[Scootereno]

Here is a video of the first part of the Big MotoVlogger Ride I went on. Unfortunately my helmet cam had issues in the mountains and is sketchy.
This is the good footage I got (with a Wheelie Alert) before we hit the mountains.
Enjoy
http://youtu.be/QmmQuv3alxI

 

[Roger32849]

I tend to not go on group rides because of what I just saw in the video. Wheelie alerts, and passing a car while on the breakdown lane are riding practices that put the rest of the crew at risk. The ride in some areas looked like a "free for all" with the organizers either ignoring or not establishing safe road rules.

It was a good video, and illustrated aspects of a ride that set a stage for someone getting hurt by the irresponsible actions of a few of the riders.

What I saw that I thought was good, was the road guards at intersections, and once settled down most of the riders were keeping somewhat of a safe distance behind the rider in front of them. Staggered formation is something I did see.

It isn't a video that I would have associated myself with. Your comment about the news saying your group closed the freeway, isn't exactly helping the image of bikers especially when one guy does an extended wheelie while another passes a car in the breakdown lane.

I would like to be more positive but there wasn't much in the video to be positive about. While on group rides you are only as safe the knucklehead doing something stupid. Many a trip to the hospital have been prefaced with the words "Hey, watch me do this"!!

 

[Scootereno]

Amen Brother!
20% of the kids were a danger to the other 80% and I don't like those odds. We again laid down the "rules" of the ride at the Ice Creamery and a few bailed out to ride on their own. We were fortunate (or unfortunate) that the local police were not around or all of us would have had to deal with that too. There was 3 bikers that crashed but only 2 from riding beyond their ability or education level. see Showing Off = TROUBLE in the safety and tips section.
I normally would pass on a ride like this but one of the organizers is my sons friend and a riding partner of mine. He knew the group was going to be too big and needed help. I called in 2 PGR brothers to be ride leaders/followers and they did a great job with what they had to deal with.
The 3 of us older riders/leaders agreed that we were very lucky and that most of today's youth are pretty dam good after all.

If you always look for the bad in something....you will always find it and....
it makes finding the good like a needle in a hay stack.
I say: Sometimes you gotta just jump in the hay stack and try to find that needle.

 

[fernando]

nice ride!, bunch of people there, Im glad it all worked out for your people.

There will be always people in these gathering that will ride beyond their skills, you either accept it and be more careful or you dont go and watch the video on youtube.

I like riding in groups!

 

[Liamjs]

I tend to not go on group rides because of what I just saw in the video.

Roger, this is not just directed to you, but all who see this video.

I lead group rides and not all groups ride like that. You can find nice scooter groups or even MC groups that really practice safety on their rides. It all comes down to the group leader and what he's tolerant of.

The groups I ride with don't allow alcohol or showing off. If a rider does, they are talked to or expelled if they don't comply. To date we've have minimal injuries and the ones weve had are usually due to inexperienced riders.

It's important to read the groups introduction and policies. If they have waivers, guidelines, riding rules, etc, chances are the leader has his sh.t together and won't allow any shenanigans.

So don't let one bad ride prevent you from enjoying group rides. They really are a lot of fun with the right people.

Check out www.meetup.com and search for motorcycle or scooter in your area. Avoid groups labeling themselves as "clubs" or want dues, have patches and required meetings. That's usually indicative of a commitment to riding with that particular group to the exclusion of others. Personally, I like the groups that are advtertised as just "friends" riding together.

I hope everyone gives it a try. It's a real hoot hang around gear heads. Or on our case, CVT heads.

 

[Roger32849]

Thanks Liam,

I tend not to ride in groups, but I do go on about 3 to 4 charity rides a season. My first is in May. It is the Give Back ride for the city of Townsend Massachusetts Police/fire department. This ride has about 300 and is heavily supported by the local police and fire department. The organizers now have all riders sign waivers, and road rules associated with the rides.

