Sprinting is an important part of bicycle racing, and a generally fun thing to do on a bike. Sooner or later, as you become a stronger rider and join in on group rides, you will find yourself taking off to be the first one to the mythical finish line, probably a city limits sign.
In a race, the sprint is conducted on a race course that is closed to other traffic. Even still, if you've ever watched sprint finishes at the Tour de France you've probably seen some very spectacular crashes. When you sprint, the probability that you will be involved in a crash goes way up. On the open roads where touring and training rides are, the danger is much higher because of the possibility of melding with a car.
When you sprint in a bicycle race, it is either at a designated point that everyone knows about, or as a tactic to break away from the rest of the riders or otherwise break up the group. With the possible exception of the A Rides, this latter type of sprinting is not done on group touring and training rides. So this leaves the sprint to a designated point.
One problem we have with sprints on touring and training rides is that in many cases they are spontaneous, occurring when someone catches sight of a city limits sign. Whereas in a race, everyone knows that the points sprint is at mile 35, on one of our rides many of the riders will not know what is going on, and as a result may perform maneuvers that are dangerous to the sprinters. It may seem like fun to get the jump on someone, but surprises and resulting erratic maneuvers are dangerous.
In August, one of these spontaneous sprints broke out at the end of a long training ride, and the result for one rider was an expensive wheel that looked more like a taco, and for the other a cracked helmet, collarbone, and shoulder blade, and of course, liberal abrasions for both.
If after reading this you still want to do sprints on your ride, please use the following guidelines:
1. DO NOT sprint unless everyone on the ride knows where the sprint is to occur, preferably agreed to before the ride starts.
2. If there is motor vehicle traffic on the road when you reach the sprint location, DO NOT sprint.
3. Those doing the sprint should move away from those not doing the sprint, and those not doing the sprint should back off as the location approaches. If you are behind someone who is not in the sprint, DO NOT sprint. After the sprint, ease up and let the group reform.