ride nightmare

[catch2otwo]

just got back from a group ride with some kids i have never ridden with from school. we had a group of about 10, two cruisers and the rest were sport bikes.

the only group rides id ever been on have been NESR ones and afew with my roomate and his dad. at all of these rides, safety and general well being of the group were placed first and foremost. this is what i expected today, was not the case.


so right off the bat, we are all traveling to the local twisties and kid (with no licence) passes me on the right as he moves up the pack at the front. also te leaders of the group kept slowing down to talk to each other and then speeding back up for about 15 miles. i was already frustrated and wanted to split off, but i figured id stick around.

we get to the twisties and we're clipping along, and i look back to find that the last half of the group is gone. i figure, these guys know what their doing, they will stop at the next stop sign and wait for everyone to regroup like those cool NESR peeps. wrong. next stop sign, they kept going, dono where they went. i waited for the last half to catch up since there were two newbies.

to round it all off, they decided to finish off the ride with some drag racing. at that point i left.

there was no concern for the new riders. no concern for people being left behind. just no concern for anyone but themselves. i understand its each riders responsiblity to know what is going on, but a little common courtesey really goes a long way especially with new riders.

really makes me miss riding with nesr folk.

the day however was not a total wash. i was able to pass along some pointers to a new kid so i guess some good came of it.

thanks for the vent

[mrezra]

That's why I don't ride with groups I don't know, or at that someone I trust hasn't vouched for. I learned my lesson with cycling first... Add a motor and a few hundred pounds of metal (not to mention speed) and the trust level should rise accordingly.

[Currently]

I rather ride alone or with one or two people.

I have gotten flamed for refusing to attend bike nights because of the prevalence of that kind of behavior. Screw 'em.

I ride for me, my bike is a tool, not a jewel to be gawked at.

As for finding myself in or around such a group, there is this lever on the right side of my clipons that gets activated when I see a restaurant or gas station.

I have never seen any of those people ever turn around to come looking for me.

[be4tnut]

Yeah I know people like that too. In the past I have chose not to ride with them but sometimes if I am with a small group and they are out they just jump in and ride with us. Sorry to hear your ride went so bad though.

I went for a ride today with 197 other bikes and it was a nice slow paced 30 mile cruise (I was one of about 4 sportbikes, the rest were cruisers and harleys) but it was fun and very safe. We had a police escort most of the way and had blockers to stop traffic for the entire group to stay together and cars wouldn't get between the leaders and the last people. I wouldn't suggest blockers on small groups though haha and all this was planned and the police informed ahead of time also. It was a fun ride, now I am at work.

I realized I have to get used to riding again because I am sore in some strange spots. Thats what being off a bike for 2 years does to you I guess though.

[LaRNZ]

thats why i only ride with kids i know, too many tools out there

[mzdagrl]

I will never go with a group i dont know without knowing the ground rules up front. even on the short trip to lin garden from bike night last tuesday, i double checked to make sure i wouldnt be left behind, got directions from 2 people (easy, and the same) and had a "riding buddy" (reiobard, my man god).

of course, it all rolls back to compatible riding styles, and making sure your priorities are the same as the group's. I was on a fairly large group ride (13 bikes) a while back where the front half broke off to take twisties in the dark, with moose on the road without letting the back half know what was going on. I ended up leading four relative newbies through roads I didn't know in conditions I wasn't comfortable in, just due to a lack of communication.... and i was actually familiar with the leader and have ridden happily with him before.

[DucDave]

....sounds like one of my rides....

[catch2otwo]

....sounds like one of my rides....

i wish. there was def no neon green one piecers riding around!