Any MA riders avail. for a ride?

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by Nazo
...Thats also why I'm not putting a liter bike on the track again!

not a bad idea... i was there that day you had your "unscheduled dismount" in turn 4... glad to see you're all healed up & back on the road

[Nazo]

No more mentions of last season crashes.
2005 is a new season, only crashes of 2005 can be discussed

Like Yours! ...Kidding!

Whats your expected timeframe of getting back on the roads Pete?

[OreoGaborio]

all i need to do is pick up a couple bolts & brackets that are waitin for me in North Reading.

and..... maybe some different clip-ons... the woodcrafts are too low & hit the plastics. I can't get full lock-to-lock

[SwiftTone]

Theothersean: could you give me directions on how to hook up to the route we took, starting from Hudson? I tried finding it today, and couldnt find it. All I remember you took some road off of 62. On that road, there were some nice turns include this long right turn, that almost seems like a big U-Turn. Thats about all I can remember. Thanks

-Dave

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by SwiftTone
Theothersean: could you give me directions on how to hook up to the route we took, starting from Hudson? I tried finding it today, and couldnt find it. All I remember you took some road off of 62. On that road, there were some nice turns include this long right turn, that almost seems like a big U-Turn. Thats about all I can remember. Thanks

-Dave

follow 62 untill you see a large body of water on your left side, hook a left on the road right after the water (it's got a decent left hand turn going on to a smaller road) which runs next to it for a bit...after that I dont know how to explain it to well.

-chris

[theothersean]

um there were some trees whipping by and some pavement and stuff. I think we passed a few houses and cars.

I don't normally like to devuldge the secrets. especially on a public forum.

[Kham]

i just realize i spell Sean wrong. my bad..

[theothersean]

thats ok Cahm, don't mention it.

[breakdirt916]

Originally posted by SwiftTone
On that road, there were some nice turns include this long right turn, that almost seems like a big U-Turn. Thats about all I can remember. Thanks

-Dave

That turn was awesome. I was dragging my centerstand around the whole thing. If you find it, PM it to me! I want to hit that up again.

Since then I've been "getting lost" around the area without much success. As soon as I find a route, I'll be more than happy to show you guys around.

And thanks to Sean for withholding the route. I don't want police officers waiting for me at every nice turn.

[ZX-12R]

Seeing as I was bringing up the rear, I was able to witness some squidtastic passing and traffic manners in a couple of areas. For the less experienced riders this is intended for, consider this constructive criticism.

Group rides are not a race. You should be riding at your own pace and within your own abilities. Just because the guy in front of you passes when you are not expecting it does not mean that you have to follow him. Odds are you are not in the right gear or positioned properly to complete a pass before oncoming traffic is apon you. On 2 occasions during the trip down, I saw a motorcycle between 2 cars because they didn't plan their pass correctly. That should never happen and is extremely dangerous. No person worth riding with will ever think less of you for holding back, taking your time, and riding at your own pace. A good rider does not have to be a fast rider.

My other issue stems from watching a few people pull into intersections. Even though we are traveling as a group, we unfortunately can not proceed through stop signs as a group. Legally every row of bikes or cars has to come to a complete stop before proceeding. Drivers (and other riders for that matter) all ready traveling on the road you are turning on to are expecting just that. When you pull out without stopping (or looking) you put yourself in great risk of being struck. Fortunately for one person on the ride, there was an attentive driver in a big Expedition. I'm not even sure the rider was even aware of the dangerous situation he was in. Remember that right or wrong, a cage will always win in an accident with a motorcycle.

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by ZX-12R
Seeing as I was bringing up the rear, I was able to witness some squidtastic passing and traffic manners in a couple of areas.

Dunno if you could see up towards the front 1/2 of the pack, but if any of that stuff was me, call me on it. If i'm doing something that someone else in a group feels is unsafe, i wanna know about it ASAP. they are supposed to be fun rides, not something that puts anyone in danger or makes some 'worry' the whole way through. That being said, I know for a fact that at least twice i did somewhat "roll" through a stop sign, but it was after coming to a near stop and being waved on by cage that was kind enough to let the group move through collectivlly (this may have been after we lost Manny and ZX-12) and even then, i did so slowly and with caution. I was also sure wave back at the cage to acknowledge his / her guesture.

-sedition

[R7]

Originally posted by chr|s sedition
That being said, I know for a fact that at least twice i did somewhat "roll" through a stop sign, but it was after coming to a near stop and being waved on by cage that was kind enough to let the group move through collectivlly (this may have been after we lost Manny and ZX-12) and even then, i did so slowly and with caution. I was also sure wave back at the cage to acknowledge his / her guesture.

-sedition

I'd say it's most important to pay attention to what the cars are doing as generally they will let you go through the intersection as a group, at least at a 4-way stop intersection. I'm not saying it's legal or it's the rite thing to do but it seems pretty common. Pulling out into moving traffic is another story....

[ZX-12R]

R7, the intersection I was refering to is where Rt. 31 meets Rt. 120 just outside of Worcester. We all had to make a left hand turn into traffic. One person was lucky that the guy in the cage was paying attention. We didn't have any problems at 4 way stops.

