Pre Ride thoughts…
I wanted to take a few minutes and toss a couple of things out as food for thought.
1 – Ride your own ride. A great prep for any ride, group ride, or outing is the article by Nick Ienatsch titled “The Pace” – link here:
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/pace
And the Pace 2.0, link here:
https://www.cycleworld.com/2013/09/16/become-a-better-street-rider-with-the-pace-motorcycle-safety-and-riding-skills
It boils down to this – get everyone back to the parking lot to tell about the day, and home to tell about the trip.
2 – Road manners. Sunday, I witnessed a scenario that brought back the conversation in the other thread about Bob and the pied piper group from last year. I was riding with bseelbach and we caught a group of riders on OH-555. There was four Harleys being led by a BMW R-something. They were riding a slower pace. The trail rider had no clue we were there until bseelbach passed him. 4th in line waved me around when I got to her. Lead did not see us; #2 and #3 were running nose to tail trying to keep up with the beemer. Even after a stop at an intersection, the lead rider made no effort or courtesy to allow us around his group, even though we were in the middle of it. Was he obligated to? Absolutely not. But imho, as a group leader, you’re responsible to make good decisions for the group you’re leading. If there is a single or group of faster bikes, the courteous thing would be to slow, slide to the right, and wave the riders through. There is no law that says that’s what you do, but what is there to gain by holding other riders up and splitting your group up??
3 - Group size – a large group can be a monster to manage in twisty roads. I get it – many will want to ride together. Here’s a suggestion – break down into smaller groups of 3-5 bikes and leave at 5-10 minute intervals. Everyone gets to the gas / lunch stops within a few minutes of each other yet the smaller groups out on the road are more manageable.
3a - Ride groups – if you want to find someone to ride with – hang out at registration or in the parking lot groups and find someone who is interested in the same loop. Make friends, go ride!
Ride your own ride!!
So... I may have an opening or two!
