Motorcycling with others

[gush]

I ride dirt and street with my street machine being an HD Ultraclassic. Riding is like true therapy for me and I absolutely enjoy taking long trips on two wheels and nothing gives me more inner peace than heading out in the morning while the sun comes up.

I normally don't ride with others but this summer we have started doing rides with two other couples and it is a mistake.

I will admit that I can be an ass about things like this but sometimes I like to ride fast, sometimes I like to ride slow, sometimes I just like to stop and look at stuff that interests me. What I don't like is stopping at bars, stopping for smoke breaks or just stopping for premature breaks.

Wife and I are going to LaCrosse end of this month and asked our friends to ride with but they asked their friends to come too which is the couple that recently started to join us for day rides.

Wife and I do not smoke so smoke breaks suck for us and this couple wants to change destination because LaCrosse is just too far.

We have reservations in LaCrosse and I have zero interest in changing our plans. I am normally an accommodating kinda guy and tend to go with the flow but interfering with my two wheel therapy is a no no.

Anybody else like this?

 

[Bogner]

100%

I grew up riding and racing motocross and in my teens got into the road racing side of things as well. Most of my serious riding is on tracks. I do have a couple of friends who are very skilled as well that I ride with once in a while on the street. When we ride on the street (not just putting around) we are full leather and geared up so most of the recreational riders would never bother us or attempt to join in. If so, we just gas it and go...lol. If you do ride at speed and less skilled riders are along it is very easy for them to get bold and or sucked into a situation they may not get out of. I have seen several crashes over the years of people riding above their knowledge of the roads and their skill level. Riding with passengers is also a no no for me. Too much can go wrong if they freak out and or move at the wrong time, etc. Ride solo, it is the best way IMO.

Now on the type of riding you are talking about, I would definitely not be down with the group thing and taking unnecessary breaks and route changes etc. Drinking and riding is the worst thing a person can do so I wouldn't ride near anybody like that. YMMV

The motocross stuff is a different story. We all ride hard, jump to our hearts content, try to blitz the whoops and throw some roost in the corners, crash a few times (hopefully not too bad) and load up and go home..lol. You shouldn't ride dirt alone in case you do have a bad get off and need some help..lol.

 

[gush]

100%

I grew up riding and racing motocross and in my teens got into the road racing side of things as well. Most of my serious riding is on tracks. I do have a couple of friends who are very skilled as well that I ride with once in a while on the street. When we ride on the street (not just putting around) we are full leather and geared up so most of the recreational riders would never bother us or attempt to join in. If so, we just gas it and go...lol. If you do ride at speed and less skilled riders are along it is very easy for them to get bold and or sucked into a situation they may not get out of. I have seen several crashes over the years of people riding above their knowledge of the roads and their skill level. Riding with passengers is also a no no for me. Too much can go wrong if they freak out and or move at the wrong time, etc. Ride solo, it is the best way IMO.

Now on the type of riding you are talking about, I would definitely not be down with the group thing and taking unnecessary breaks and route changes etc. Drinking and riding is the worst thing a person can do so I wouldn't ride near anybody like that. YMMV

The motocross stuff is a different story. We all ride hard, jump to our hearts content, try to blitz the whoops and throw some roost in the corners, crash a few times (hopefully not too bad) and load up and go home..lol. You shouldn't ride dirt alone in case you do have a bad get off and need some help..lol.

I was a hard core sport bike guy for many years, did a couple road racing schools too. Super fun!!

I'm an ultra classic rider now as I gotta have comfort. In the process of figuring out how to do an aux fuel tank so I can cover serious miles.

We never ride dirt alone, way too dangerous. I'm 57 so my dirt bike hero days are long gone but I still love doing it, just a few notches lower these days.

I used to tour on my sport bikes but I don't think I could do that now, getting too old to ride like that for long distance.

I can easily do 600 mile days on my ultra.

 

[bodia]

I don't ride, but I share your feelings. I am a patient person, but I have no time for that type of stuff. I say soldier on without them.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I don’t ride but, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to keep heading to LaCrosse and to do it alone (with your wife).

