Before changing lanes, it is critical to always look behind for traffic to determine if it is safe to move over. This can be difficult, if not impossible in a group, so instead we “signal” for the turn first, but do not move over until the rear of group has moved over and determined it is also safe for the entire group to move over. The rear calls out “take the lane” to let the group know when it is safe for them to move over.
This is a three-step process.
- The rider leader signals the lane change from the front. The group passes this signal back to the rear.
- The rear determines when it is safe for them to move over, and they only move over when it is safe. Now they effectively have blocked any new traffic from continuing in the lane.
- Once the entire lane is cleared from traffic and safe for all of the group to move over, the rear calls out “take the lane.” This is passed up the pace line and the remainder of the group moves over into the lane.
For a multi-lane move this process is repeated each time for each individual lane change.