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Seems like about half the riders who pass me when I'm stopped on the shoulder will at least slow down to look me over, if they don't outright stop. I had a really serendipitous encounter this summer when I got caught in a downpour in northwestern Connecticut, which is a lot more rural than I would have imagined. I saw the thunderheads coming but I figured I'd find a gas station if it started really raining. When the skies opened up I was in the middle of nowhere. I pulled into a wooded driveway hoping to get some relief from the big oaks, but I was still getting soaked. As I'm weighing my options a pickup truck pulls in behind me and I figure I'm about to be told to get lost, but instead the woman tells me if I keep going up the drive there's a house with a big porch where I can wait out the storm. She was bringing her elderly parents dinner, and they were just the kindest people you can imagine. The daughter told me they only had the house because a neighbor basically gave it to them after her husband died suddenly and she couldn't bear living there anymore. She called it a gift from god, and I'm not religious but ending up with them was one of those amazingly wonderful coincidences that seem to only happen on the road. They wanted me to join them for dinner but I'd already eaten and the radar showed clear skies behind, so I drank a cup of coffee and toweled off and took off. I still need to look them up and write them a thank you note.
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Sep 23, 2013 18:35
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ought ten posted:Seems like about half the riders who pass me when I'm stopped on the shoulder will at least slow down to look me over, if they don't outright stop. When I was broke down in England (chain jumped off) - just about every biker stopped to ask me if I needed help. A lot of the cars yelled obscenities at me for daring to break down on the side of the road. English Cagers are amazingly angry, all the time.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:51
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Backov posted:A lot of the cars yelled obscenities at me for daring to break down on the side of the road. English Cagers are amazingly angry, all the time.
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Sep 24, 2013 00:23
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I stopped for a guy walking his bike down the shoulder of a highway in Wyoming. He was out of gas, so I ran to the nearest town and borrowed a gas can with some gas ... anyway, he remarked that he'd been walking nearly two miles, been passed by a bunch of bikes and nobody had slowed down / stopped for him until I did. That kinda surprised me.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:05
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Bay area's pretty nice for that. I saw a with a bike pulled over near the mission and in 5 minutes no less than 3 riders going the opposite way pulled a uie just to see if the dude needed help. I always pull over too, even while in the car.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:38
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I've dreamt twice now in about a week that I'm out riding and suddenly my bike is out of gas, and just as I pull the clutch in and am coasting to a stop, I see a gas station and roll in, stopping at the pump. The end.  This actually did happen just this way with the SV this spring except I knew that gas station was there but I though I had more fuel left, so I don't know.
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Sep 24, 2013 03:50
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That happened to me once when I put premium in my CX500 for no reason. My normal range was shortened, luckily I figured that out as I rolled into the gas station.
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Sep 24, 2013 05:00
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Everybody needs some retired biker friends, regardless of how old you are. There is nothing cooler than being able to call someone on no notice to say "I'm going riding" and have them show up all excited to go wherever. I don't like group rides with random folks at all; but cruising with my father and 2-3 of his retired friends is one of the best ways I know to spend an afternoon.MoraleHazard posted:It must be really awesome to ride with your kids.
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Sep 24, 2013 19:26
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I rode with my pops and sister this weekend. He's getting old with a bad back so he can't get out so much, and my sister is still very new to riding, but overall it's nice to go out as a family. Even if I am doing 50mph on a road I normally do 75... I had this happen too. I noticed the cars down the way stacked up behind the cyclists and moved to the left lane to 'own' it and hopefully discourage them from any sketchy passes that might have endangered my new rider sister. It backfired when the Buick decided to just shoot the gap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJBz-r6mMLQ I just posted it on r/motorcycles and a few people are blaming the cyclists and myself! Looool. Apparently some drivers getting upset at sharing lanes with riders wrt filtering and splitting only goes one way.