I know how much my wife and I enjoy walking together or alone (ie: without our son, who is always stopping). I know it’s not the same thing, but it kinda is.

Doesn’t matter if it’s Biking, cycling, exercising, chilling, meditating, whatever.. actively making time to get your head straight is important for mental health and balance in life.

You’re not ditching them to be mean, and as adults they should get it.

 

[Tom Bradovich]

I rode for 30+ years out West, and finding the right group to ride with is certainly a challenge. Some too fast, others too slow. Don't know how or when to ride the stagger. Ride drunk or high. Can't get their sh*t together after a stop. And on and on. Sergio is right about mental health and life balance. Riding you say is your therapy. I don't ride anymore (wife's insistence) but playing my guitar is my current form of meditation & therapy. If I'm going to make music with others, there's a line in the sand regarding what I'd put up with. Gush, establish that line for yourself. You don't have to be an a**hole about it, but why ruin your own therapy sessions?

 

[Fats]

Riding since 1976, including a massive U.S., Canada, Mexico trip, 18k mi in 1979. I NEVER ride in groups, and only ride with my xcountry buddy on occasion. Riding side by side - stupid. Some riders too fast, some too slow - fugettaboutit. If SHTF, I want my entire lane to avoid trouble, not pinned to the yellow line. Bike Week in Laconia NH - live here and have never attended. Stupidest riders in the world come out of the woodwork for that one.

Ok, I’ll take the slings and arrows for my comments, but I’ve had a lot of bikes, gone a lot of miles. BTW, the xc trip in ‘79 was on a Honda CB 350. Just took what I had. Didn’t know any better….

 

[JasonE]

I ride, sometimes a lot. I am an HD guy too. I have a CVO Street Glide. I had an Ultra Classic for a while. My Wife rides as a passenger. We love to get out and get some wind. I am with you on it being a form of therapy. I have ridden with big groups as well as alone. I have actually ridden with a few groups and they are different. I have a couple of groups that are bar hoppers and a couple that are more of a ride to get a meal type of group. I choose which group to ride with depending on what I want to do.

If I had a trip planned and invited another couple to come with my wife and I and they invited someone else, that may slightly upset me, unless they asked me first. We usually have to stop every hour or hour and a half because my Wife needs to stretch her legs a bit. It is usually a restroom stop or a gas stop and isn't real long. If those are the only stops that are in the plan, they would have to accept that as part of the ride and get their smokes toked down in that timeframe. If they didn't like the location because it is too far for them, this isn't the ride for them. I wouldn't modify my plans because someone that wasn't invited by me wants to tag along. You either are going on the planned trip or you are not. The couple you did invite needs to make a decision on whether they are still interested in going on the planned trip as it is planned.

I stopped modifying my plans for friends and family a long time ago. It always results in a trip you are not as happy with as you would have been if you just stuck to your original plans. I got this viewpoint from my Wife's uncle. I first thought he was kind of a jerk when I first met him and was exposed to this way of thinking. After I spent some time around him I realized this is how you have to do things to ensure you have the good time you want to have. We had many issues motivating the whole group to leave on time during family vacations. We started informing people the night before what time we were leaving and where we were going. If they were not ready to leave when we left, they can catch up later on in the day. All they have to do is send a text to find out where we were and how long we were going to be there. I enjoy my trips much more now.

 

[gush]

Riding since 1976, including a massive U.S., Canada, Mexico trip, 18k mi in 1979. I NEVER ride in groups, and only ride with my xcountry buddy on occasion. Riding side by side - stupid. Some riders too fast, some too slow - fugettaboutit. If SHTF, I want my entire lane to avoid trouble, not pinned to the yellow line. Bike Week in Laconia NH - live here and have never attended. Stupidest riders in the world come out of the woodwork for that one.

Ok, I’ll take the slings and arrows for my comments, but I’ve had a lot of bikes, gone a lot of miles. BTW, the xc trip in ‘79 was on a Honda CB 350. Just took what I had. Didn’t know any better….

