Group Riding - Your Thoughts

[Hondo]

I've been doing a lot of group riding lately and enjoy it quite a bit because of the extra challenges it brings.

But there are many opinions regarding rider position, rider order, hazards, and experience levels, so I thought I'd bring up the topic for discussion.

Your thoughts & opinions on technique and experiences to share with the members are most welcome-

[happycommuter]

For me the main advantage of riding is being able to get around other motorists, and group riding removes this. The freedom limitation also adds stress, and you are now looking out for the safety of a group, instead of just yourself.

The right group is key (see chart below).  I've ridden with doddering types that slowed down so much for corners that I thought they'd fall over and gone through gravel-strewn blind corners at breakneck speed with track junkies.  Neither was much fun.  Unsurprisingly the first group forbade passing whereas you could get passed in your own lane with the latter.  Riders who are on the same wavelength are a rare delight.  Also, people whose riding style you know is better than trying to predict the habits of the stranger in front of you.

That said, I definitely love following somebody who knows good roads.  I'm not worrying about getting lost, and I get to follow his line with confidence.  I picked up skills doing so as a beginner, and still realize I have a lot to learn.

Regardless of what reprobate speed-demons I've ridden with, I never gotten left behind.  After I opted not to pass that minivan on the double line or to not squeeze through the yellow light, the group was alway pulled off waiting ahead without a bad word to say.  Funniest 'rule' I heard was that if anyone was stopped by the law, the group would wait for them ... a few miles up the road. 

might need to right-click>view to read

[DesignFlaw06]

Most of the time when I ride in groups, it's for pleasure. So everyone can enjoy the ride. That being said, I like to stay with the group. That means tightening up when approaching traffic signals, knowing where you're going to begin with, and also understanding the ability of the people around you. Always ride in staggered formation, with plenty of distance for the riders in front of you.

And I'm always up for a ride if anyone's up in Michigan on the west side.

Tim

[detdrbuzzard]

I rarely ride in a group and then it's just three in the group

[beardking]

So far, my riding has consisted of about 99.9% riding alone, but mostly in commuter hell...I mean, traffic.  The other .01% consisted of one day of riding with my brother and one day of being part of a very large group on a Toys for Tots run.  While both of these days were fun, I have to say that riding with just my brother was more fun.  Partially because I knew everyone I was with (didn't know anyone but me on the T4T run), and partially because I didn't feel quite so out of place.  In the big group, I'm pretty positive I was the most inexperienced rider and I'm even more positive that the guy behind me was going nuts with my inability to stay on one side or the other of my lane.  ;-)  Because I'm used to riding in commuter traffic, I have a tendency to take up as much of the lane as possible and I wasn't able to turn that off for that day.  Maybe with more practice I'll be able to enjoy those more.

[dbracing]

I really enjoy riding in a group, and for the months that we are in the keys, that is about all the riding we do. Here at home, I enjoy riding with friends mostly because I enjoy people so much but I have no problem whatsoever riding out in the country alone. Sometimes, the peace in being with the beauty of the country is quite special.

Being a somewhat young street rider, all the peace and joy I find takes me back to my earlier dirt riding days. I rode an event that lasted a number of days across the highlands of Scotland, and riding in the country here in the midwest, in my mind, approaches that experience.

[bbrovold]

I am only comfortable riding in a group if it is single file and all at a safe distance with no "hot dogs" leading the pack and no newbies in the middle.

[Racinjasan]

Fortunately, the group I ride with consists of 2 sportbikes, 2 Harleys, and 2 new guys plus myself. We keep the new guys in the middle and watch over them carefully. The sport bikes are free to take off if they wish. Most of us have riden together for years so the familiarity factor helps greatly. We state the road rules before going out every time so that we are all on the same page and generally keep the newer guys in our thoughts in 95% of the riding we do (100% would be lying). The big word is "Ride your own ride" and if you feel uncomfortable, slow down/stop. We will not leave you hanging.

[Snoopy]

90% i ride alone with commuting, the other 10% im with someone i know and know their riding habits.  I mostly ride with my father and another good buddy, i would be in the middle since i have the least amount of riding time (seven years).  Now when i ride with my other buddy i usually let him lead since he is WAY less experianced then I am and that way if he has issues i dont have to whip around.  I will ride with a group or alone, either way i m riding.  the biggest group i have ridden with is 6 total.  Much bigger then that and its just too big a hassle. 

[Old_Rider_54]

Ran across this article - focused on large group rides : http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle221.htm

[n5tbu]

I prefer riding alone,it is less to worry about.

