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Solo rider or the group thing?

redclfco

New member
I never will forget getting rear ended while riding my Yamaha Maxim by a friend who was too busy watching the scenery of the foothills. After crashing into me, my "friend" stopped a hundred yards back, watching safely from a distance as I proceeded with my drunken sailor act all over the two lane road. His wheel was bent, and fast approaching total flat to give you an idea of how hard he crashed into me. I never again rode with this foolish man.

I started a major wobble as I hit the brakes and let off the throttle; then my brain turned on, and I somehow managed to keep it upright, let off the brakes and came to a stop in the middle of the road.. If a car would have been coming on the 55MPH road, I would be dead.

I didn't kill him, but I sure contemplated it!

Every since, if presented with an option of riding solo or riding with a pac o' jackals, I prefer to ride solo. If I'm committed to a group ride thing, then by all means, let me trail behind, or give me an empty road and major distance between me and the rest of the group.

Some can be trusted, I have ridden with them enough to know they know what they are doing, know how to keep a distance, and let others riding with them know what their going to do. Those can be counted on one hand. They are riders of experience, riders who have MSF under their belt. My son, who I taught to ride is the only other of whom I can confidently say I trust with my life. People like my friend R. Rapid, has been hit, and knows what it means to be hit, and observes the same caution as me. To him, I trust with the ride.

Some I know can't be trusted. Speed antics, totally reckless riding,fast start, and faster stops or they've been drinking; I say adi??s! I don't want to ride with you- I will see you at the destination. . The guy that hit me that day was pie eyed, and could have killed me; that is a lesson learned, and never forgot.

I guess I'm not much of a "poker run" type of guy.

How bout you?
 
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I much prefer to ride alone. Like you, if in a group, I offer to bring up the rear.

Tom
 
i really enjoy riding with about 8 people i've ever rode with.

i prefer to ride alone most of the time.
 
There are a few trusted people that I enjoy riding with, though never all at once, lol! I ride by myself more often than not.
 
I am a solo rider with an occasional exception. Riding in a group, even a small experienced group, offers up greater risk.
JD
 
When I helped a friend rebuild a CBR600 and learn to ride, I rode about 150 miles total with him over the course of a week or two. We never got too close, and I always stayed in the back.

Apart from that, and 2 local shop rides, I ride solo. In fact, the last shop ride, there was a guy riding my ass so close, I could have reached back and slapped him. Not a comforting feeling on what's supposed to be a fun 100 mile jaunt through some back roads..
 
If I am not alone,which I enjoy a lot...certainally enjoy any ride with my Wing Woman Helen. The two of us know each others good and bad habits...mostly all good, and play well together.

Have a usual 6-8 that we ride with often ,all very experienced and competent...a lot of 3 bike rides with Helen & bro in law Chuck.

Helen has also been run over by someone not experienced or paying attention a few years before I met her...a really bad combo that left her with some serious ankle issues. She doesn't ever want to ride in a helicopter again!
She gets torqued with folks roaring up too close not paying attention and having to jam on their brakes and is not shy about letting them know at the next stop:nono. She is usually second in line when Chuck is leading a smaller group...was riding with him before I came along as he got her back on a bike after her wreck and on a BMW.
She hangs at the back with me on larger group rides if she doesn't know the others styles. If she is on the S bike...she often is way out in front of me:wave,unless I too am on an S and it's just us.She usually is out front still as I am a :gerg compared to her! :bow

I ride at the back as sweep and to ride my own ride on almost any ride...plus my GS is notorius for throwing gravel on the other bikes if you get too close to me:D

My Poker Run days are way behind me...didn't care for them anyways...amateur day is what I called them and stayed away after the first and last experience.
 
I had rather take a beating than ride in a group. I do occasionally ride with 1 other rider, but 90%+ of my riding is solo.

I haven't found anyone that rides like I do. Most of my moto friends think 50 miles is a big day for local riding. 200 miles is a morning warm up.

From reading forums it appears that touring riders on STs (FJR, C-14, ST1100/1300 and BMWs) are mostly solo riders.

I do like moto comradeship at the destination.

Ralph Sims
 
I like riding solo. I am not comfrontable with riding in a very tight group. I like to be more spread out and have greater distance between me and the rider a head of me.
 
prefer solo. I'll ride with my dad and brother without thinking twice.
 
I don't understand the group riding experience. It is about as much fun for me as being on a ride like his to the local bingo hall
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What I do love; a long solo ride that ends at a camp site, where all your riding friends are:clap

The exception for me, off road with a good friend, or two.
231124309_dj5Vb-L.jpg
 
I usually ride alone, 90% of the time. Sometime's I travel to rallies and such with 2 to 4 others that I've rode with before, and sometime's I'll lead a group of 20 or more on a club ride, though I usuall try and break it up into smaller groups. This is usually not a problem, as I have found over the year's is that most BMW riders, ones I know anyways would rather go alone or in smaller groups. I don't like leading a bunch of newbies, then I remember what it was like when I first joined a club so I just watch them more carefully.
 
Two up solo

So far,since re-entering moto's(2007)I've found other riders to mostly be too unpredictable.Often they tend to want to ride next to me.I always tell them before the ride that Iwill be using the whole road at my discretion,so stay back!If necessary wait for a stop to comunicate.Other riders I run with have gone too slow,when leading,which causes traffic to tailgate:nonoI have determined that vehicles when following a moto,begin to watch beond the bike,therefore they tend to stop focusing on YOU!Catastrophy in the making:nonoTwo-up gives company without the endless confusion of where's the other bike?:D
 
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I don't remember all the details, but it was in the local paper here in Oregon.
There were about 30 bikes riding together when something happened in the
front and almost every one of them went down. No one was killed, but some were
in the hospital for awhile. This took place near Portland. I prefer to ride solo.
 
Definitely solo.

Once a month I'll join some guys on a breakfast run, but they're all guys I know personally or by reputation. If new folks show up I'll do my best to worm my way near the front as the regulars tend to flock there.

On rides with people I don't know I frequently go separately and meet the group wherever they're headed.
 
I'd say that 95 percent of my riding is done alone or with my wife on back. I have a few friends that I like to ride with, but the logistics of setting dates, times, etc., dictate solo rides most of the time. Even so, the stops at road-side cafes, camping, etc. and the comradery that comes with friends having a good time together is missed on solo rides.

As for group rides with strangers or semi-strangers, um, no interest there ÔÇö riding styles rarely match up well. As a result, I've stayed away from the local riding clubs whose main activities seem to be engaging in these sorts of group rides.

To each his own, but the elaborate group riding positioning, hand signals, switch offs, lead, tail stuff that some enjoy (like on this site: http://www.njmc.org/etiquette/) run contrary to most everything that I enjoy about riding motorcycles. I somehow found myself roped into one of these rides last summer, and two hours into it was enough for me ÔÇö I'd had it. I conveniently got a few hundred feet ahead of the group, pulled off on a well-hidden side road, then watched them all zoom past a few seconds later. I enjoyed the rest of the ride alone. :wow My wife says I'm anti-social.
 
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