Chris, I'm not sure who made the dangerous passes because everyone was single file both times. The first one was done by someone closer to the rear. The second one was from someone in the middle. With the first pass, the car had to pull onto the shoulder to give the bike room so he could get out of oncoming traffic. On the second one, the bike ended up on the yellow line with a car on either side of them. While I can't publically condone passing on a double yellow, it is inevitable that you will have to pass some one at some point so just do it quickly, smoothly, and only when you are prepared to do it safely.

The point I was trying to make to the newer riders besides being safe is ride in such a way as to not draw attention to yourself and the other riders around you. The antics of one person can get the entire group in trouble. As a rider of a motorcycle, you are already a target for the police and soccer moms think you are going to steal their babies so it is best to keep a low profile and not give them any more ammo against us.

I also don't want to sound like I had a bad time on the ride because I had a great time. There were just a few isolated incidences that should have been avoided. For the vast majority of the ride everyone had good road manners.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by ZX-12R
and soccer moms think you are going to steal their babies

i gotta cut back on that

[Kham]

Originally posted by ZX-12R
On the second one, the bike ended up on the yellow line with a car on either side of them.

damn! not good.

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by ZX-12R
With the first pass, the car had to pull onto the shoulder to give the bike room so he could get out of oncoming traffic. On the second one, the bike ended up on the yellow line with a car on either side of them.

holy shit. ok, that def wasn't me. I usually dont pass a car unless I think there is enough room for me to pass the car, get back in my lane, and have any on-coming traffic contine at their speed without having to brake (at all) for me to pass safley. This usually allows for *PLENTY* of space.

being between two cars while on the yellow line? *SHUDDER*

as for stealing babbies, fuck that. i can't even handle the responsibility of a plant.

sedition

[HBerry]

Originally posted by chr|s sedition
holy shit. ok, that def wasn't me. I usually dont pass a car unless I think there is enough room for me to pass the car, get back in my lane, and have any on-coming traffic contine at their speed without having to brake (at all) for me to pass safley. This usually allows for *PLENTY* of space.

being between two cars while on the yellow line? *SHUDDER*

as for stealing babbies, fuck that. i can't even handle the responsibility of a plant.

sedition

Dont guys like you like plants?

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by HBerry
Dont guys like you like plants?

no, it's pillows, soap operas, show tunes. :

[taylor]

great ride last sunday. good to meet all of you that were out. (actually joined up here like i said!)

taylor (chris' friend with the red/black r6)

[taylor]

Originally posted by ZX-12R
Seeing as I was bringing up the rear, I was able to witness some squidtastic passing and traffic manners in a couple of areas. For the less experienced riders this is intended for, consider this constructive criticism.

Great thoughts and feedback. Your comment reminded me about witnessing one of those passes in my mirror as I checked to see how many people had caught up to me after I made a pass. Totally made me shudder.

Another thought I had when we were out there was regarding space between other riders or cages. Definitely remember to keep a reasonable amount of distance between yourself and whatever is in front of you.

ok....i'll shut up now

[SwiftTone]

The passing def. wasn't me. I was already paranoid enough about passing on double yellows even when cagers were waving me by.

The intersection thing *might* have been me, but as I recall, I had traffic stopped as to let me go, so I went.

But I have bad memory so everything could have been me, haha.

I do recall people making dangerous passes infront of me tho.

[breakdirt916]

There's a good chance the passing was all me. I was both scared and excited the whole time.

And I made a complete stop at the first stop sign we rolled through, but every one after, I'm pretty sure I slowed, checked for dangers, but never stopped.

But the tips and suggestions are good. Are there any other critiques?

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by Bhavesh
But the tips and suggestions are good. Are there any other critiques?

dont ever pass someone, in the same lane, unless they have waved you by. When you went up to tell Sean at the red light that we had lost someone you passed me in my lane. If I (or you) needed to swerve to avoid a pot hole, sand, etc right at that moment things could have gotten REAL UGLY. you never wanna have to worry about someone being NEXT to you.

-sedition

[Nikon]

Originally posted by Bhavesh
tips and suggestions are good.

maybe you should take a look at this to get an idea of how things go on a group ride if it is new to you. Not trying to say that anyone did anything wrong - I wasn't there but this is a great little write up on what to expect in a group ride and some things to take into consideration that you may not have thought about. 1 point I always make is to RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITY. You shoul dbe excited the whole time - not scared. sScared means that you are riding above your head and that's how people get hurt.

Sorry if I sound like I am pointing you out at all - I don't mean it.. Just some thoughts and sugegstions on group rides. They are TONS of fun when no one gets hurt.

[breakdirt916]

Yeah, I read that thread over at least 5 times before the ride, and someone posted it somewhere else in this thread. It's a good read, and I added to the end of it.

So to summarize:

-Ride within your limits. If you're nervous, then you're riding beyond your limits.
-Never pass someone (especially in one lane) unless waved past to do so.
-If people behind you aren't there, pull over at the next intersection and wait there until they re-join.

This is helpful stuff, so keep the suggestions coming.