[DesignFlaw06]

Ran across this article - focused on large group rides : http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle221.htm

I like that it mentions fuel BEFORE the ride. Our ride last Thursday ran into this problem. Since those rides rarely go over 60 miles, there is no reason anyone should have to fuel up during the course of the night. But it happened to be one of the last two riders, who decided to dart into a gas station as we were going through a somewhat tricky interchange. After we got through, I noticed we were two bikes short. After waiting for a few minutes, I left the group that followed and went back through the way we came. Could not find them at all.

Which brings us to another good point. Make sure everyone has a clear idea of where the destination is. Put someone who is very familiar with the route at the end. We were headed to a place that has two locations fairly close to each other. The other two riders went the way that I had told everyone to avoid due to road construction. So ultimately we ended up in a situation where the rest of the group is concerned about the safety of those two riders. Thankfully everyone was OK and it turned out to be no big deal.

Another word on fuel. When you stop for fuel, everyone fills up. You never want to be the one who runs out of gas first. Nor does the group want to make 10 stops along the way.

[LOKi]

Rode in a scooter rally once in New Orleans with well over 100 bikes. Eventually the group fell into a staggered formation but the start was terrifying. So to start this ride all 100 scooters crowded into an intersection in front of a bar. Yes some or most had at least a drink or two first. Your sitting in the middle of 100 two stroke bikes popping and smoking when the lead guy just takes of. All at once everyone just goes. It reminded me of a super cross start but without the ensuing pile up at the first turn. No one wrecked and all was good. No sudden moves! Thing is if anyone had freaked out and stopped or turned it would have caused a major pile up.

Now days I either ride alone or with my two roommates. One has electronic cruise control so always takes lead. His girl friend has less experience than I so takes the middle on the HWY. Once we leave the HWY and get on twisty roads I pass her to enjoy the turns with the lead. She likes to take it a little slower and enjoy the scenery. We speed through the turns then drive ridiculously slow on the straightaways until we see her come around the last corner.

[BlackLabel82]

Staggered with at least a car length between riders if possible. Most experienced riders in the front and back to help keep things in "order". I had a buddy go down in front of me once...had I not allowed some distance between us, I would have ran right over him. People should never ride side by side in my opinion. I think it is good for an experienced rider to be in the rear so that they can help the others fall into better "form". The front man should set a decent pace that is comfortable and safe for everyone in the group.

We do have a couple of guys that ride with us that are new riders....they hang back in the curves, but we slow up like Loki said in the straight-aways and let em' catch up. I try to always keep them in my rear view if possible, just so I know they're still ok.

[snuff217]

Probably 60% percent of my riding is by myself, the rest of the time I ride with one or two other guys. I have never ridden with more than three bikes together, but the number of friends that have bikes seems to be going up, so I will probably be riding with larger groups later this year

[Rusty B]

I fell in with a group of three the other day on my way home.
I cought up with them and was able to watch them.
They were doing real good staggered out just right.
As I cought up with them I just fell in behind the last bike, as traffic allowed.
I ran with them about 8 miles, and they were very smooth they had probably done this before.
As they turned off to go there seperate way, and I went straight I got a wave from all of them.
That is the kind of group you don't mind riding with.
Most of my riding is by myself so far, but will group up in pairs as the weather gets better and we go to work the same way.
There are about a dozen of us that ride, comming in from two directions. The speed deamon sport bikes seem to all be from the north, and all the crusiers come from the south.
Me and my street bike will be with the crusiers, cause I don't want to ride as fast as the sport bikes do.
There is one Gold Wing, I guess I'll ride with him.

Rusty     
 

[ROJ]

I always group up to another rider, if traffic allows, if I come up behind them. If they come up behind me I take them into account and ride as a group leader, not as two seperate bikes together.
I actually came up behind another bike a couple weeks ago, and tried to group up with him, but every time I staggered, he would come over into that side of the lane in front of me. After about 20 km ew both pulled into a store parking lot, and he asked why I was trying to stagger him.. He thought it was because I wanted to pass him without going into the on-coming traffic lane. Turns out he had just bought his bike (BMW R1200S) and this was his third time out on it. Had never ridden in a group before, and didn't understand it (which is weird because you need to know that stuff in order to pass the motorcycle written test). So now he knows, and won't be weaving all over the place in the lane when another bike gets in behind him.

[n5tbu]

Might be OK for just a ride to nowhere,but last weekend me and my neighbor went up to Arkansas for 4 days and we didn't do near as many miles as I did in a 3 day ride the week before by my lonesome! Different riding styles for sure!
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