I went for a ride a couple of weeks ago with a friend on a 675 daytona triumph. We rode pretty sedatley for a few hours and on the way back home gave the firestorm it's head a little on a quite twisty stretch. While I was pulled over waiting for my friend at the turnoff I felt pretty worried he'd had a spill trying to keep up. Thoughts of his 2 1/2 inch chicken strips came to mind and I felt pretty stupid for leaving him behind. I was just about to go look for him when he turned up all in one peice.

Lesson learned though. I would much rather save the faster ridng for a more suitable time and make sure my friend arives home to his family in one peice than pressure him to ride beyond his abilities to keep up.

 

I'm not justifying it at all, but in all fairness, you don't have to fork over a lot of money for an RR bike. And it seems that a lot of "I learned on a ..." stories were small bikes out of available technology or financial necessity, not out of saneness. Seriously how hard would it be as an 18 year old male with a new credit card or some graduation money to not buy a gixxer, if the circumstances allowed? Some manage, but the damn brain isn't wired completely enough to make rational decisions based on possible consequences.

Mini thought complete. Over and out.

 

haha at least 9 more years huh. that's funny. I try to take it in smaller chunks, like one day at a time....

While getting my gear on before each ride, I get pensive and slow things down a bit, and remind myself that this could be my last ride. This helps me to appreciate what i am about to embark on, and to feel grateful that I still can enjoy riding. Then i fire up the hawk and ride like I'm 20.haha

Definitely a dangerous pursuit we have chosen, but i look at it like this: people get injured, get sick, and die from all kinds of stupid **** ,and most of them never did anything dangerous, exciting and satisfying, i.e., something to get the juices flowing. Life is terminal and no one knows how much time they have left regardless of their health or age, so you may as well live life now. Then when something happens, at least you know you didn't let life pass you by.

got a "live in the moment" story to share that is near and dear to me:

Ronnie, the 50 year old parent of a handicapped child i worked with, had lifelong cerebral palsy and walked with a severe limp. He also had been operated on for colon cancer and had to wear a bag. I found out he liked to ride a bicycle, so I told him to come a get me any time he wanted to ride and we would go.

So for approx 2 years, while I was redoing an old house to sell, he would come a get me two or three times a week weather permitting. I would drop whatever I was doing and we were off, just like that. I needed to get the house done cause it was all on credit cards. haha. **** it, we're going! Up and down hills, and 20 to 30 miles wasn't unusual. Sometimes he would have to stop from the pain and we would lay along side the road. I'd offer to call my wife to come and get us and he never would let me. After a while, he would get it together, and we'd get up and ride again. He told me that when he was riding his bike, he felt like a normal person, like nothing was wrong.The only time he could shed his disability and disease. We were free and flying unencumbered and we were equal. Wow! Unbelievable! Like a miracle cure, albeit temporary, but a miracle nonetheless.

The second winter, Ronnie passed at 52, which was inevitable considering how sick he was. The doctor couldn't believe what we were doing.haha I am so happy to have been a part of this experience that brought so much joy to both of us during this difficult time in his life. He could have been lying around waiting to die, but instead, we were flying and not dying. He was so psyched, happy and fulfilled after we rode, and he often kicked my butt pulling some of those hills too. Amazing! I knew it was the right thing for me and him and never once questioned the decision to ride whenever he wanted to. Exhilaration and exuberance are the best words i can think of to describe his mood when we were riding and after we returned from these excursions. I treasure this spirit which I have since kept alive within me.

so the message is to remember and be inspired by Ronnie and people like him and keep on getting it while you can because live is terminal.

 

I ride with a large membership of riders in a club we have. Skill level and machinery varies greatly. We typically have a handfull of leaders that step up regularly to lead (me being one) a ride. Some times i tag team a ride lead with someone. We have rider meetings when we know someone is new to the group; however is the group is same riders we have ridden with before we typically go by posted guidelines below and most of the time have zero issues. Biggest problems occur when a rider gets out of their comfort level trying to run a pace they are not comfortable with on a road they have never been down or do not know very well. If our group is larger than a dozen riders, we bust up into two groups with multiple leaders runnign about 5 minutes apart.

1. staggered formation when slabbing, but when we are riding hard, I want my whole lane, and intend to use it, so single file por favor!

