Using the whole road (Group Riding) - Opinions?

[Enchanter]

But at that point, why are they riding a motorcycle if they're just going straight?

... but wanting to ride again tomorrow or the next day and make it home safe has kept me in check for decades and will always be the goal.

Adopting good habits, and sticking to them religiously

I'll echo what these guys have said.

Also, when it comes to operating a vehicle (car or motorcycle) one of the other benefits of making habits is that they will generally become muscle-memory. This is useful in that you will be more likely employ these memorized skills (physical and mental) when you become distracted, or overloaded, when riding and driving.

 

[slowblood]

Heck no! Why take the fun out of a nice road?

Why go to the trouble of finding a nice bit of twisty, and take half the twists out? Just so you can go even faster to put some twist back in? And then have to work the brakes harder for the right hand turns? Madness!!!

Some people haven't learned how to turn. (seriously)



Madness!!! <-- AGREED!

 

[Marcoose]

I do it if I can see through 2-3 corners in advance, and it's more fun to take the whole road instead of negotiating the bends. But since negotiating the bends is the key reason for me to ride, cutting corners kind of defeat the purpose of riding. There's a suite of esses 1/4-1/3 mile south of Alice's that is actually fun to cut the corners. But I have to see through whole suite, otherwise just enjot the

 

[planegray]

Where there's a clear line of sight, I think it's a good idea from time to time to wander the entire width of the road. The idea being to condition your reflexes to know this space can be available when evasive action is required and there's no oncoming traffic. Keeping a mentality that staying in your lane trumps everything else could get you in trouble some day.

But doing it to go faster seems pretty silly. Why go to great lengths to seek out the twistiest roads, and then ride in a way that straightens them out?

+1

When learning how to fly, you are trained to always be on the lookout for a place to land.

When on the moto, I transfer this into; always be on the lookout for an escape route

 

[DefyInertia]

Something I must admit that I do / have done that may be even more dangerous........

Not slowing down when you can't SEE where the road goes because you KNOW where it goes (i.e., setting up for a turn w/ lots of speed beforecresting a hill that you know is followed by a L hand turn). This comes from knowing a road really well....but leaves very little room for a suprise.

I thought I'd mention this because the mentality is somewhat the same...

There's a suite of esses 1/4-1/3 mile south of Alice's that is actually fun to cut the corners. But I have to see through whole suite, otherwise just enjot the

You're not talking about on 84, are you? If so, that section is crazy fun within the lines IMHO. I gues it's just personal pref. though.

 

[Marcoose]

Yes, 84.

 

[Kestrel]

Never. If you can't keep up, so be it. Breaking double yellow sure as shit isn't going to save you or make you faster.

Nobody that I ride with ever breaks the double yellow and rides the entire road. Unacceptable in our little group. If I'm riding solo and I cross the double yellow, I'm always pissed off at my poor riding afterward. I feel like I've lost whatever game I'm playing with myself.

Breaking double yellow to pass a car where a bike could safely pass, but a car couldn't? Perhaps. On roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway, where passing zones are 20 miles apart, that's really the only way to go about doing business... But aside from situations like that, I never do. It's just not worth it.

 

[Gary J]

The primary motivation in bringing up this topic, is recognizing the very strong influence that less experienced riders often get upon seeing (and then copying) observed behavior. Especially when that behavior is observed being done by riders they perceive as being very experienced, very skilled, or just one of the cool guys to emulate in wanting to fit in and be accepted.

Posted videos that depict the forms of riding behavior referenced in this thread, that end up having nothing but “cool video bro” responses, are likely to be perceived by those same less experienced riders as a statement of a broad acceptance mindset by the local motorcycle community (and BARF in general).

Bringing the topic to the table for discussion (with poll numbers for easy viewing) may potentially allow those same easily influenced riders to recognize that all posted video isn’t necessarily a model to follow in developing their own best-practice riding habits.

It may not make any difference to discuss the topic in this thread, as peer pressure and wanting to be cool are pretty strong pulls; but worst-case it couldn’t hurt anything to give people a chance to air out their opinions on the topic here.

 

[Marcoose]

The primary motivation in bringing up this topic, is recognizing the very strong influence that less experienced riders often get upon seeing (and then copying) observed behavior.

Monkey see, monkey do.

 

[NoobCorpse]

Echoing what others said, one of the main reasons I don't do large group rides anymore.

