[SkydiveSonic]

So my girlfriend and i head out on a ride today with 2 people from BCSB who i know and trust as riders, and one guy who i've never ridden with before (who also had a passenger). We meet up with this guy on #1, and take off for Princeton with this guy in the lead. The traffic was pretty heavy, and within a minute of being on the highway, the lead bike starts weaving between the traffic and taking stupid risks just to get a few cars ahead. It's like he's riding by himself, not leading a group. A few minutes of this and the other 3 bikes are well ahead of me because i'm not willing to take risky moves with my girlfriend on the back with me. 50k's down the road and they're GONE. Nowhere in sight. A few open stretchs of road and i've gotten up to 180kph to try and catch the rest, but no-one in sight AT ALL. If this was you, would you have carried on, or turned back? Me - i stopped, text the other group members, and headed home. The whole point of this ride for me was that it was a GROUP ride, if i want to ride solo, i can do that any time i want to. Far as i'm concerned, if the leader of this "group" ride has no respect for the guys at the back, and is not interested if they're still following, or have gotten into an accident trying to keep up, then i'm not going to ride with em. There's no way i'm taking stupid risky moves to keep up with some monkey with something to prove. Nadia, thanks for stopping to make sure we were ok. At least ONE of the group had some sense of group etiquette. End of rant.....

 

[slowzuki]

And a good rant...you did the right thing...

 

[Ready2Ride]

What rant?? I think this is a very valid point, and one that most of the riders I ride with agree on! Good on you for making the decision to leave the "group" in order to keep yourself and your girlfriend safe. ALWAYS RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE.

 

[coolio]

Maybe this was a fast-paced group ride??

 

[Commander Keen]

No ride should ever be "fast paced" when passengers are involved.

My .02...

 

[barking pumpkin]

You did the right thing....safety first.

 

[SkydiveSonic]

Nope - not fast paced. Just meant to be a "casual" ride there and back. And with that level of traffic, it should DEFINATLY have not been fast.

 

[osama1234]

Totally agree.
I think it's not enough to say, 'This is why I only ride with a few close friends.'
We have enough courtesy on the road to wave to each other, similarly I think this needs to be drilled into other riders' heads by likeminded individuals when we go out; If a group isn't interested in us, we need to turn it into a solo ride. (Which you did)
When enough people do this, these kind of riders will realize that caring about the group is a part of proper group riding etiquette and needs to be applied by them on the road.

 

[slowzuki]

Thank gawd you didn't wast your time and risk you and your girlfriends life to try and catch the Rossi wannabe....people like that: let 'em go...why do they even show up on group rides when all they gonna do is go off the front and ride by themselves. Quality riding partners will go off the front but then slow down a bit and let everyone come together again. Must have been a rookie group rider.

 

[Tattoodles]

Pretty much since the death on Julia's last ride I've sworn off of open call BCSB group rides. No direspect to anyone I've met or ridden with from the forum - there's some awesome folks who've taken me on some great twists - and a lot of riders I've made friends with from BCSB are riders I look forward to doing group rides with next summer but when you get a pack of young, testosterone filled males who don't know each other, everyone's got something to prove and it sometimes turns ugly.

I'm all about the buddy system now. This means I pair off with one other rider who rides at a similar pace and we keep tabs on eachother, be it waiting for him to catch up or agreeing on a way point up ahead or optimaly, riding together at an agreed upon pace.

 

[busa_tom]

Pretty much since the death on Julia's last ride I've sworn off of open call BCSB group rides. No direspect to anyone I've met or ridden with from the forum - there's some awesome folks who've taken me on some great twists - and a lot of riders I've made friends with from BCSB are riders I look forward to doing group rides with next summer but when you get a pack of young, testosterone filled males who don't know each other, everyone's got something to prove and it sometimes turns ugly.

I'm all about the buddy system now. This means I pair off with one other rider who rides at a similar pace and we keep tabs on eachother, be it waiting for him to catch up or agreeing on a way point up ahead or optimaly, riding together at an agreed upon pace.

Your words are good words and I agree with you. That was also my last "open" group ride as well. I found too many different levels of people trying to ride together, with the more experienced riders leading the inexperienced riders at too fast a pace. Lot's of riders crossing the line and one paid with his life. Since then, I have become very insistant on riding with people at my level, who are looking for what I want in a ride. I know it sounds greedy, but we only get one chance at life.

