AN INFORMAL SURVEY...

[wordsmith]

INFORMAL SURVEY: what influence does riding in a group of two or more bikes have on your own riding actions?
 
Would you consider yourself more or less likely to ride somewhat faster than your normal pace when in a group?
 
Have you had any experiences where you’ve felt obliged to keep pace with faster riders, maybe to the point where you’ve stretched your own abilities and skills level?
 
Are you more comfortable riding ‘solo’ than as part of a group?
 

[betoney]

I do a LOT of solo riding where I can set my own pace and if I choose, ride like a complete asshat when I am out in the middle of nowhere. (When I am in town or in traffic I ALWAYS keep it civil).
 
When riding in a group, I have on a few occasions ridden above my comfort level to keep up, and on many occasions have waved others ahead of myself and taken up the rear position.
 
When riding in a group, I ride with like minded and riders of similar ability. (I have ridden in groups and led group rides with mixed abilities or unfamiliar "new guys" and just dont like it). If I am in the lead, I set the pace, if someone doesn't like my pace, they pass me and take over.

[norcal616]

solo ride 95% of the time
other 5% is a group ride with co-workers who also ride...I always ride at the back of the group for my safety as the group only rides Harleys so they have very little experience in evasive/emergency motorcycle handling compared to my background from dirt bikes and drag racing...

[fddriver2]

Like norcal. I'm alone most of the time. I just don't know a lot of riders. I would describe my solo riding style as "brisk". When riding with a group or others I prefer to "bring up the rear".
 
There's a couple of reasons for this.
 
I used to be a paramedic. If I'm in the rear I will come upon a possible situation/incident and be in a position to help.
 
Almost everyone I ride with is on a cruiser, and not of the mindset or ability to keep up.
 
I'm am down to one good friend who still goes on trips with me. He rides a Super Tenere. When our travel group was larger his nickname was "Miss Daisy". If I took the lead we would never see each other.... Again...
 

[Brick]

I usually ride with a local group of other Old Farts. We set a spirited pace. It seems many times I end up leading as they call me the human gps. ? We stress ride your own pace... if someone is faster they will wait at the next turn.
Besides... the older I get, the faster I was!
 
When I was younger I found it hard not to get caught up in the ride and attempt to keep up. One one occasion I was caught up in the pace when it all came to a screaming halt. One rider that I had considered one of the fast guys had stuffed his bike under a guard rail on a right hand 90 degree curve. He was lucky it wasn’t a car or truck. Over the years that has mellowed me a bit when riding with others.
 
Brick

[philbee]

You must be talking about Gregg Mitchell?

[phpaul]

I HATE riding in a group.  The last large group I rode in was a charity benefit ride with 100-ish bikes, mostly Harleys and Harley clones.  I think three of them had actual mufflers.  Noise, exhaust fumes, traffic issues, riders with sketchy skill levels, constantly varying pace.  That turned me off to the point that the ONLY "group" I ride with any more are my daughter and grandson.
 
When riding with them, I am usually in the lead as I too am largely a "human GPS".  That involves keeping my pace well below my usual preference, watching my mirrors all the time and making sure everyone can make the light.  Not my idea of a fun ride, but the quality time with them is worth it.
 
For purely recreational rides, I very much prefer to ride alone, set whatever pace I'm comfortable with and make random turns or take alternate routes on a whim.

[phpaul]

I do a LOT of solo riding where I can set my own pace and if I choose, ride like a complete asshat when I am out in the middle of nowhere. (When I am in town or in traffic I ALWAYS keep it civil). 

We could be long-lost brothers... 8D

[dedsxy47]

In my Air Force days, there were always people to ride with of different abilities.  This provided many opportunities for learning, not just how to be fast, but how to be "maturely fast?" is that a word?  During my Ducati 1098 days, I found myself riding the "brisk" pace almost all the time as the bike settled in around the high 80's quite easily when motoring along.  Interestingly enough, the FJ likes to cruise at a healthy pace as well.  
 
While stationed in upstate New York, we always held true to the "ride at your own pace" mentality and if we were separated, we would always meet at Micky Dee's in Lake Placid.  Essentially, the main group consisted of smaller groups all going to the same place; super fast guys, guys having fun in the corners, but not wanting a speeding ticket, and the novice's, too scared to look through the corner when riding.  There were so many roads to tour in northern NY and Vermont, even a solo ride provided great enjoyment.  I found this was the best mix of riders but never felt pressured to ride above my abilities, or "full on stupid" mode. 
 
The single biggest factor for riding fast in a group for me is based on the skill level of those participating. If I am going to run wheel-to-wheel with someone, I have to be able to predict and anticipate their reactions to any given situation.  One rider in Las Vegas was such a person.  I always knew what he was thinking and what he would do 99% of the time.  We could run as hard as we wanted to at close proximity without jamming each other up.  On group rides, he always shadowed the faster riders or they tried to keep up with him while I motored along at a pace comfortable for me or slower if the group was more at the novice level.  
 
