Well Boys and Girls-- I've somewhat scouted the route and found it's too short. I will be augmenting the route slightly with a few sidebars to keep it interesting.
Plan on going further east and further south, ever so slightly. I know, I know..you all want a route. No worries there, I'll have something posted soon enough.
The important part is that you show up, have fun, and be safe.
While I'm not big on "rules", I wanted to post some guidelines to pay attention to for the ride to make it more enjoyable for all. I hate even having to post this, but the last 3 Rambles have taught me a few things. Sorry if I'm insulting anyone's riding intelligence:
1.) Low beams. No need to blind the person in front of you
2.) Make sure the guy behind you knows that you are turning. Stop and wait if you have to. Make sure they see you! The lead rider (me) will not deliberately try to loose anyone. You should do the same.
3.) Other riding friends and pillions are definitely welcome. Now if they are a "cruiser" type rider (ie can't or won't keep up with normal traffic, not related to the bike they are riding), they will not have a good time with the likes of FJR's.
4.) Keep a respectful distance to the rider in front of you. Leave at least 3 or 4 bike lengths for every 30mph.
5.) A loose stagger formation works best. No lane sharing as you'll need the whole lane for curves and to avoid hazards.
6.) Don't leave a *huge* gap in front of you. If you do leave a huge gap, the person behind should pass to keep the group together and to remind the gapper to not do this. If you can't keep up...that's perfectly OK (ie don't kill yourself!). Ride your pace and we'll let you catch up. Guys who pass gappers...make sure you don't loose them! No embarassment here, I think we all want everyone to make it back in one piece!
7.) Do not, repeat, DO NOT stay in the left lane very long when passing. Pass with authority and get back over fast. Otherwise you'll die in this state REAL QUICK! Cars here are OK with this as there are a lot of bikes here!
9.) No waiving to Wings, BMW's, or Harleys. It is only acceptable to wave to other riders wearing full gear with tuning fork logos on the tank only. Maybe a CBR or a Bandit if no one else is looking, but then only if they wave first. Never, ever wave first to them. SV's and Ducati's are strictly off limits. Anyone caught waving to Connies will be required to purchase lunch for his table. You'll need to leave the tip too if are caught waving to a Connie with those ugly sidebags on. Do not under any circumstances wave to trikes or sidecars! You'll be asked to bail from the ride immediately. Exceptions to this rule are pre-1969 classics, Russian or Yugoslavian built bikes, and the Triumph ST. And V-Stroms. And motard bikes. You may freely wave to these bikes and these bikes only, with the exception of the forementioned tuning fork bikes. Just kidding!!!!
We saw 4 or 5 other FJR's on the last ramble. We all waived B) Sometimes entusiastically!
OK, now that *THAT* is done with, we can ramble on.