2. Inevitably, there are fast people and there are those who want to ride slower. Not a problem. Ride your own ride and wave faster folks past you on the straights, We will stop before turning to get the group back together, no one gets left behind. If you come to a stop sign or get caught at a red light after falling behind, and no one is there stopped, continue straight, it means we did not turn off.

3. If you feel you must make a pass of another rider, do it on a straight and not in a corner. This is not the track.

4. Hand signals- If the leader gives a hand signal of any kind, do it as well your self to signal those behind you. I use Left turn, right turn, I pat towards the ground to slow down, If I pat my helmet it means cop sighted. If I point at my gas tank, it means I need fuel. If I put a foot out on either side, look where it is pointed- it means there is something in the road, some sort of debris or possible an animal, pedestrian, or something else you need to be on the lookout for. Signal the rider behind you as well, but don't crash trying to do so.

5. Gas- if you need gas, pull alongside the rider ahead of you and point at your tank. Typically we stop for fuel in less than 100 miles if not way before that. Fill up at the starting point, no one wants to stop 40 miles into the ride because you were hard headed and didn't fill up. On that note, if you have a bike with a long range and we stop for fuel, consider filling up if you have less than 100 miles of fuel left. We may ride 100 miles before the next stop for fuel.

6. Passing the leader- On a group ride, do not pass the leader unless you have already discussed it and set it up to happen, or you are waved by. If you still decide that you have to pass, do not necessarily expect that the group will follow you. If you want to lead a group ride, simply call one out and schedule it.

7. Gear- Please wear your gear, dress for the crash. It is your personal choice of what gear you wear, but it is my personal choice as to whether or not I will ride with you. Don't dress for the ride, dress for the slide. No one wants to see a rider tore all to pieces from rode rash or worse.

8. Prep your ride, check air pressures and basic bolt checks. Things happen, bikes break, but the last thing you want to do is work all week waiting for that weekend day to ride with the group only to find the group sitting on the side of the road fixing a broken bike that may have been prevented with some basic maintenance.

9, Tires, I have seen more people crash running a front tire way past its life. I myself will run the rear almost to the cords, but the front is getting replaced much sooner on my rides. Make sure the air pressure is set. If you have a new set of tires on your ride, go find an empty parking lot and do slow speed figure 8's to scuff them in so you don't crash when you enter that first hard decreasing radius turn and the front end slides out due to that slick coating the tire manufacturer puts on the rubber.

10. Watch out for the rider behind you. Use your mirrors and check for a headlight occasionally to make sure they are there. If you are fast and know the rider behind you doesn't know the road or is newer, be mindfull of technical turns that you are approaching and give them a slow down hand warning.

I cannot emphasize enough that you need to ride at your own pace. Do not try to keep up if you are not comfortable and capable of doing so. We will not leave you behind. Our groups can be very diverse. Do not ever feel pressured to keep up. We want everyone to have fun and to do so at your own pace. No one will be left behind, no one will be ridiculed for the speed they choose to ride. Everyone has their own comfort level. Stay in it.

 

All that being said in my previous post, leading is a burden for sure. You are the first over the hill, first around the blind turn, etc etc. When follwing, you got it easy. Unfortunantely i have lead several rides over past few years where someone crashed.

- One was due to a front tire that should have been replace 1,000 miles ago, you would have thought it was a slick. I cautioned the rider about it, but hard head lost the bike in a decreasing radius turn. Rider okay, bike totaled. Pace was below 65

- One was newer rider that had ridden several rides well, he was too far on the outside of a turn with trees shadowing the road and when he saw some loose gravel stood the bike up and ran down a nice smooth 5 foot grass bank into a field where he got the bike stopped just before a tree line by tucking the front and trashing the fairing in the dirt. Bike was ridable, rider was okay but sore

- Another was on a spirited road where i was not leading; however the leader know me being on a motard would enjoy the road and waived me to the front, so needless to say i ripped down the road. Second rider lost his Crossplain R1 in a hill turn and destroyed the fairing. Rider ok, bike rideable to get home.

- Last one was an experienced rider with new tires that trailered to an out of town event. He had not scuffed his tires in (mistake) and i suggested he do so in a near by parking lot. however experienced rider felt he could do so on the road. Needless to say about thirty miles into the ride we hit our first hard downhil decreasing radius left hander and the front end washes out as he leans over on new unscuffed rubber for the first time at speed. Result, totaled bike, broken ankle, lost riding time for half the day getting his bike and him situated at the hospital.