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Sep 24, 2013 19:40
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Eh that's a dumb thing to do. High consequences for basically zero reward. Better to lead by example and move right to establish a safety cushion and then mention it after the ride.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:28
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Z3n posted:Eh that's a dumb thing to do. High consequences for basically zero reward. Better to lead by example and move right to establish a safety cushion and then mention it after the ride. Yes, Zen is right. Ride it like it's a bicycle and you're wearing a skirt.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:33
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Yeah, owning your lane is for when traffic is going the same direction. All you did there was crowd the center line for no good reason.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:42
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Z3n posted:Eh that's a dumb thing to do. High consequences for basically zero reward. Better to lead by example and move right to establish a safety cushion and then mention it after the ride. My sister was riding staggered to me and and I knew she would shift to the left lane if I went right. She doesn't have the experience to be looking for this kind of thing and was still learning controls etc. I had been riding in the right tire tracks right until this point. The only reason I switched is because I knew it'd make her move. The alternative would have been that car running that closely to her. It's not zero reward, she changed lanes.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:47
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You should probably go back to a parking lot if the people you're riding with are still focusing hard on how to move the shifter or clutch lever or something. That's dangerous for others not just themselves.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:51
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clutchpuck posted:Yeah, owning your lane is for when traffic is going the same direction. All you did there was crowd the center line for no good reason. Riding in the left track is 'crowding the center line'? Sometimes I love the motorcycle community for it's ability to devour it's own. Here's the video from a bit further back so you can see my thought process. I was in the right track, and I know my sister was riding the left track. I see a line of bikes and a car starting a overtake(maybe not one I would have done, but he would make it fine). I shifted into the left track knowing that my sister would move right because that's how she rides. I hoped this would convince the cars to wait, but you saw how that went. At no time was I worried about myself or felt like I was in danger, I had all kinds of space to the right if I needed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf05rYRR1gc Or will this just invite more criticism? Should I have been riding in the left track at the beginning, just in case some car came flying out of the driveway?! God I'm a poo poo rider.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:55
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If you think something coming at you is going to encroach on your lane slightly you should move the gently caress away from it. I'm not sure your sister and dad need to be explicitly told this but hey you never know. Riding in the far left of the lane when there are upcoming hazards on your left is a stupid thing to do. Yeah there's nowhere left to go but off the road but if the alternative is meeting head-on with the front end of a Volvo going 60mph it's your best bet. Stop being snarky and surprised people are calling you out over poor riding choices. Tell your group riders to do this too - preferably before you get out on the road.
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Sep 24, 2013 23:59
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nsaP posted:Riding in the left track is 'crowding the center line'? Call it what you want but switching to the the left track when you can be pretty well assured the car is going to ride the center line when bicycles are there because "I hoped this would convince the cars to wait, but you saw how that went" is a good practical example of crowding the center. All you did was up the risk for you, the car, and the bicyclists there. Also, for what its worth, when you ride staggered the rider in front is on the left, alternating right and left after that - this is the MSF's recommendation not mine. Your sister should have already been in the right track if she was riding behind you and you were doing it right.
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Sep 25, 2013 00:04
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clutchpuck posted:Call it what you want but switching to the the left track when you can be pretty well assured the car is going to ride the center line when bicycles are there because "I hoped this would convince the cars to wait, but you saw how that went" is a good practical example of crowding the center. Yes but it also got his sister to switch sides. Lets not forget that he stayed in his lane. Why the hell aren't we bitching about the car that did such a sketchy and illegal pass? quote:Also, for what its worth, when you ride staggered the rider in front is on the left, alternating right and left after that - this is the MSF's recommendation not mine. Your sister should have already been in the right track if she was riding behind you and you were doing it right. Literally the first time I've heard this. Coredump fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 00:07
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Coredump posted:Literally the first time I've heard this. That's surprising. It should be part of the classroom instruction portion of the safety course. http://www.arng.army.mil/soldierresources/guardsafety/Documents/Motorcycle%20Safety/MSF%20Quick%20Tips%20Group_Ride.pdf that link posted:Ride in formation. The staggered riding formation (see diagram below) allows a proper space  Google "how to ride in a group"
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Sep 25, 2013 00:11
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Either I missed it or they didn't cover it when I took it. Seriously had no idea.
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Sep 25, 2013 00:12
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This was her first ride in years and my dad's 3rd this year probably. I know the sperglords here all have the MSF book memorized, but I didn't really have time to go over that with them before hand. Likewise, they have poo poo experience on the road and probably didn't even see this coming. Looking out for myself with a gently caress you, got mine attitude is how I normally ride. This time I was trying to look out for her cause I was nervous as gently caress. I guess if I had stayed right and she had an accident cause of a close call with the car I could sit back and feel good, knowing that I'd made good riding choices. You guys are some silly shits sometimes, lol. clutchpuck posted:Also, for what its worth, when you ride staggered the rider in front is on the left, alternating right and left after that - this is the MSF's recommendation not mine. Your sister should have already been in the right track if she was riding behind you and you were doing it right. And then I would have switched to the right for safety, and what would she have done? Gone left. I understand what you are saying but this is not an experienced rider. JP Money posted:If you think something coming at you is going to encroach on your lane slightly you should move the gently caress away from it. I'm not sure your sister and dad need to be explicitly told this but hey you never know. Yeah, they don't ride much so they probably do. JP Money posted:You should probably go back to a parking lot if the people you're riding with are still focusing hard on how to move the shifter or clutch lever or something. That's dangerous for others not just themselves. You're 100 percent right too. I told her this. She didn't seem to think it was a problem and my dad backed her up. So off we went, and this happened about 2 miles in.