I have had several instances where I pushed harder say double the speed limit on the tight stuff or running top end in "safe"  places where I normally would not.  My Vegas partner used to badger me at times to go faster; him on a GSXR 1100 and me on my little RF 600r.  But several people from the base died in high-speed accidents due to sheer ignorance and I did not want to be one of those idiots.  Mr. GSRX would go out on his own to get his speed fix when I was not available. 
 
As a whole, I ride solo and tend to ride with "zest" anywhere I go, but if there was a good group of respectful riders I could tag along with, I would gladly partake.  At almost 50, a motorcycle safety instructor (15 years) and an ER nurse, I do not want to get hurt.  I see what happen's to people who ride like idiots or lack the common sense to wear a helmet or gear (no helmet law in MN). Of course, I am waiting for the day when I get run over by someone paying more attention to their phone rather than the road or the task of DRIVING!!!!! Honestly, I am more worried about other cars and distracted drivers as opposed to another motorcyclist.
 
 
 

[bigorangecntry07]

I do a lot of both solo and group rides. I ride a pretty spirited pace especially on the FJ haha! In group rides, I'm either leading or bringing up the rear 90% of the time, as I'm usually the one planning the routes. And as Brick stated, we always stress to ride at your own pace, if someone wants to go faster wave them around and we'll wait at the turn for any stragglers. Group riding can be fun IF you're familiar with everyone you're riding with and know their abilities as well as your own and in smaller groups like 8-10.

[Brick]

You must be talking about Gregg Mitchell?

 
Well no I wasn’t I don’t ride with the self named “Morons”.
 
?
 

[britelitebob]

INFORMAL SURVEY: what influence does riding in a group of two or more bikes have on your own riding actions?  
 
 
Would you consider yourself more or less likely to ride somewhat faster than your normal pace when in a group?
 
 
 
Have you had any experiences where you’ve felt obliged to keep pace with faster riders, maybe to the point where you’ve stretched your own abilities and skills level?
 
 
 
Are you more comfortable riding ‘solo’ than as part of a group?

Apr 4, 2018 23:10:00 GMT -4 wordsmith said:
INFORMAL SURVEY: what influence does riding in a group of two or more bikes have on your own riding actions?
 
Mostly being more cautious, with looking out for the usual hazards and then
also keeping track of the other riders your with.
 
Would you consider yourself more or less likely to ride somewhat faster than your normal pace when in a group?
 
Less likely, any faster than my normal pace would probably spoil my day.
 
Have you had any experiences where you’ve felt obliged to keep pace with faster riders, maybe to the point where you’ve stretched your own abilities and skills level?
 
No, I just catch up to the gear bangers when they hit the twisties, but it's nice to have them around sometimes
as they make great rabbits.
 
Are you more comfortable riding ‘solo’ than as part of a group?
 
In a group, I have ADD so when I ride alone my brain sometimes goes off into lala land and I find myself doing stupid things like speeding or blowing through stop signs, with a group or even one buddy I tend to stay a bit more focused.
 
 
 
I understand that many people get turned off when they have some kind of weird group ride encounter and most of them are usually like that, but with any group activity you just need to find the right people.
I have made some very good friends over the years with guys that probably wouldn't have had anything to do with me if it wasn't for motorcycling. Most of them live in other parts of the country and work in different industries but we get together several times a year to do a trip somewhere or just meet up in the Smokies and rent a cabin for a week or so and we always have a blast.
 

[wordsmith]

 
I very much suspect that if 100 motorcyclists set-off on a similar length ride, individually, and another 100 set-off in small groups of varying number, say 5 to 15 riders per group, more 'incidents' would occur with the latter group.

[duhs10]

I very much suspect that if 100 motorcyclists set-off on a similar length ride, individually, and another 100 set-off in small groups of varying number, say 5 to 15 riders per group, more 'incidents' would occur with the latter group.

I would agree with this.. herd mentality, egos, etc... you can try to keep it in check (some people are better than others) but they will usually surface at some point.

[martyl]

I ride solo 95% of the time. The biggest issue I see when riding in groups is what I call," roadtime vs. speed". A rider ahead hits a turn at let's say 50 mph then the other rider hits that same turn at 70 mph because he's trying to catch up. A dangerous formula. One way to cure this is that every rider in the group know the destination points. A pre ride discussion with all involved about riding at your skill level and this is not a race doesn't hurt either. Also, and I see it often here in Central Florida during Bikeweek is folk partying and then jumping on their bike. That's just crazy and irresponsible. Personally, When I do ride with others I stay clear of the guys who ride like their at the track. If I want to ride that way I'll go to the track. As far as aggressive riding, for me it leads to danger. Lately I've been enjoying You-Tube videos about motorcycles. One series is from Moto-madness. One thing that is very common is aggressive riding to actually angry riding where in many cases the rider is bringing on confrontation. Just bad behavior. Yes, their are many instances where other drivers to something stupid but antagonistic behavior from the motorcyclist after being let's say cut off will put the motorcyclist in a position of getting hurt. Steel is steel and motorcycles are vulnerable. I guess what I'm saying with that is that additude is an important factor. Ride within your limits, know your group, be relaxed, be aware, be sober, know your skills.