While I may ride like an idiot sometimes, I take responsibility for my idiocy, and I take care to ride with good friends who will call me out for it. The "big group" mentality seems to make people take liberties with road rules and road safety - saw a ricer car club drive up on 35 on Sunday that *stopped on both lanes* of the road while pulling out of the vista point that's halfway between 4 corners / Alices, so they could get organized in the "right order" or something. I've seen similar behavior on large moto group rides - keeping the group together / keeping up with others trumps safety and courtesy. No thanks.

 

[rritterson]

You are going to have to deal with the consequences of someone else using the whole road whether you, yourself, are doing it or not. Telling the other riders they are doing something wrong is not going to help and will make you seem douche-y. So the real question seems to be: do you go on group rides, accepting the risks of the behavior of others over which you have no control?

Answer (for me): no.

 

[budman]

Telling the other riders they are doing something wrong is not going to help and will make you seem douche-y.

Oh well... I can live with that.

Usually it is not that hard to talk about someones actions from my experiences.

If you meet resistance then you can say I am douche-y, but still alive.

 

[Marcoose]

Telling other riders they are doing something wrong is not going to help and will make you seem douche-y.

Dunno about that. I've been told I'm doing something wrong and never felt anything bad about the person.

 

[Ant]

It's not lack of skill that causes wrecks it's ego.

Went on one group ride (first and last) and after watching the rider in front of me with passenger passing cars and OTHER riders in corners weather they liked it or not using both sides of the yellow my quest to look cool by keeping up screamed FUCK THIS. At the first stop I politely said my goodbyes and went off on my own. I must not have looked cool being the last one into the first stop but I really didn't care either.

 

[flying_hun]

Oh well... I can live with that.

Usually it is not that hard to talk about someones actions from my experiences.

If you meet resistance then you can say I am douche-y, but still alive.

Pretty much this for me.

I do a lot of group rides - some I organize, others I just show up. Some group rides I know I won't do, and very occasionally I've left one where I wasn't comfortable. Folks sometimes make it sounds like all group rides are the same, but that has not been my experience. Like so many things in life, it's not just black or white.

 

[jimboFosho]

I think its funny this was brought up because its something that I would have figured would just be understood to be something that you just don't do...apparently I don't get out enough. Something like this seems to be such a silly way to go out and I think that seeing someone using the whole road in a blind situation not only looks like a tool but is going to end up as a hood ornament because there is no way other drivers are all going to be expecting a bike to suddenly appear in their lane and take 'evasive action'. If anything, I am expecting to be the one needing to take evasive action as a car swings wide over the DY.

 

[GAJ]

Something I must admit that I do / have done that may be even more dangerous........

Not slowing down when you can't SEE where the road goes because you KNOW where it goes (i.e., setting up for a turn w/ lots of speed before cresting a hill[/URL] that you know is followed by a L hand turn). This comes from knowing a road really well....but leaves very little room for a surprise.

I thought I'd mention this because the mentality is somewhat the same...

That practice will not end well.

I can't tell you how many times when coming up to a blind crest and following a car/pickup when there are bicycle riders just ahead rather than waiting to cross the crest to move to the left for the bicycles the car/pickup driver swings left just BEFORE the blind crest!

I hand waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when I see that.

Any oncoming vehicle, especially a car/pickup, would have no chance to avoid a potentially deadly head on collision that could kill not only the drivers but the bicyclists as well.

The chances for a motorcyclist to be killed in the same scenario is very high unless they slowed before the crest and moved to the right.

Never mind stopped tractors, animals in the road, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Ozymandias]

I've gotten more and more picky over the years with groups/people that I'll ride with. I'm usually willing to try smaller groups of unknown riders but I really prefer to stick with groups of riders I know or go it alone. The main cause of that is because of the videos I've seen posted here and in some cases been on group rides with some really questionable actions. Well, that and healing takes away a lot of my personal ride time and if anyone is going to take my ride time away from me it's going to be me, not some guy riding above his head.

But honestly, I suspect it isn't an increase in the bad form of crossing the DY so much as it is more seen now that everyone has a GoPro or a Contour so it's more in our faces than it was before.

 

[rritterson]

Dunno about that. I've been told I'm doing something wrong and never felt anything bad about the person.

Did you know that person beforehand? I've been on a few group rides and it's always been random people meeting, of which at least a couple feel pressured to show off or keep up.

 

[Hank Wong]

Gary J, thanks for bringing up a very good topic. I am with you. The ones who cross the DY are only cheating themselves of a good twisty road.