I went to Sturgis in 2000 and zero desire to go back. Too many stupid people in one place that's not designed to handle crowds that large.

No thanks

 

[gush]

I ride, sometimes a lot. I am an HD guy too. I have a CVO Street Glide. I had an Ultra Classic for a while. My Wife rides as a passenger. We love to get out and get some wind. I am with you on it being a form of therapy. I have ridden with big groups as well as alone. I have actually ridden with a few groups and they are different. I have a couple of groups that are bar hoppers and a couple that are more of a ride to get a meal type of group. I choose which group to ride with depending on what I want to do.

If I had a trip planned and invited another couple to come with my wife and I and they invited someone else, that may slightly upset me, unless they asked me first. We usually have to stop every hour or hour and a half because my Wife needs to stretch her legs a bit. It is usually a restroom stop or a gas stop and isn't real long. If those are the only stops that are in the plan, they would have to accept that as part of the ride and get their smokes toked down in that timeframe. If they didn't like the location because it is too far for them, this isn't the ride for them. I wouldn't modify my plans because someone that wasn't invited by me wants to tag along. You either are going on the planned trip or you are not. The couple you did invite needs to make a decision on whether they are still interested in going on the planned trip as it is planned.

I stopped modifying my plans for friends and family a long time ago. It always results in a trip you are not as happy with as you would have been if you just stuck to your original plans. I got this viewpoint from my Wife's uncle. I first thought he was kind of a jerk when I first met him and was exposed to this way of thinking. After I spent some time around him I realized this is how you have to do things to ensure you have the good time you want to have. We had many issues motivating the whole group to leave on time during family vacations. We started informing people the night before what time we were leaving and where we were going. If they were not ready to leave when we left, they can catch up later on in the day. All they have to do is send a text to find out where we were and how long we were going to be there. I enjoy my trips much more now.

I will not alter my plans and I won't be a jerk about it.

We are going to LaCrosse with or without them. I will lose zero sleep over it but this is a textbook example of why I mostly ride alone.

And to be fair, I would not expect others to alter their plans to accommodate me

 

[Shreve]

Riding for over 40 years now. I always ride solo, mostly just day tripping around my county, poking in small waterfront towns and exploring. I did many charity rides in my younger days. The biggest was Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, which I did for about 8 years straight. It had grown to over 250 riders over the years, and the last one I was stuck in a group of newb riders on my large sport bike. Accident waiting to occur! Solo from that point on. Proceed at your own pace! Distracted folks in cars are enough of a problem. Good luck, ride safe.

 

[Mark Ray]

I will not alter my plans and I won't be a jerk about it.

We are going to LaCrosse with or without them. I will lose zero sleep over it but this is a textbook example of why I mostly ride alone.

And to be fair, I would not expect others to alter their plans to accommodate me

Yep, ride YOUR ride.

I rode for 44 years, learned on dirt to start. Did about 350,000 miles on the street. Sold my last bike 4 years ago. I refuse to let a Distractor take me out.

Anyway, I rode with all kinds of people in that time. My best friend and I took several long trips through the years. We rode and thought alike, so those trips were great. I do have friends that didn't "ride like me." VERY frustrating! The worst example being one of them who would sign up for one of the big benefit rides-I'm talking up to 2000 bikes sometimes. He wouldn't stay in his staggered spot! On one of those rides he was behind us, I look in the mirror, and he's a quarter mile back, riding "his pace." That is dangerous! It was the last time I rode in a ride like that with him.

 

[Bogner]

I would like to do one of those rides like in the documentaries "The Long Way Down" or "The Long Way Around."

 

[veinbuster]

Almost all of my riding was alone, or with my wife, who was on her own motorcycle. The few times I rode with other people, it was an exercise in frustration.

Much the same on a bicycle. I enjoyed riding with my wife, at her pace. I like riding with my daughter and her team mates - we start, pause half way in case someone needs a break or a drink, then finish up. On my solo rides, I frequently see groups stopped every 5-10km. That would make me crazy. I average one 3 minute stop on a 2 hour ride.