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Sep 25, 2013 00:14
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Oh jesus, reply isn't edit!Coredump posted:Why the hell aren't we bitching about the car that did such a sketchy and illegal pass? Because that attitude gets riders killed. The onus is really on the rider to make the decisions that mitigate risk rather than exacerbate it. ESPECIALLY the lead rider. nsaP posted:I didn't really have time to go over that with them before hand This is why you make time to have a pre-ride talk beforehand. My experienced friends and I have the group ride talk once a year and every time we have a rider new to our group regardless of their personal experience. I mean the guidelines are literally a paragraph long. You should probably collapse to single-file in situations like that, not reverse the stagger. I'd cover that in your next pre-ride discussion. clutchpuck fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 00:16
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This is amazing because nsap is usually the one handing out nitpicky anal-retentive advice. That lane position diagram is awesome.
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Sep 25, 2013 00:17
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Slavvy posted:This is amazing because nsap is usually the one handing out nitpicky anal-retentive advice. GASP. nsap is this true?
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Sep 25, 2013 00:24
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Slavvy posted:That lane position diagram is awesome. It's probably reversed for you though 
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Sep 25, 2013 00:25
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clutchpuck posted:It's probably reversed for you though I've long since learned to think mirrored when I'm on this forum haha.
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Sep 25, 2013 00:27
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So while we're sperging about lane positioning, where are you supposed to position yourself when you're in the middle of a pack of people that can't stay in formation? The last ride I went on looked like this on the highway, with guys randomly going into the other lanes and just sitting there.  I just went with my normal solo position, but is there a "correct" thing to do?
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Sep 25, 2013 00:56
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clutchpuck posted:Oh jesus, reply isn't edit! You're right, and that was the decision I made. I did mitigate the risk, just not for myself. clutchpuck posted:This is why you make time to have a pre-ride talk beforehand. My experienced friends and I have the group ride talk once a year and every time we have a rider new to our group regardless of their personal experience. I mean the guidelines are literally a paragraph long. This is good and well in fairy land but my dad and sister had planned a ride and I jumped in on the bandwagon with them. What to do in this particular situation wasn't at the front of my mind. What was at the front of my mind was playing the blocker and trying to keep a buffer zone around my sister. Covering things like moving to single file in a discussion is completely pointless because she doesn't have the skills or experience to even recognize that this situation was happening. I said it briefly but let me break down their riding experience. Sister: Rode on Sunday. Before Sunday her last ride was about 5 miles to the chili parlor in 2011. Before that ride, it was on an FZ6 that terrified her sometime around 2007. I think she put about 200 miles on the thing. Dad: Rode for years as a kid then just got back into it a few years back. Despite badmouthing typical harley riders, his bikes seeing about 500 miles a year. If I didn't check the chain and tires before we went, he wouldn't have and would have ridden off running 18/23. Ego is inflated compared to riding skill. I come by and they tell me they're going for a ride today. I agreed to go along because the idea of it was scary as hell to me. I suggested some parking lot riding etc. but got brushed off as 'she'll be fine, it's like riding a bike!'. Personally at this point I'd wish she'd not ride. I went off to prep the bikes while they worried about important things like where her jacket liner ended up. Then it was 'we have to go, I need to be at Dru's for dinner by 6! I know the ideal situations. What all riders should know, what should be discussed before hand, and how to group ride on the road. They don't, and they were leaving. What am I to do? "Hold on, let me get my MSF booklet" and go over the rules? Likely to go in one ear and out another. She was already getting enough shaky advice from my dad. Should I refuse to go with them, since they aren't riding my way? It's my dad and sister. So I went with them. I went in front, and I tried to ride in a way that minimized their risk. That makes me a poor rider with bad judgement. By the way, in case no one noticed there was a car in that video too. Endangering the lives of 4 cyclists while braking traffic laws? I guess that's a silly way to look at it, clearly I was the one endangering the cyclists.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:03
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Deeters posted:So while we're sperging about lane positioning, where are you supposed to position yourself when you're in the middle of a pack of people that can't stay in formation? The last ride I went on looked like this on the highway, with guys randomly going into the other lanes and just sitting there. Well at the next stop you should sit them all down, pull out your MSF book and have a discussion...
