Group Riding

This past weekend, there were 3 motorcycle accidents in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In one case "police said a motorcyclist going more than 100 miles an hour crashed into another motorcyclist on westbound Interstate 40." The riders were part of an organized group ride and the motorcyclist going over 100 miles an hour blew out a tire trying to catch up to the other riders.

This brings up one of my pet peeves. Group rides in which the leader has no clue what is going on behind him and the consequences of his actions.

Recently, I was on an organized ride involving 50-60 bikes. The leader was cruising at 65mph in a 55mph speed zone. Those in the rear, including myself, frequently had to speed up to 75mph to catch up to the group. At one point the bike in front of me almost ran into the rear of the bike to his front such as the accident noted. Needless to say, during the ride I was constantly looking for escape lanes if I needed them.

This group leader on this ride did not observe several rules.

1) The leader should not exceed the posted speed limit or even stay 5mph below the limit. Safety is the number one priority of the leader, PERIOD!

2) The leader should watch the formation in his rear view mirror and adjust his speed to keep the formation tight.

3) After turning a corner and going through curves, as well as other situations, the leader should accelerate SLOWLY to keep the group formation tight. I was on a 9/11 ride into New York City in which the group leader quickly accelerated after going through a toll booth. Needless to say the group got split up and the bikes ahead were out of sight. Fortunately, I had been on the ride in previous years and knew the route into NYC, so we were able to eventually rejoin the rest of the group. Otherwise we would have lost our way and a good portion of the group would have ended up falling out of the ride.

These rules outline, in my opinion, two of the most important responsibilities of a group leader: safety and keeping the group formation tight.