 

[JasonE]

I try to be flexible. I have ridden with riders of all experience levels. It is a good feeling to help a new rider get better at riding and group riding. I was a road captain in our HOG group while I was in it. I am fortunate where I live to have access to several riding groups.. I kind of float around between them and adapt.

I will admit that some new riders scare the daylights out of me and I don't want to ride near them. I usually try to find a place where I feel more comfortable with them being. It depends on the rider on whether I would rather have them in front of me or behind me.

I have also been in groups where some of the riders just want to go fast and ride a riskier ride than I am in the mood for that day. I let them go ahead and do that. I will meet you at the destination. I do tend to ride a bit fast on the highway. You sort of have to where I live or you may get run over. The interstate by my house is 6 lanes in each direction so you need get keep up and keep your eyes open.

I live close enough to Daytona that I ride to the events there at times. You just have to let people be people and do the things that are within your comfort zone. I have been riding for right around 40 years, man I am getting old, and have seen and done a lot of silly things on two wheels. I started riding when I was pretty young. I can easily spot the potential dangers and steer clear.

 

[László]

I starred in the movie Easy Rider.

"Not really."

"What are you saying? You were THERE!"

"You were on acid when you saw the movie. You THOUGHT you were in it. 1969 was kind of a strange year for you."

"But I had a bike just like the one in the movie."

"Not really. The guy across the hall in your apartment building had one like it, and that was after you graduated college. You were racing bicycles at the time, not motorcycles."

"Well they FELT like motorcycles."

"Like I said, 1969. Strange year."

 

[Deleted member 5962]

BTW, the xc trip in ‘79 was on a Honda CB 350.

My dad had a CB350, with some aftermarket pipes. (Loud for a bike that size!) He and mom rode it to D.C. once (we live in Cincinnati area) and to Niagra Falls. Then he got a 750 water buffalo and trips like that became routine. Our friend bought the CB350 from him and they'd go all over the place on bike trips.

We always had mini bikes growing up. Then some new neighbors moved next door and he was a motocross racer. He always had at least 3 classes of bikes, and we both had 5 acres, so we built a huge track all the way around both properties. I got good enough to race and did so for a couple years in my late teens.

I got my first road bike, a Suzuki GT380, when I was 18. Sold that when I got my first brand NEW bike, and KZ550 when I was 20. Had that for 3 years. Absolutely LOVED riding, and thought it would be something I did for life. I sold it after 3 very close calls in 2 weeks. Never had a bike since.

 

[gush]

I've had many close calls but you just have to ride like every car is trying to kill you and act accordingly.

I took a turkey vulture to the face at 70 mph on my zx9r. That........is another story.

 

[Bogner]

I've had many close calls but you just have to ride like every car is trying to kill you and act accordingly.

I took a turkey vulture to the face at 70 mph on my zx9r. That........is another story.

I have had a few of those moments where your butthole puckers and swallows the seat...fortunately, no street get offs.

 

[JasonE]

I have had some close calls as well. I can say that nearly all of those were when I was younger and rode a little less focused. These days, I have my head on a swivel and always expect people to do the wrong thing. That has helped me avoid getting into a situation that I can't get out of, so far.

I have owned many different motorcycles in my years. I rode Honda and Yamaha a lot in my younger years. I then moved over to Harley Davidson after my daughter was born. It was a little harder to do the stupid things on the HD that I used to do on the Honda and Yamaha bikes. It mellowed me out a good bit...

I had a mid life moment earlier this year. I walked into a powersports shop and found a used Honda Monkey with just under 300 miles on it. I sat on it and started it up. I have wanted one of these since the started making them again. They are just too cool. It was also the red one, which was my preferred color on these. I asked for a price on it. They gave me a good price so I handed the guy my credit card. It has a 125cc motor on it. I had it up to 55 on the ride home. I ride it around the neighborhoods in my area. People love that little thing. It sets right next to my huge Street Glide in the garage. I didn't need it but it was like buying another PRS for me. I get enjoyment out of it and they hold their value incredibly well. The used ones are selling for more than new ones right now.