 

[bluenote]

So my girlfriend and i head out on a ride today with 2 people from BCSB who i know and trust as riders, and one guy who i've never ridden with before (who also had a passenger). We meet up with this guy on #1, and take off for Princeton with this guy in the lead. The traffic was pretty heavy, and within a minute of being on the highway, the lead bike starts weaving between the traffic and taking stupid risks just to get a few cars ahead. It's like he's riding by himself, not leading a group. A few minutes of this and the other 3 bikes are well ahead of me because i'm not willing to take risky moves with my girlfriend on the back with me. 50k's down the road and they're GONE. Nowhere in sight. A few open stretchs of road and i've gotten up to 180kph to try and catch the rest, but no-one in sight AT ALL. If this was you, would you have carried on, or turned back? Me - i stopped, text the other group members, and headed home. The whole point of this ride for me was that it was a GROUP ride, if i want to ride solo, i can do that any time i want to. Far as i'm concerned, if the leader of this "group" ride has no respect for the guys at the back, and is not interested if they're still following, or have gotten into an accident trying to keep up, then i'm not going to ride with em. There's no way i'm taking stupid risky moves to keep up with some monkey with something to prove. Nadia, thanks for stopping to make sure we were ok. At least ONE of the group had some sense of group etiquette. End of rant.....

+1 to you for riding your own ride
-1 to you for getting in a snit and going home

I look at every ride as a possible solo ride. It saves aggravation, it's safer, and if it happens to turn out that way I'm not disappointed.

Cory

 

[GSP]

If the group aspect of the ride is important, ask about meeting places before you leave. Ride your own ride to the meeting place, stop and chat, repeat.

I don't really care if I "ride" with anyone, but I enjoy the social aspect at the stops (well, every now and then).

 

[Stewy]

That's typically how I've done group riders as well. Setting up pre-defined meeting spots is an excellent way to 'bring the group back together'. Props to you for riding within your skill level and remaining safe, especially with your girl on the back.

If the group aspect of the ride is important, ask about meeting places before you leave. Ride your own ride to the meeting place, stop and chat, repeat.

I don't really care if I "ride" with anyone, but I enjoy the social aspect at the stops (well, every now and then).

 

[Mr.Sushi ya ha]

Your words are good words and I agree with you. That was also my last "open" group ride as well. I found too many different levels of people trying to ride together, with the more experienced riders leading the inexperienced riders at too fast a pace. Lot's of riders crossing the line and one paid with his life. Since then, I have become very insistant on riding with people at my level, who are looking for what I want in a ride. I know it sounds greedy, but we only get one chance at life.[/

QUOTE]

It is sad that a only a few have given many of us a reason to not ride together. I had made a decision to not go on Julias ride due to having some asshat nearly take me out in my own lane then not having the skill to keep himself on his side of the road and nearly ran head on into an oncomming truck on a previous group ride. It is very sad what happend on the ride with Robert and even worse that my gut feeling of what might happen happened.

Rides like the burns for kid and the toy run are good since they are escorted by a responsible rider and we all follow...I found when a group of just riders get together it has nearly always turned into a race...while some rides were "fun" with the right bunch of guys I can look back and say we did do some high risk stuff and can consider ourselves lucky we made it home without getting busted or a crash.

I along with some of you will only ride with certain people or events from now on.

 

[Thumper 8]

Pretty much since the death on Julia's last ride I've sworn off of open call BCSB group rides. No direspect to anyone I've met or ridden with from the forum...

I'm all about the buddy system now. This means I pair off with one other rider who rides at a similar pace and we keep tabs on each other.

I did one posted ride since Julia's memorial ride (Dazeegirl's recent loop) largely because it was posted as 'experienced riders only' and I knew most of the folks who were there. I was a great, fast ride with no incidents. I prefer to ride slower in the straights and faster in the twisty bits, so I really didn't see anyone from Hope to Princeton, but I knew they would all be waiting at the Chevron. After lunch, I ended up leading a faster group from Merritt through to Pemberton - scooting through the curves.

