One thing that I try to do before I get involved in any ride of this size is insure that the reading material I have about group riding is sent to the entire group that has agreed to ride. It is recommended reading and not mandatory to participate, but it is all good reading and it never hurts to spiff up your knowledge and memory....now what was I trying to say here....I learned this stuff at Two Wheel Nut's memorial ride and service and I had been riding for several years already. I had never heard of the pace or even how lack of sleep and fatigue can play into your ride and increase your chances of making one small mistake with huge consequences.
I learned all of this from riding with the more experienced and some not so experienced riders I have met here in SOCAL and some from NORCAL. The one take away from the ride is that I learned something new again as I do on every ride. I know that the kid that went down learned a huge lesson, and thank God was able to get up, brush himself off and get back on it and finish the ride. Yes, he made a mistake or road conditions were just not right or whatever, but I really believe that he learned from it and also from all of you that helped him and encouraged him after the crash. The other thing I have learned over time is that when you see a post on either of the forums that most of us frequent that has some wisdom in it. Copy it, paste it into word and save it for future reference. I have a little book of such wisdom that I have started to compile over time. Another thing that I have done is to get myself into the MSF Experienced Rider Course and soon the Sport Bike Course to hone my knowledge and learn what it takes to be safer and still enjoy the ride. I am like Slappy in the sense that I like to push the edge of my comfort zone from time to time and see just what I can take. This can cause the pucker factor to rise swiftly but I learn something new about myself every time I do it.
As far as name tags go, I guess we could do that, or, as you are introduced to a new person, ask them what their handle is. Get to know more about them. You may only remember a few details but over time you will remember more and who it is you are riding with and how they ride. I continue to meet more great folks on these rides and continue to be amazed at how big the list continues to grow. It is good to be able to call some of you friends now. I think my only regret when the groups get larger is that I don't get to spend as much time with those I already know as much as I would like to. It is really funny though how there is always a core group of us that ride together though. Take care and once again, thanks for making this ride a great one. I had loads of fun.
I learned all of this from riding with the more experienced and some not so experienced riders I have met here in SOCAL and some from NORCAL. The one take away from the ride is that I learned something new again as I do on every ride. I know that the kid that went down learned a huge lesson, and thank God was able to get up, brush himself off and get back on it and finish the ride. Yes, he made a mistake or road conditions were just not right or whatever, but I really believe that he learned from it and also from all of you that helped him and encouraged him after the crash. The other thing I have learned over time is that when you see a post on either of the forums that most of us frequent that has some wisdom in it. Copy it, paste it into word and save it for future reference. I have a little book of such wisdom that I have started to compile over time. Another thing that I have done is to get myself into the MSF Experienced Rider Course and soon the Sport Bike Course to hone my knowledge and learn what it takes to be safer and still enjoy the ride. I am like Slappy in the sense that I like to push the edge of my comfort zone from time to time and see just what I can take. This can cause the pucker factor to rise swiftly but I learn something new about myself every time I do it.
As far as name tags go, I guess we could do that, or, as you are introduced to a new person, ask them what their handle is. Get to know more about them. You may only remember a few details but over time you will remember more and who it is you are riding with and how they ride. I continue to meet more great folks on these rides and continue to be amazed at how big the list continues to grow. It is good to be able to call some of you friends now. I think my only regret when the groups get larger is that I don't get to spend as much time with those I already know as much as I would like to. It is really funny though how there is always a core group of us that ride together though. Take care and once again, thanks for making this ride a great one. I had loads of fun.
