Ride your own pace

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Dsquintz said:
this actually got me thinking.
I almost had a solo spill the other night because i was about to take a corner a little faster than i saw. Luckily I was able to grab the brakes to slow down before entering the corner(still a good system shock, but if i just went straight would've gone onto another back road so not a huge deal but i learned from that one)
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
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I'm going to go contrarian on this and say that you should never go into a corner too hot for your comfort zone.
All corners have suggested speeds posted. You can always start with that speed.
Trying to fix things midway through the first mistake, usually leads to a second more costly mistake.
If you have the room and you didn't listen to the above, stand the bike up, brake hard, then take the turn at the slower speed.
 
Let's face it, there are a lot of people out there that buy bikes for the thrill. Riding a motorcycle is thrilling because there is very little metal and glass around you to dampen the sensation of speed, the visual sight of the ground passing below you, and the wind rushing around your body. And going faster only heightens that thrill. If you are an adrenalin junkie, taking chances gives you your fix. That sensation of adrenalin coursing through you veins when you enter a corner too hot and get away with it is not possible while riding in the "safe zone". Sure you will eventually have to pay the piper, but until that happens it's worth it. Letting a fellow rider blow you away through the twisties is humiliating if you have a competitive nature, so the only way you can avoid that humiliation is to push the envelope and stick to his wheel. For some life is not worth living unless you occassionaly "lay it on the line". Is there a chance you will be killed or injured? Absolutely, but sometimes it's a risk worth taking. Living safe without ever taking a chance is not living, it's existing.

These types of riders exist and they will not be deterred by words posted on an internet forum.
 
Don't wreck your bike just to keep up with others. That's why I like to lead, so everyone has to follow my safer pace. ;)
 
These types of riders exist and they will not be deterred by words posted on an internet forum.
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I think we all have streaks of it - certainly pushing the limits on the twisties in PA was a thrill and I had to call on life long skill sets and concentrate as speeds got just a bit silly but hey - great road, perfect conditions and no one around. Yep big time thrill.
But buddy was riding his pace and had a bit more acceleration and I was riding mine ( better into the corners ) and we kept in touch and both had fun and got home before the deer got frisky ( that was part of the hurry - but the road was soooooo good ).

I have to get pumped to get into that mood - music does it :D
 
Xtina said:
Don't wreck your bike just to keep up with others. That's why I like to lead, so everyone has to follow my safer pace. ;)
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There are people on here who would try to pass you in the corners if you did that.;)
 
jbbadboy said:
Great post! Personally, the main reason why I ride on my own is because I'm a noob. (It's also the reason why I don't ever go near a Timmie's/L&L/KC where other riders might be chilling out). I just try to get on my bike as much as I can, read up on riding as much as I can and practice at my own pace.
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BINGO! I've had a few friends offer group riding time but I've turned them down until I'm more comfortable. It doesn't help (or maybe it does) that I have a NEW bike that I'm babying.
 
Xtina said:
Don't wreck your bike just to keep up with others. That's why I like to lead, so everyone has to follow my safer pace. ;)
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I would refuse to ride with you. Mainly because you just crashed your first bike and want an R6 now. :rolleyes:
 
Xtina said:
Don't wreck your bike just to keep up with others. That's why I like to lead, so everyone has to follow my safer pace. ;)
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It's generally best practice to have the best riders leading/chasing. Inexperienced riders should start at the back just ahead of the sweep and move up if they feel like going a bit quicker.
 
When I started riding street 4 years ago I gor really lucky, I think .... Bought a small bike (no luck here just common sense) which led me to a first group ride led by very experienced rider as I learned later on. I could tell by his body positioning, talk during stops etc. that he really does know what he's doing. At that point I decided that is my guy (whether he likes it or not ... LOL; I figured he doesn't mind). So, I always made sure that I am behind him. I'd try to not follow someone who was worse rider than me as I thought that's the last thing I need ...

Over the years, I've gone on group rides, but not as many, as I prefer to ride with people I know, or one of my friends knows that and can sort of vouch for them. At times new guys show up, but it's not as frequent, and again, I am in control where in the group I'll wedge myself. People don't realize it, but just by talking to guys and watching them, you can pick up what kind of a rider a person is or will be in the next hour or so.

Finding your guy to me is essential for new riders. For myself, it made a huge difference and to this day I enjoy following him, because there's always stuff to learn and I feel safe doing so. It's both, the theory before and after rides, and of course the riding itself. All good free education, if you can find the guy ....
 
stormcat said:
Back to the original topic...

