Who to have with you on a riding adventure

[admin]

Most often you ride either with a group of friends that have simular riding experience and you pretty know how they ride or its with a group of complete unknows. So, if your're planning a 5,000 mile trip and you don't want to ride alone who do you ride with. Of course it's a fried but they have others that want to go along as well. You don't know them or how they ride and you rely on your friend to insure they have what it takes for the trip. This is usually where things go bad. Do you ask your friend to check them out, do you veto one from coming, should you even care and just ride your ride anyway. A lot depends on the makeup of those going with you and that determines the outcome of the ride. What should a person expect of others who you will be riding, camping and spending a lot of time with? Riding with friends is great but I wouldn't want to spend a week with some of them.
Posted by: archer on Dec 15, 06 2:13:13 pm

[Shooter Bob]

It's really not a question of them. It's a question of you.

Before even starting to talk about all this planning stuff, just go out for a day trip with everyone. Take a nice long ride with the group and see if you fit in. After all, even though it's your trip, you still need to be compatible with "the group." The group will have a certain dynamic to it that, unless you are the designated captain, you will need to be flexible just like everyone else to make the group work.

I get a little ansty when I have to keep stopping for people who smoke cigarettes. I detest stopping at "cute" places to buy souvenier crap.:confused: People who make speed runs through the group or cannot hold their place in the riding formation really irk me. It's dangerous.:mad: Riders who turn simple gas stops into career opportunities of wasting time put me over the edge.:( And people who can't sit down to a simple meal without feeling the need to complain and return at least one portion of their meal at every stop need to be shot! Whew! I guess I'm not a good group rider. That's it! Get out! Trip cancelled! I hate all of you! I'm going alone!:D

[Lt.Kyron]

I totally agree with Shooter Bob, ride with them first on a couple of day trips. I have heard of far to many group of friends get into because someone broke from the group and put the hammer down leaving everyone behind. I have also heard people get into because they felt someone was riding tooo slow and they got tried of waiting for them to play catch-up.

Ride with people who share your riding style and have the same vision of how the trip should go… ;)

[ken]

Is it WRITTEN that you have to stay a group? Isn't that why they invented divorces? Isn't that why The Road goes in two directions?;) Shooter Bob has it. The day trip, or weekend. If it works then there you are. As far as too slow, too fast, what's wrong with the speed limit?

[JoeSikspak]

I've ridden with generally the same group of freinds for years. New people come and go, but it's usaully the same half-dozen or so. While this doesn't exactly broaden my inter-personal horizons, it does make for a certain familiarity. At this point it's like we read each others minds. Earlier this year I had a new passenger along. As we rolled into a sweeping corner, the lead rider flashed a couple hands signals. (tapped his head, pointed one finger up, and made a brushing motion with his hand.) Immediatley everyone passed the signs back and took action. The young lady on my passenger pillion asked "What was that all about?" I replied, "Eric said 'follow my lead, single file, there's sand on the roadway'." She was astonished that imformation could be passed that quickly without a word being said.
While I often ride alone, it is with this group of brothers and sisters that I have the best miles with.

[Shooter Bob]

Right on Joe. There are a few people I ride with who just "get it."

[shoe]

I ride with my favorite dive buddy my Uncle Jeff,, we've dove together a lot and use the same hand signals.