IMO stay far away from group rides. When I was 18 and got my CBR600 I used to do them all the time as a way to meet other riders - anyone remember the Elements days? Ironically I was one of the more reserved riders and never went down. The amount of crashes and stupidity I witnessed makes me cringe looking back to 17 or so years ago. It's usually the ones trying to keep up to others in the corners, or that blast it WOT on the straights that are the ones that cause the problems. One of the worst was a wheelie gone wrong leaving Yorkville in the early morning hours... front wheel came down on an angle, the bike low sided and bounced off 3 or so parked cars on the side of the street. The guy got his pickup nearby, loaded it up and took off to his condo. I can only imagine the people getting into their cars the next morning and discovering their rocker panels, etc. were smashed in... That was the end of the whole group ride thing for me, went solo since then and don't ride with more than 3 people I know really well (and often twice my age, LOL).
Just last year a friend called me up to ride on our own and then had his younger friends join in midway and it turned into a s%t fest again... Since I was leading my anxiety was through the roof watching how aggressive these guys were in behind me, literally riding my ass like we were in a race. Zero enjoyment. I ended up stopping on the side of the road and telling them I was done, had to get home to the kids, etc. No thanks!
Just last year a friend called me up to ride on our own and then had his younger friends join in midway and it turned into a s%t fest again... Since I was leading my anxiety was through the roof watching how aggressive these guys were in behind me, literally riding my ass like we were in a race. Zero enjoyment. I ended up stopping on the side of the road and telling them I was done, had to get home to the kids, etc. No thanks!
