There are plenty of OG's here for sure.
There are quite a few that are younger too.
I have theories on this thanks to my time in the seat here. Since we look at each new member before letting them in the door I have some insight into who is joining and also who is here. I look at the birthdays most days and you will see many 30 somethings that joined a long time ago that have not been active for 10 years or more. BTW I am the almost the oldest Moderator at 60 (except for bikeama 68 I believe). Hun and Planegray are just a bit older than I. Youngest is 35 I believe and the others in between. (carries an axe is younger still but on a staycation from moderating to build a business and kicking ass too!)
Theories:
1. A lot of younger folks get into the sport because it is damn cool and looks hella fun, have friends that may ride and then out because of various things.. family, a crash, lifestyle change etc.
2. The OG’s we see here are a mix of those that rode when they were younger and have returned, some that were always fascinated by the sport and waited until kids grew up or life changed enough to warrant riding and then the other group that
are lifers like me. Many don’t use FB often ( I noted that those that do that I know personally don’t post on BARF nearly as often as they used too).
3. There are other media ways that younger folks communicate that OG’s are not quite in tune with (like me) and so they may not post here “socially”, but still read and will post out of necessity. Some still do, but not as many as when barf was young and dominated by 20 – 35 yo’s. There was no facebook or some of the other platforms that are used often. FB for example is more centric to one’s own life than a somewhat anonymous BARF persona. Sharing the cool rides with friends on FB exposes that to other family and friends, where barf just exposes you to other riders basically.
4. Older rides have more time, more money and participate less in other activities. I am certainly moto centric, because I can no longer do or choose not to do a lot of the things I used to love (play flag football, softball, party until the cows come home, hit movies, hit the beach, get together with other young adults every weekend, etc). Some are physical limitations other are simply choices.
I have seen a few things that I feel are a detriment to BARF having more active younger posters.
• Obviously other Social Media sites.
• Tech issues on barf for photo uploads specifically – The upgrade is snailing along and frustrating to me, but I have to depend on the skilled to make that happen as I don’t have those skills or it would have happened already.
• Telling newbies to use the search function – “We have discussed this 5 f’ing times!”
• Down talking to them about what they should be doing, wearing, riding etc. A lot of that is part of the safety mindset here and that is cool, but delivery matters and some messages can be demeaning in nature.
There are good things too of course.
Finding info is fairly easy and historically remains. You don't get that on FB where life is fleeting and you have to scroll for days to find something old. Not sure if it even remains. Not sure what reddit etc. do for historical info.
Our rallies started 10 years ago… and there were many more younger participants. That has faded, although we still find some, but without a core group of younger friends to enjoy them with a 20 something is not going to come out alone very often.
You would be surprised at how many new members we get each day. 3 to 5 is the norm. By manually allowing entry we get a vision on who is joining and also have been very effective at keeping spammers out. Those that have been around should notice that.
for your track bike
