I would be interested in hearing about others experiences with group riding.
I joined 2 riding clubs for a variety of reasons thinking that group rides would be safer, the comaraderie, meet new people, explore new places., etc.
So far I have met new folks and gone places I would not normally have gone, but often the club leaders seem to forget there are club guidelines and leave some of us behind. The group often gets split up into the speed demons with a pass everything on the road game leaving the "cruisers" behind.

Sometimes they don't communicate what's next. We're still doing up our helmets and pulling on our gloves when they leave never to be seen for 3 more hours.

I am somewhat disillusioned by group rides because there are club regulations that are completely disregarded.

Please share your stories ladies about any club or group rides you have done.

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1st motorcycle 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.

My BMW club has several "Poker Runs" during the year. Our Rides Chair lays out a beautiful route. Often some scavenger hunt type questions, are included like, "Who fought in the battle of..." which would be answered on a roadside marker along the way.

Everyone gets a route sheet to use, and he leads a group as well (good for the never before participated).

There is NEVER stopping at bars involved, and nearly always breakfast before and lunch after.

I've been on some very well run rides and some badly run ones too.

The "bad" ones were usually causally put together rides where SOME of the folks have ridden together and already know the hand signals, but not everyone does.

If you are hoping to participate, then try making a point of asking the coordinator (or whoever looks in charge) for some guidance. A lot of time, folks just don't THINK about that stuff.

Pam

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ATGATT: Becuase walking away in disgust beats riding away in an ambulance.
Admitted BMW MC snob.

My husband and I (newbies to motorcycles) signed up for a poker run for charity this weekend. It was our first experience with a group ride and we were lucky to have people riding lead and drag that stopped traffic for us at intersections. It was well run altho we rode up in the mountains on twisties that I would have said "another time, please" if we didn't have to keep up. All in all we both rode it out beautifully, kept up with all 35++ bikes and even rode down the mountain all the way home in a blowing downpour (1/2hr to 45 minutes. Total miles 106.)
The pillions ?? were not all that friendly. Maybe two of the ten spoke to me. The men were nice to my husband and I as we had our little 11 y/o Jack Russell Terrier riding with us. I was a little saddened by the fact there were no women riding solo, but tried to encourage one woman to take the MSF course as her husband wanted her to ride her own.
Rain and cold notwithstanding it was a good day!!

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Tactically aware and dangerously underestimated!

It would concern me if the Road Captains at these rides aren't following thier own guidelines. I personally tend to stay away from the big event group rides but I've enjoyed alot of other group rides and the key to those is communication. We have in the past split into two groups if there are alot of bikes and yes, those that like to keep a brisk pace are at the front and the cruisers are the second group in the back.

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2006 VTX 1300 R


Life looks alot better through a set of handlebars!!

Interesting topic. Before reading this, I would have assumed that any "club" would, by definition, be organized and have well-planned group rides. I don't have any personal experience in this yet, but I now know that I should arrive early to any function so I can ask questions and gauge the level of leadership in any group. I hope I have better experiences than some of the ladies posting here.
Coincidentally, the September issue of Motorcyclist has an article with tips for being a good group leader. Examples CherokeePati and Blues2Cruise might appreciate: "Be a leader, not a racer"; "Do a pre-ride briefing"; and "Stop at all yellow lights" (blasting through them splits the group).
If you can still find it on the shelves, I recommend picking up a copy of this issue.

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'85 Yamaha FJ600

Thanks for the tip MonkeyMaw,
I'll try to pick up a copy. As I said, this was a charity ride and not an organized group ride. All in all it was handled well altho we (my husband and I) wondered if rides were held like horse trials (on a hardness or length of ride graded from 1 to 10??). It would be easier to evaluate your skill level that way ahead of time! We did increase our skill level that day whether we wanted to or not. It was obviously run of by a local Harley rider group as the vast majority were riding them and several of them knew each other. I sure wish there were other women riders with them riding solo!

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Tactically aware and dangerously underestimated!

MonkeyMaw, I'll look for a copy tomorrow. Thanks.

I think sometimes the "leaders" forget they have club standards they are supposed to follow.
The last ride, where I ended up riding the canyon by myself for three hours was due to lack of communication by the leader.

One minute it was supposed to be our lunch break, and then the next minute he decided no and got up to get ready to go.

I had to quickly gobble down an energy bar and pour some more fluid into my camelback, but he didn't wait. I tried to catch up, but couldn't, so I quit trying and rode my own ride.

They probably were at the next appointed restaurant 30 minutes before me...at least they waited to make sure I made it ok.

I will make sure that the next group ride I go , I will make sure they have some dialogue before the ride starts.

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1st motorcycle 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.

I've been on poker runs, group rides, full moon rides, charity rides, etc. What I have found is that most of these rides are very fast paced, mainly because there were more men riders. (no offense guys). I did find a ladies group down in Houston (we just recently moved to Austin) and it was alot of fun. Our top speeds on the rides were 60-65mph and when we were out on the country roads we didn't worry about spacing AND we actually saw the countryside.

Now that I'm in Austin I wanted to find other lady riders who wanted had the same rush of riding, but wanted a much slower paced ride. We now call ourselves the "Hill Country Lady Cruisers", but there are no officers or anything. Just a bunch of ladies who like to ride.

ANYHOO, after being much long winded - I prefer riding with smaller groups and at a much slower pace

I posted my complaints about groups int he other forums. Mainly, Harley groups around here follow H.O.G. rules, which dictate you must be able to stay in your formation, and take turns at posted speeds. Really - see the website for "Spitzie's" in Colony NY...

Anyway, I do not always take the tight 10 -15 mph yellow sign recomended turns at 55-65 mph, which makes me fall behind. I generally catch up as they get into town, or at a stop. But this has been more informal, and with groups of only MEN riders, all very experienced. (And too selfish to slow up for me!)

Saturday I am thinking of a group ride. If I find they have a bunch of rules that are going to harsh my gig, I will bail, and spend the day cruising alone. One the one hand, it would be nice to have people to chat with at stops. On the other, I want to enjoy the majority part of the day - which is the RIDE. In NE NY there aren't many left!!

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Candy 750

Hey, I agree with you TOTALLY! I have found that most group rides (large groups) tend to cramp my enjoyment of the ride.

I went way out of my comfort zone up here in Austin and posted a few signs around town looking for other lady riders who enjoyed the same rush of riding, but at a much slower pace. If you pm me, I can e-mail you the flyer I used. I did put a disclaimer on it that only serious bikers need to reply - that way I didn't have wierdos contacting me. I have found several really nice lady riders AND there hubbies enjoy riding with us AND understand that us ladies are riding our ride. Sometimes, the guys will ride ahead and us ladies will eventually meet them there. Seems to work pretty well.

Good luck and ALWAYS ride your ride!
cruzinmom

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Girls just wanna have fun...