On Riding in a Group

by Stacy on June 30, 2009

I’ve ridden in all kinds of groups with all kinds of riders, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my riding enjoyment is inversely proportional to the number of riders in the group:

group_riding_fun

Some groups are certainly better than others, so don’t consider this an indictment of every group I’ve ever ridden with. But there’s something to be said about riding on your own: going when you want to go, stopping when you want to stop, taking a different route ’cause you want to take an unplanned detour…

Related Posts

Tagged as: ,

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Ken Linder June 30, 2009 at 7:13 am

I completely concur. The larger the group, the less fun… well… for me as well. IMHO, part of motorcycle riding is the independence it imparts on the rider. When riding in a group, that independence is minimized in proportion to the number of people in the group. There may be safety in numbers, but there is peace in solitude.

How many people ride in groups and feel the same way?

2 tedder June 30, 2009 at 8:13 am

Yep, I agree. Riding in a group becomes annoying very quickly. The frequency and number of stops also increases very quickly- I usually say a gas stop is 6 minutes plus one minute per rider. Stops are 200 miles divided by the number of riders.

If I’m leading, I spend a lot of time looking in my mirror to make sure I’m not leaving people behind. If I’m following, I’m worrying about my ride, plus the ride of the rider in front of me.

3 LifeOn2Whls June 30, 2009 at 10:17 pm

I refuse to ride in a group or more than a bike or two anymore. The last group I rode with practiced safe & sane riding…ok fine. This was on my other bike, a ‘79 CX500 so I didnt mind cruising and enjoying he sites. When we found a great COMPLETELY empty back road, the leader who also happened to be the guy who set the whole thing up…he tore off and I quickly caught up and stayed with him, enjoying the road. When we got to the end we talked about how much run the back road had been and waited for the others to putter along and catch up. When we got to our next destination I got the “preaching” from all the old guys about how we need to ride “safe”. So you either have a group that puts along or you have one that goes way too fast. Either way its more fun on your own.

4 cpa3485 July 2, 2009 at 7:08 am

I like an occasional group ride just because of the departure from my normal routine. Haven’t done a lot of group riding though. It sounds like a group of 5 or less would be the ideal size.

5 Karen July 2, 2009 at 1:56 pm

Ah, but there’s something to be said when 10 women ride as a group into a small town! I enjoy it on occasion, when expectations are well established up-front (type of ride, speed, hand signals, etc.). It’s also cool seeing a large group from the back as you ride through sweeping turns. Gives me goose bumps. That said, I usually ride alone or in twos. You’d probably enjoy Lois on the Loose (loisontheloose.com). She a lone adventure rider and is speaking at this summer’s Women and Motorcycling Conference.

6 Stacy July 6, 2009 at 1:46 pm

@Ken: The only time I’ve felt alone in a group was when it was me and a bunch of Harleys. ;)

@tedder: Very mathematical of you! And you’re right: worrying about other riders is a big enjoyment drain.

@LifeOn2Whls: Since when does safe equal boring? Yuck! Probably won’t be riding with them again, eh?

@cpa3485: If you can find a group of riders that matches your riding style, you could probably have fun regardless of the numbers. But finding those with the right “chemistry” is the hardest part.

@Karen: I get enough stares in small towns when I’m by myself that I’d love to see that times 10. Speaking of Lois, I’ve got her first book on my to-read list.

7 Lucky July 7, 2009 at 10:13 pm

I like group riding in VERY small doses. Otherwise, more than one other bike drives me nuts!!

Leave a Comment