It is enevitable that if you take on the leader role someone is going to crash over time. I was really hard on myself for a while as i felt at fault, even though fellow group riders stated clearly we are all riding our OWN PACE. I try to always point out bad intersections and or slow the pace down if needed in really dangerous sections and so forth as the leader, but those may not filter back to the rear of the group and ultimately we are each responsible for our own actions, machinery, and pace - NOT THE LEADER........

 

definitely good info on group rides. When i first started riding, there were no formal rules, rather trial and error, but we evolved through conversations after the fact. Later on, as the Warlord of a local chapter of the Seekers(don't ask), we had most of those rules in place except for the whole lane thing. It was the traditional 2 abreast parade method.

I don't like the 2 abreast in a lane thing anytime other than at stops because i'm all over my lane and want the license to do what i need whenever. Passing is best done in the other lane.

In terms of the testosterone thing, esp where crotch rockets are involved, I had a relevant experience two weeks ago. The 34yr old I've been mentoring for the past several years, the one with the 190 Q2 on his F4i, just started riding after foot surgery a couple months ago. His Podiatrist, also in his 30s, recently moved here from Philly(did a lot of track days on his cbr1000rr respol edition, carbon underseat exhsts, ohlins, etc.), was veerrry anxious to ride with us.

So he came over too early one cold morning and the three of us head out for a ride. As we pick up the pace a little, i noticed that these two young guns seem to be pushing me a bit, as in, up my ***/closer than i want. Like now, if i happen to slip, I will have the added pleasure of getting simultaneously minced by these two dicers before i even have time to hit the road, a privilege i'd rather forego.... thank you anyway. This is the first day for my 190 Q2 and the road was cold with wet spots in the shaded curves(that's my excuse and i'm sticking by it.haha).

Anyway, I stopped up the road a bit and told my friend and his doctor buddy that, since he knew the road well, they should go ahead of me. A short while later, after we stopped at a gas station, i was once again leading as they had both slid on a couple of the wet turns...dah! This is what i call learning the real way, and this segueways into another factor that influences the risk percentage we choose for the streets.

That factor is, neither of these guys have been down on the street, slid across in front of a car coming at you, flew by a road sign which could sever your head without even disturbing your helmet, etc. etc. The fact is that, for most of us at least, these types of "real way"experiences tend to temper the light on brain/heavy on aggressive, competitive, testosterone riding that encourages choosing the 95-100% in lieu of the 70-80% range. It's almost like some of these riders who have not experienced the harsh realities of the pavement, tend to think of riding as just a higher level of another video game.

That said, most of us know the inherent dangers of street riding because we are arguably the most vulnerable to injury or death. It's more risky than just about anything short of war. So, it's like gambling with your life, and as such, it's all about playing the probabilities and hoping that lady luck stays on your side, and that's likely one of the things that makes riding attractive to us.

 

I would definitely rather follow than lead. Nate gave me the lead the other day, and it's more nerve racking to me for a couple reasons. You have to judge speed you take turns, rather than watching the guy in front of you. Also as pointed out, you are the first to come to any "obstacles" on the roadway.

There really is no room for a testosterone battle on the roadways, it's just stupidity. When Nath and I met up with the other guys to ride the other day, I was a bit intimidated with our cohorts' machinery. Top of the line machines with 160+ horsepower....but when we were riding, I realized that it really doesn't matter how fast your bike is. It really is a shame that we didn't turn around and go back to check on the other guys, even though it may not have changed any outcomes.

It's definitely a dangerous hobby we have, but really, is there anything quite like the adrenaline rush, and sense of freedom you get from a great ride?

 

Here's a picture of the crew we rode with the other day. The Hawks are up front. The MV Augusta F4 was behind my (yellow) Hawk, the red Duc next to it, the R6, then the B-King on the right...wish I had a better picture of them, the sun was shining in the lens of my iPhone....


And another random pic from a ride the next day, just up the road from where the Augusta F4 crashed....not as pretty of a picture in the late fall...



That 190 looks HUGE on Nate's rear in this picture!

 

True about the excitement about the sport. Group rides just add un-needed danger in my estimation.

 

I wonder if any statistics show that more accidents happen during group rides? My preference is 2-3 riders, any more that that and it does seem to get dicey, where one guys mistake could cost more than just one rider. A lot of times I feel pretty safe following an experienced rider around, and learning from him. Not to mention, someone is there if something happens to either rider, or even a breakdown...say a leak in your gas tank...