group riding

I signed up for a charity group ride to a motorcycle rally this weekend. I've read what the books have to say about group riding (and took the MSF course, which addresses the topic very superficially). Anyone care to add tips/concerns, etc. not addressed by the books?

Keith

[Moedad]

My experience comes from mass groups of bicyclists, but the general principles seem like they would hold up: Keep a margin between you and the people in front of you, incase one of them goes down and takes out the lot of you. Don't ride near people that can't hold their line. Don't follow everybody else through the red light. And wear clean underwear.

I'm sure there are some experienced MOTORcyclists that can jump in here with way more advice.

[patrick_777]

Remember to keep the 2 second rule in your head...and ride a staggered formation at all times. Don't lead, and don't ever ride drag if you're new to group riding - keep to the middle of the group, closer to the front.

Most of all, RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE.

Browse http://www.msgroup.org/articles.aspx?Cat=11 and read through it thoroughly.

[Water Warrior 2]

Been on a few group rides. Some have been just wonderful and a couple were an exercise in terror. Make sure everyone has agreed on the rules and rides accordingly. Egos will sometimes ruin a great day when a show off starts performing and trying to prove who is fastest or most skilled. You can always bow out during the ride if you feel uncomfortable or pushed beyond your skill level. I've done that with a bunch that were trying to establish a land speed record for groups. Above all, have a good time and ride your own ride. Groups can be a lot of fun and there is always a new friend to meet.

[sigel]

all good advise. ride your own pace and remember people that ride two abreast have no where to swerve to in emergency. if you find an idiot in the group keep them a good distance infront of you so you can watch them and not worry bout them running up your back tire. if there is ever beer involved remember it takes balance to ride and thats the first thing you lose when you drink. i have a "# of beers" = "# of wheels" rule, worked good so far. but most of all have fun and keep the bike rubber side down.

[Tranquility]

Try to have a map of the general area with you (if you are not already familiar with the area) in case you do decide to bow out.

[dhgeyer]

I've done a lot of group rides, as a member of two clubs. A lot of how good your experience will be depends upon how well the ride is organized, and how well the ride leader communicates the rules and procedures to the group. There should be a stand-up meeting before mounting up.

A good ride is in the staggered formation. You are, say in the left side of your lane. You are two seconds behind the rider in front of you who is also in the left side of the lane. There is a rider 1 second in front of you in the right side of the lane, and a rider one second behind you and to your right. This is the standard operating procedure for group riding.

There should be a clearly understood set of hand signals that riders pass back from the leader to the back. For example, in my local club, the leader holds up one finger to indicate that we should all go from a staggered formation to single file. He will do this when there is a hazard on the roadside narrowing the lane, several pedestrians or bicyclists and so on. At this point everyone goes to single file 2 seconds apart. And everyone holds up the one finger signal to pass the word to the back. There are, or should be a number of such signals indicating a specific response.

Smaller groups are more relaxing, safer, and more fun than large ones. If there are over 15 or so bikes, it gets hard to get through intersections, and there is always the problem of a light going red in the middle of the group. If half the groups obeys the law and stops, the leader may or may not see this and pull the group over to wait. So, if you are toward the rear and the light changes you are faced with the decision of whether to run the red light as a group, or risk getting left behind with no idea where you are going. Due to this and other problems, I have come to the conclusion that there is no good way to handle a large group ride. There are always problems and rough spots. The only way it can really work is if it's a large charity run, and the police are controlling the intersections to let the group through legally and safely.

Then there is the issue of varying skill levels. Maintaining the 2 second interval is hard once you are back a ways in the group, as there is almost constant "crack the whip" speeding up and slowing down. Even if you have mastered the technique, others who have not, or who are poorly skilled riders, can threaten to invade your space. It can be nerve wracking.

Group riding is a special skill set, and generally not as relaxing as riding alone or with a very small group. Some people enjoy it, some to not. After struggling with the issue for about 5 years, I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy being part of my local club, but don't enjoy large group rides. I have solved this by reaching an understanding with the club leadership that I will meet for breakfast (our custom), and meet the group at its various destinations to socialize and enjoy the group, but I ride solo to get there.

Your mileage may vary.

[Water Warrior 2]

I have come to the conclusion that I prefer not to ride with more than 4 in a group. Much to labor intensive for the old brain. Ideally it is just Lynda and myself on the road. We have com sets that keep us informed of what the other rider sees and hears. No more second guessing about passing or which turn to take and getting set up for it. Makes for a very stress free ride even when we get separated in traffic and loose sight of one another. This is especially true in a new/strange area with no real destination in mind where we can regroup.
Today we had a real nice ride and discovered new places to see. Scenic rides are more enjoyable when the # of riders is smaller and you can stop often without having to crowd into a smaller space with numerous bikes. Today we accidently had a small emergency and pulling off the road was easy with only 2 bikes. 5 or 6 bikes could not have stopped in the space available with any security or safety.

[VTXorcist]

Originally Posted by sigel

if there is ever beer involved remember it takes balance to ride and thats the first thing you lose when you drink. i have a "# of beers" = "# of wheels" rule, worked good so far. but most of all have fun and keep the bike rubber side down.

Thank God you're not a trucker!


Despite having ridden for 4 or 5 years, I've never really ridden in a large group, so thank you all for the insight. To the original poster, can you share your after-ride experience with us? I'd be interested to hear it.

Originally Posted by VTXorcist

Despite having ridden for 4 or 5 years, I've never really ridden in a large group, so thank you all for the insight. To the original poster, can you share your after-ride experience with us? I'd be interested to hear it.

I started out the ride with about 200 other bikers at a local Harley dealer (about 90 percent of the bikes were Harleys). Our group met up with people who had started from five other dealers in the general vicinity at a horse farm out in the country for a bike rally (in a town called Hell, Michigan, believe it or not). All told, there were about 3000 bikers there (others came on their own) for bands, food, contests, etc. Pretty cool to see that many bikes together and fun to walk around and gawk at all the different bikes, custom and otherwise.

As for the group ride, it was very well planned out or I would have been nervous. The organizers must have consulted with local authorities, as they had fellow bikers already posted at major intersections to block off traffic as 200 bikes rolled by (which takes longer than you might think). It was pretty cool to be part of such a larger group and to watch people as we rolled by.

One thing I didn't like is that most did not adhere to the staggering rule, if fact most rode side by side. We were on a lot of two lane country roads and all it would take was a car coming the other way popping into our lane and if you had to get over you'd have no room (I did stay away from being next to my "partner", who I think didn't get what I was doing at first).

In sum, it was very cool to be a part of since it was such a large group and so organized, but I could see how many riders had little or no knowledge of group riding fundamentals. This was a unique experience, but I'm not sure I need to do it again (though I wouldn't rule it out).

Keith