Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

"Look out for the rider behind you" is the rule when riding offroad in a large group.  Together with the rule of waiting at turn-offs until the following rider acknowledges that he know which way to turn.

With these two rules it is possible to keep a large group of riders, dispersed over many kilometers with several turn-offs, on the same route.  Provided the last rider knows that he is the last rider.  Otherwise he ends up waiting at the turn-off indefinitely.

How the sweep gets confused

So, how could a person possibly not know that he is the last rider?

1. The last rider overtakes someone, but does not tell them that they are now the sweep.
2. A rider stops for some reason, and some bikes pass him, including the sweep who does not stop to wait the way he should.  Or he does stop, but the rider waves him on without realising that this is the sweep he is waving on and he must now take on the sweep's duties.
3. General confusion when everybody rushes  off from a rest stop in an endeavour to not be left behind.
4. Changes to the sweep without announcement, and
5. The backup vehicle goes via a different route to the bikes and the riders are not made aware of it.

On the West Coast trip, (5) and (1) happened to me after the stop at Lutzville.  I waited for 10 minutes at a t-junction unaware that I was the last rider and that the backup vehicle was going a different route.

I elected to ride back to Lutzville to see where the backup vehicle was.  It was gone so I knew I was now the last rider and no vehicle would be following.

I eventually encountered the second-to-last rider waiting for me at Doringbaai turn-off.  I told him we were the last two and we set off to catch up.

Waiting at turns

This is crucial.  If you have to go back to see what the delay is, then make sure you chaperone everyone you encounter behind you back to your abandoned post at the turn.

Otherwise you end up with my situation.  The two of us encountered someone coming back to see where we were.  They did a u-turn and followed us.

Unbeknown to me, the route Geoff followed was not the familiar one we usually ride.  At the usual turn-off I assumed that this was where the turn-back rider had gotten impatient, so I took the turn and hightailed it down the road trying to catch up.  The others were trying to tell me not to turn, but they couldn't catch me.

My mistake was to assume that the abandoned post was abandoned.   I should have been religious about it and just stopped right there until someone told me where to turn or not.

Know your destination

Eventually, I get to a t-junction where the group usually waits for everyone.  No group.  I stop.  The others caught up to me and told me we had made a wrong turn.  By now it was a long way back.

We replotted a route to our destination (which ended up rejoining the main group some time later).

But, perhaps we should have turned back.  Because at the next real turn there was someone diligently waiting for over an hour for a group that would never come.   There was no cell reception, and he did not have a map or GPS.

Eventually he moved on and when he reached a town was able to find out what had happened and eventually join up with us.

Although all turned out well, there was a lot of unnecessary stress caused by a comedy of errors and assumptions.

New Rules

1. Every leg of the trip, all riders need to know who is sweeping that leg, and where the backup vehicle will be.
2. The second-last rider must wait for the sweep (especially after stops), in case his bike does not start or he has other problems.  Make sure the sweep is  rolling before you take off.
3. When the last rider passes someone, make sure they know that they are now the last rider.
4. Do not turn off the main route unless there is a rider ahead showing you to turn.  In turn, wait there to show the rider behind you (and wait for the thumbs-up signal always).
5. Do not turn back to see what the problem is, unless you endeavour to lead everyone behind you back onto the route.