For me, a group ride doesn't mean I maintain visual contact with another rider or ride 'in formation' - but, as Adam says, it may mean I have a 'buddy' who will keep an eye out for me. I wonder if you had a 'safety chat' before the ride and everyone had the same expectations re: speed and riding together vs. everyone doing their own thing... especially since you were 2-up.

In years past, I have also split from rides where I wasn't comfortable with the other riders and their speed and/or skill level. I would say you did the right thing and split off - and let them know you were leaving. You have to look out for yourself and your own safety.

If the group aspect of the ride is important, ask about meeting places before you leave. Ride your own ride to the meeting place, stop and chat, repeat.

I don't really care if I "ride" with anyone, but I enjoy the social aspect at the stops (well, every now and then).

One of the best parts of group rides is usually chatting over coffee or lunch and getting to know the other riders.

 

[Commander Keen]

That buddy system sounds like a really good idea. Next year I'd like to join in on some group rides, but I'm pretty stubborn about riding at my own pace. It's nice to still have the group aspect though, especially if you're not on familiar terrain, hopefully I'll be able to ride with some people who feel the same way...

 

[tractor]

Find a group that suits you and stick with it, if you try another group fit in with it or break off on your own whether you are faster or slower, but I would not get pissed about it.
I ride with a good group for me when ever I can, If a few others join the group and they ride to close to each other or something I don't like I get ahead of them or behind them.discuss the stopping points before you leave or at least the next stop, and meet or wait for them there.
I have a problem with the idea that the leader is responsible for the rest of the group. The rest of the group must ride their own ride, the leader cannot wait to pass until there is room for the whole group to pass, after the first pass the group can start to spread out and form sub groups or pairs. Also leave some room for unexpected changes of speed, and ride your own speed unless you really like tight groups.
Group riding brings a whole different element to riding and is a skill in itself. How often on a group ride do you find yourself watching the bike in front of you instead of the exit for the corner, that is a problem if you are in a fast group.

 

[bluenote]

Find a group that suits you and stick with it, if you try another group fit in with it or break off on your own whether you are faster or slower, but I would not get pissed about it.
I ride with a good group for me when ever I can, If a few others join the group and they ride to close to each other or something I don't like I get ahead of them or behind them.discuss the stopping points before you leave or at least the next stop, and meet or wait for them there.
I have a problem with the idea that the leader is responsible for the rest of the group. The rest of the group must ride their own ride, the leader cannot wait to pass until there is room for the whole group to pass, after the first pass the group can start to spread out and form sub groups or pairs. Also leave some room for unexpected changes of speed, and ride your own speed unless you really like tight groups.
Group riding brings a whole different element to riding and is a skill in itself. How often on a group ride do you find yourself watching the bike in front of you instead of the exit for the corner, that is a problem if you are in a fast group.

very well said tractor

Cory

 

[Remy]

So my girlfriend and i head out on a ride today with 2 people from BCSB who i know and trust as riders, and one guy who i've never ridden with before (who also had a passenger). We meet up with this guy on #1, and take off for Princeton with this guy in the lead. The traffic was pretty heavy, and within a minute of being on the highway, the lead bike starts weaving between the traffic and taking stupid risks just to get a few cars ahead. It's like he's riding by himself, not leading a group. A few minutes of this and the other 3 bikes are well ahead of me because i'm not willing to take risky moves with my girlfriend on the back with me. 50k's down the road and they're GONE. Nowhere in sight. A few open stretchs of road and i've gotten up to 180kph to try and catch the rest, but no-one in sight AT ALL. If this was you, would you have carried on, or turned back? Me - i stopped, text the other group members, and headed home. The whole point of this ride for me was that it was a GROUP ride, if i want to ride solo, i can do that any time i want to. Far as i'm concerned, if the leader of this "group" ride has no respect for the guys at the back, and is not interested if they're still following, or have gotten into an accident trying to keep up, then i'm not going to ride with em. There's no way i'm taking stupid risky moves to keep up with some monkey with something to prove. Nadia, thanks for stopping to make sure we were ok. At least ONE of the group had some sense of group etiquette. End of rant.....

This is why i dont go on group rides... I dont mind gonig on rides with a couple of my buddies beucase i know they can keep up with what im doing or vise versa thats why i never lead group rides, becuase you have to keep incount of eveything that is riding not just your self. I just ride with close buddies now more than anything.