Southern Tier Supported

[Tutapona]

I'm planning a supported Southern Tier tour with a small group in the fall.  Does anyone know if a car can follow slowly behind a rider on the roads of the Southern Tier route?  Where can I find that information?  Thanks.

[Pat Lamb]

I suppose you could have a car follow you or your group almost all the way.

But I'd suggest you think about what you're asking, and think better of it.  A cyclist is pretty easy for a motorist to get around in almost all situations.  A car, van, or SUV rolling along at 4-24 mph is a rolling obstruction that's a lot harder to pass, especially on the smaller roads ACA (and most cyclists) prefer.

You'd do much better to arrange to have your support driver meet you every hour and a half to two hours.  That would be easier on the driver, and the vehicle is still close enough to provide support.  If you consider "supported" rides, most of them space SAG stops like that.  You can get your food, drinks, sunscreen, etc. at reasonable intervals, and the SAG vehicle passing you about half way between stops provides an extra level of support in those areas where cell phones don't cover the entire route.  You can arrange to meet in a town 20 miles down the road, or the driver can pick a good place to park and wait for you between towns.

The latter situation also makes it easier to support cyclists in a "group" who aren't riding together.  Groups larger than a couple people often split, IME, and may recombine further down the road.

[Tutapona]

Thank you for the feedback.  I should have clarified a bit.  We are planning for 8 riders to cross the US in 8 days.  To do this each rider will ride solo in 2 hours shifts.  So 1 rider will be on the road at all times, 24 hours per day.  In most cases the support vehicle will go ahead to meet the rider at the end of his shift for the transition to the next rider.  However, in the middle of the night in remote locations I thought it would be wise to have a vehicle follow the rider for safety.  I just wanted to make sure we weren't violating laws.  Thanks for any assistance!

[John Nettles]

You might contact the Race Across America organization since their race is very similar to what you are considering.  I know I have seen them before doing what you want to do.  Whether it is legal or the wisest thing, I do not know.  I would be very concerned about the legalities if the car is rear-ended and the police decided that you were driving "recklessly".  I would guess RAAM would know the answer, at least on their route (not the ST).

Tailwinds, John