you are going to lead a group on a cruise, there are some guidelines that will make it easier for you and more pleasing to your guests. 

Development

• First talk to the Club’s area representative or vice-president, who is responsible for approving cruises. Find out the rules and regulations required. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
   

• Lay out your route beforehand and do a few dry runs.  Don’t forget to consider traffic conditions on the day and time of your event. Add about 10%-20% when considering the total time of your event, as a cruise will always take longer than a test run.
   

• While developing a run, keep a lookout for areas you can pull over and regroup every few miles, if necessary and schedule adequate bathroom breaks – for a run that averages 40-60 miles, 1 break is normally enough.
   

• Plan a starting point with ample parking, bathrooms, gas and food nearby. If there will be a meal after the run is concluded, make arrangements for larger meals ahead of time and let the restaurant know how many to expect and when. Check prices of meals and any admissions, etc. so you can alert members of the total trip cost.
   

• Next, make up clear written directions. Provide copies for all the cars and submit a copy to your club cruise coordinator. Write up the announcement of your cruise (with all your contact information) for the website and newsletter.  This will allow others to ask you questions, and generally share information about your cruise.
   

• If this is your first time as leader, feel free to call one of the more experienced members. You won't have much trouble finding somebody who'd love to do a dry run with you.

Leading the Cruise
Communications is the key to a successful drive.  Have a quick meeting before the drive begins going over the directions you distributed and pointing out difficult areas.

Identify all cars that will have radios for communicating and spread them through the pack to relay messages when necessary.  Announce the channel you will be using.

Watch your speed, especially while the caravan is going through areas where there are lights and stop signs. Remember the end of the group has a whip-like action - the end car has to really rev to catch up to the lead car after waiting for the cars in front to get through a stop sign. You may have to go under the speed limit for a while until everyone catches up.

Keep the group together. Slow down - or pull over - until everyone is back in line and observe all traffic rules. Be considerate of drivers who are not part of the group. Don't expect that everyone will let the entire line go at once. Don't block public access or block traffic trying to get the line together.

Instructing your group
Each car in your group has some responsibilities as well. It might be a good idea to pass out the following sheet to each driver before a cruise:
 

There is NO passing in a caravan.

Position Yourself.

Watch the group: No one gets left behind.
 

Anticipate.

Always drive 5 cars ahead. If the brake lights come on, the 4 cars in front of you are either going to be on the brakes or in the trunk of the car in front of it.
 

We all pull out Together.

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