FJRocket
Doctor Throckenstein !!!
I hope that all of us here riding Super Sport Touring motorcycles practice and preach "share the road". I was going to share the thought on the Goldwing forums, but there are just too many. And as we all know, often the people on the forums are usually the ones who already practice good group riding skills. IOW, I hope I'm preaching to the choir.
This is a bit of a rant, but for those of you who are new to sport touring, or even relatively new at riding, please be kind to those of us who may be wanting to "play through", as golfers should on a golf course. And be sure to educate other riders who may not know that they can share a lane and let faster riders safely through.
Griff and I had a nice ride through Central Indiana down to the Ohio River, a route similar to the DooDah we rode a year or two ago. We stopped and had lunch at a place called The Overlook in Leavenworth, IN. It's a nice place, a good destination on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. The ride down was great with little more than the normal usual incidents... having to watch those who are not watching us. It was nice that a couple cages actually pulled over and let us by.
On the trip back, on one section we were unfortunately stuck behind a gaggle of Goldwings. Every GW had a pillion and they were pulling trailers. It was good to see them out having a good time. However, it was like a slow rolling caterpillar with brake lights going off all the time. It was a sub speed limit parade, just like we unfortunately see with the cruiser crowd on occasion.
I was hot and bothered to be sure (it was 91 and very humid), so that didn't help. Try as I might to get their attention, we were ignored. They were oblivious to the traffic behind them, which at one point was over 20 vehicles. They didn't seem to be at all courteous, let alone good riders, especially in a group. I motioned several times, tried to stay near the center line and waited for an invitation to pass. It never came. I overtly motioned for Griff to "play through" in front of me in a grandiose manner, and let him get in front. I was thinking they might "get the drift". They just didn't get it. Oh well, I think most of us have been in this position many times, regrettably. At any rate, we stayed back and waited for an opportunity to pass the whole crowd, which came about 10 miles up the road.
In retrospect, given the riding skills demonstrated by the crowd, perhaps if they would have motioned us through, I might have been reluctant to get in the middle of that fiasco. So perhaps it's just as well that they didn't motion us through. Be sure to assess every situation and the skill of those you are on the road with. "Playing Through" may not always be a good idea.
As an alternative, it would have been nice to see them pull to the shoulder and uncork the bottleneck.
The point of all this is to remind us all to look behind. There'll always be someone faster and more capable, and they may come up from behind. Please be courteous, and when you get a SAFE opportunity, move to the outside of your lane and stay there while you signal the rider behind to pass and let him/her "play through". If riding in a group, it's good to get the attention to the rider ahead of you as well. I love it when I see a leader move to one side, signal with a hand overhead to move single file, then let other riders pass the entire group at once.
I've had many opportunities to let faster riders pass. It happens often at FJR events. At Deals Gap, there seems to always be a sport bike ready to play through. I'm sure that's the case on a lot of "motorcycle roads".
I'm happy to let those with better skills and more capable equipment enjoy the road to it's fullest. I hope you and your motorcycling friends of all flavors take the opportunity to let others "Play Through".
This is a bit of a rant, but for those of you who are new to sport touring, or even relatively new at riding, please be kind to those of us who may be wanting to "play through", as golfers should on a golf course. And be sure to educate other riders who may not know that they can share a lane and let faster riders safely through.
Griff and I had a nice ride through Central Indiana down to the Ohio River, a route similar to the DooDah we rode a year or two ago. We stopped and had lunch at a place called The Overlook in Leavenworth, IN. It's a nice place, a good destination on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. The ride down was great with little more than the normal usual incidents... having to watch those who are not watching us. It was nice that a couple cages actually pulled over and let us by.
On the trip back, on one section we were unfortunately stuck behind a gaggle of Goldwings. Every GW had a pillion and they were pulling trailers. It was good to see them out having a good time. However, it was like a slow rolling caterpillar with brake lights going off all the time. It was a sub speed limit parade, just like we unfortunately see with the cruiser crowd on occasion.
I was hot and bothered to be sure (it was 91 and very humid), so that didn't help. Try as I might to get their attention, we were ignored. They were oblivious to the traffic behind them, which at one point was over 20 vehicles. They didn't seem to be at all courteous, let alone good riders, especially in a group. I motioned several times, tried to stay near the center line and waited for an invitation to pass. It never came. I overtly motioned for Griff to "play through" in front of me in a grandiose manner, and let him get in front. I was thinking they might "get the drift". They just didn't get it. Oh well, I think most of us have been in this position many times, regrettably. At any rate, we stayed back and waited for an opportunity to pass the whole crowd, which came about 10 miles up the road.
In retrospect, given the riding skills demonstrated by the crowd, perhaps if they would have motioned us through, I might have been reluctant to get in the middle of that fiasco. So perhaps it's just as well that they didn't motion us through. Be sure to assess every situation and the skill of those you are on the road with. "Playing Through" may not always be a good idea.
As an alternative, it would have been nice to see them pull to the shoulder and uncork the bottleneck.
The point of all this is to remind us all to look behind. There'll always be someone faster and more capable, and they may come up from behind. Please be courteous, and when you get a SAFE opportunity, move to the outside of your lane and stay there while you signal the rider behind to pass and let him/her "play through". If riding in a group, it's good to get the attention to the rider ahead of you as well. I love it when I see a leader move to one side, signal with a hand overhead to move single file, then let other riders pass the entire group at once.
I've had many opportunities to let faster riders pass. It happens often at FJR events. At Deals Gap, there seems to always be a sport bike ready to play through. I'm sure that's the case on a lot of "motorcycle roads".
I'm happy to let those with better skills and more capable equipment enjoy the road to it's fullest. I hope you and your motorcycling friends of all flavors take the opportunity to let others "Play Through".