Am I the only rider with built-in fear switches? Riding my own ride for me has always been about managing risk, which in turn depends on heeding my fear switches. If something is uncomfortable or feels wrong, I slow it down. Perfect example a few weeks ago out with a group charging headfirst into miles of blind corners, many with gravel down the center. I slowed it down. Not worth a head-on collision or a lowside to me. I just met up with them at the next stop again. That's the way everyone should ride, regardless of experience. If something makes you uncomfortable, then don't do it! You can't concentrate on the task at hand if you're feeling at all anxious. All good things come with time, and you can't rush experience.
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+1 very nicely articulated
 
caboose483 said:
It's generally best practice to have the best riders leading/chasing. Inexperienced riders should start at the back just ahead of the sweep and move up if they feel like going a bit quicker.
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I was referring to a small group of 2-3 riders.
 
stormcat said:
I would refuse to ride with you. Mainly because you just crashed your first bike and want an R6 now. :rolleyes:
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Geez people. Chillax, I'm not getting an r6. You don't have to ride with me if you don't want to, but there's quite a few that still do. ;)
 
caboose483 said:
It's generally best practice to have the best riders leading/chasing. Inexperienced riders should start at the back just ahead of the sweep and move up if they feel like going a bit quicker.
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Really? I was told the opposite. Always best to have the more inexperienced set the pace. Even when my friends and I take multiple vehicles (cars, not bikes), I'm always the chase vehicle because I have no problem keeping up.
 
EngineerJoe said:
Really? I was told the opposite. Always best to have the more inexperienced set the pace. Even when my friends and I take multiple vehicles (cars, not bikes), I'm always the chase vehicle because I have no problem keeping up.
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Then you were told by idiots.

Lead pace would vary from ride to ride depending on the group. If I'm leading and i have a bunch of hooligans with me my pace will be different than if I'm leading and it's primarily n00bs. For any roads that have particularly challenging features I'd usually stop at the last stop sign before and advise any n00bs that there is a blind corner, or a decreasing radius, or a big bump, whatever so be careful.

You think sending a n00b down Snake Rd as lead into a decreasing radius left with no run-off is a good idea?

In all the rides I lead or chased we never had one crash. I guess that's the difference between an idiot and a good rider organizing a ride....
 
It strikes me that people are talking about two different sorts of group rides; 'sight seeing' and 'spirited.'

On a spirited ride, putting a slower, less experienced rider in the front is counter intuitive. If you do so, you essentially guarantee that the more experienced riders will not enjoy themselves. You're also doing the slower rider a disservice, by not giving him the opportunity to observe how a more skilled rider rides. Allowing riders on such a ride to slot themselves in by relative skill level, most to least, means that they're going to have a rider who is more skilled than themselves, but not so much so as to be out of reach, immediately in front of them. This is an ideal situation for self improvement.

On a sight seeing ride, it doesn't matter one way or the other. Your goal is to cruise around and look at the scenic vistas and pretty flowers. Skill, apart from the simple ability to stay upright, is of little concern. You're just going from point A to point B.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
It strikes me that people are talking about two different sorts of group rides; 'sight seeing' and 'spirited.'

On a sight seeing ride, it doesn't matter one way or the other. Your goal is to cruise around and look at the scenic vistas and pretty flowers. Skill, apart from the simple ability to stay upright, is of little concern. You're just going from point A to point B.
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This is a fair statement.

Any sight-seeing rides i ever went on were not really group rides. No lead, no chase, just me and one or two other friends who's riding i am familiar with so no one has to worry about anyone else.
 
In my time I've led more then a few group rides. Tried most of the various ways of making the ride as safe as possible. I hopefully learned a few things. Tried the slow riders leading and it was a disaster. These riders were so concerned about slowing down the riders behind them that they rode way over their heads, still relatively slow but very,very scary. They also had a terrible time.

To me, the rider leader has no responsibility for the riders in the group once they are on the road. You simply can't ride another persons motorcycle. The leaders responsibility is in explaining the "ride rules" and leading the ride to wherever you are going. Most riding groups I've been associated with have a varied skill/speed level. The trick the ride leader has is doing their best to keep things entertaining for the faster riders but not suicidal for the slower riders. But, they have no responsibility for somebody crashing behind them. I always told riders to ride their own pace, we will wait at any turn off and if I'm going too slow then pass me but make sure you know the route as I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time chasing you down if you miss a turn off... :)



EngineerJoe said:
Really? I was told the opposite. Always best to have the more inexperienced set the pace. Even when my friends and I take multiple vehicles (cars, not bikes), I'm always the chase vehicle because I have no problem keeping up.
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ddusseld said:
I always told riders to ride their own pace, we will wait at any turn off and if I'm going too slow then pass me but make sure you know the route as I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time chasing you down if you miss a turn off... :)
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Three words: "the mad Brazilian"
 
Many ride leads pay lip service to "ride your own pace". I've been on a few rides where they lost people. Leads running stop signs and making a right turn ahead of a car with the right of way, seeing the light about to change and speeding up instead of slowing down, not identifying the route or even the final destination. One group ride we started with around 20 people including a sidecar rig, it was supposed to be a sightseeing ride as Rob would call it, we ended with 3 of us at the final destination. The only reason that I managed to make it, was that I started third in the pack. When we arrived we found out that the lead had planned to stay there. So there I am in some unknown small town having to guess how to get home.

Anyway if you put the newbies near the back, push too hard and crash, be prepared for one to follow you and run you over.
And it's true that if you have a decent lead, and put them right after the lead, they will ride slower and aggravate some of the more aggressive riders, but putting them at the back and having them attempt to chase down those flying out of sight around corners in an unknown area, is also a recipe for a crash.
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