I was in the 4000 bike "RIDE TO GROUND ZERO" that was a fund raiser for victims families of the World Trade Center attack. My motorcycle was a causality. My cooling system failed on the water cooled engine. Also 4 bikes went down less than 6 miles into the 200 mile ride. It was the accordion effect. Lately I lead a small foliage ride in October through the Vermont and New Hampshire Leaf Peeping Season.

Most organized rides that I turn down are in fact club affiliated and want dues and meeting attendance is required. Right now I am sort of a free agent and enjoy riding alone or with a close circle of friends that I trust with my life. We are all well seasoned and are all in constant visual, or electronic contact during the rides. I turn 65 in 2 weeks and have ridden constantly since I was 16.

The video that was posted by Scootereno shows some good points and some not so good. Since the "Not so good" is what will get you hurt or kill you, it overshadowed most redeeming aspects of the ride... Yes, I agree in theory, sometimes jumping into the haystack is what you have to do to find the better and finer points. I didn't mean to indicate that anybody on the ride was not a nice guy/gal, I am sure they all were great people.... An inexperienced or "edge" rider in a group that large stands out as a hazard to all.

I enjoy the camaraderie of a smaller group, but must admit really enjoy a long procession of motorcycles like the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington DC. It is to honor those that give me the freedom to ride and I pay my respects by attending, and it is my honor to do so.

This June and July, if anybody sees an old Ba***rd riding a White Victory Cross Country Tour towing a stake side "Radio Flier" trailer either heading East or West, pull up along side and let me know you are there, high 5, or stop for let's coffee, I'll buy.. I depart Massachusetts on the 20th of June and I am headed for Humboldt County in Northern California. I do this ride with one or two others, this year it will be solo.

 

[Liamjs]

Sounds like you have your bases covered. I must admit my favorite riding is with with a small group of fellow scooterheads of equal abilities and bikes. We have an informal group, but have ridden together so much we don't need any rules, they are understood amongst us.

That being said, the propose of my post was to qualm fears of group riding after people saw that video. We are not all like that. Even Scootereno said he would normally pass on that ride. There are safe and sane riding groups out there. You just need to look for them.

 

[Scootereno]

To be fair to all that have never seen a professionally run and police escorted ride before.....
Here is a ride I do every Memorial Day with 750+ motorcycles and never had an issue at all. Big differences can be seen!
http://youtu.be/BZHusXcbLso

PS- for the squeamish - Watch out for the Lady Bug Alert at 22:50!

 

[ChipDoc]

I tried riding with a Scooter group a couple of months back. They ride on Thursday nights and I've got a family thing most Thursdays, so I don't get to ride with them much. They're a pretty small group of less than a dozen and they've pretty much gotten the crazy-stupids out of themselves. They ride in a safe manner, but I'm just not comfortable riding with them because they want to keep the group tighter than I'm comfortable with.

I used to run into this all of the time with the Concours folks. We'd go into the mountains and enjoy the camaraderie, but I'd always drop out of the groups early since I simply couldn't keep up with them. This Florida boy ain't used to those twisty mountain roads. They had fun riding together while I had fun riding alone. Well, not quite alone. I'd often find one or two folks who were of the same mindset I was and we took a more leisurely tour of that beautiful country rather than seeing who could lean Connie over the furthest in the turns.

Bottom line? Ride your own ride. Pushing yourself a little is a good thing; riding beyond your abilities is quite another.

 

[Roger32849]

Now that is a ride. Well organized and safe. I would feel comfortable taking part. I also took the time to check out the web site.

My Daughter and her family live in Eastman Ga. I go down there quite a bit on the bike to visit. If I make it down this Memorial Day, I will make plans to participate.

 

[Scootereno]

Let me know if you do make it down to ride and I will certainly be glad to greet you.

 

[Roger32849]

Thank you very much... I would be riding a Victory XCT and not the Burgman AN400. I've been doing my "Sprang thang" to get all the maintenance out of the way. I finished wiring my LED light equipped XCT with a trailer light light module so I can tow it this summer. The Burgman is all set with the exception of changing oil. Air pressure will be done when the temps get upward toward 60 deg. The riding season is 6 months or so, so I don't want to waste it by working on my ride.