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Sep 25, 2013 01:04
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Deeters posted:So while we're sperging about lane positioning, where are you supposed to position yourself when you're in the middle of a pack of people that can't stay in formation? The last ride I went on looked like this on the highway, with guys randomly going into the other lanes and just sitting there. That sounds like a mess, if it were me I'd drop back and tail a group like that rather than be in it. The ride organizer should probably talk about group ride basics beforehand though, nsaP is spot on. Not sure if you need to bust out a handbook for it though, it's easy to keep straight enough in your head to communicate: uncomplicated basic riding stuff.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:11
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The pre-ride speech was pretty close to "Be safe and if you're gonna do something stupid, make sure someone has a camera pointed at you". It was this ride I took through Times Square. I expected it to be ridiculous in the city, but figured most people could keep it together on the highway.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:17
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Group riding is a bad idea. Riding in formation is a bad idea. Leave yourself the same space cushion you'd leave between yourself and a car. Just because it's another bike doesn't mean it's not going to take you out if it panic brakes or swerves.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:29
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nsaP posted:This was her first ride in years and my dad's 3rd this year probably. I know the sperglords here all have the MSF book memorized, but I didn't really have time to go over that with them before hand. Likewise, they have poo poo experience on the road and probably didn't even see this coming. *Doesn't bother to understand the basics of safety on group rides* *calls people silly sperglords for trying to help out* Seriously, the real reason you're being called out is because you're doing the same thing that lovely riders do when they're justifying their accidents or close calls. You're not doing your due diligence before going on group rides, and then getting pissed at people because your lack of preparation put you in a lovely situation, and then you're doubling down on that lovely decision. You being on the left was a bad call anyways because even if she was on the right, she's far more likely to panic if you do end up swerving out of the way of a car that's ending up in your lane, target fixating on the car that "came out of nowhere!", and having an accident. It's one of those things where if you're going to go riding with people you don't trust to handle themselves on the road yet, you should probably either not be riding with them, or suggest some basic riding practice in a parking lot before you go out, or at least take 15 seconds to refresh them on the basics of riding in a group. nsaP posted:You're right, and that was the decision I made. I did mitigate the risk, just not for myself. Risk that you could have avoided entirely with some words before you guys went out on a ride. quote:This is good and well in fairy land but my dad and sister had planned a ride and I jumped in on the bandwagon with them. What to do in this particular situation wasn't at the front of my mind. What was at the front of my mind was playing the blocker and trying to keep a buffer zone around my sister. Covering things like moving to single file in a discussion is completely pointless because she doesn't have the skills or experience to even recognize that this situation was happening. They're never going to learn anything if you don't trust them enough to understand "let's ride in staggered formation, first rider on the right, second on the left, etc, and move to single file if we're going to end up in a twisty road." quote:I said it briefly but let me break down their riding experience. I'd have made them prep the bike and done a quick reminder of the basics of group riding rules. You're just enabling their lovely riding habits by taking care of everything for them. What's going to happen if your sister decides she wants to go out for a ride on her own in 3 months? She's certainly not going to know to check pressures cause you just took care of it while she was looking for her liner. If poo poo breaks on them, well, maybe they should have taken it more seriously. quote:I know the ideal situations. What all riders should know, what should be discussed before hand, and how to group ride on the road. They don't, and they were leaving. What am I to do? "Hold on, let me get my MSF booklet" and go over the rules? Likely to go in one ear and out another. She was already getting enough shaky advice from my dad. Should I refuse to go with them, since they aren't riding my way? It's my dad and sister. It's really loving simple: "Hey, check your tire pressure, don't forget to ride staggered when we're cruising in a straight line and if we hit a twisty road or whatever, drop back and form a single file line in case something comes up". That gives everyone the freedom to use their lane position as they feel best, as well as maintaining as much visibility as possible for everyone. This isn't one weird trick for being a safe motorcyclist, it's literally "riding in groups 101". And you're a poor rider with bad judgement because you didn't take the proper care and responsibility and then got all butthurt when people called you on it. And then to act like "BUT THE CAR RAN A RED LIGHT / WENT OVER THE DOUBLE YELLOW / SAID MEAN THINGS/ DIDN'T WAVE" is totally irrelevant. It's just another excuse you're throwing out for lack of proper preparation. And when it comes to lane position on other riders, you're best off treating every other motorcyclist on the road like a raging moron who's probably out to run into you while trying to impress you. I'd be either a quarter mile behind or a quarter mile in front of that pattern as quickly as I could be.
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Sep 25, 2013 02:09
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Slavvy posted:This is amazing because nsap is usually the one handing out nitpicky anal-retentive advice. Eh, not really. I can see how it seemed that way to you, cause you were such an annoying poster at first. Hey, it worked tho didn't it, you've been fixed and molded from a doofus sperglord to a run-of-the-mill goon.
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Sep 25, 2013 02:10
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Group riding is a bad idea. Riding in formation is a bad idea. Leave yourself the same space cushion you'd leave between yourself and a car. Just because it's another bike doesn't mean it's not going to take you out if it panic brakes or swerves. I don't like *group* rides, I agree that they can be dicey from the start. There's almost no way to know what the people around you are going to do until they do it. But with a few bikes and especially with riders you've developed a rapport with, riding in formation has benefits. A well-spaced staggered formation gives you room to swerve without running somebody off the road and stop without having somebody run up your pipes, and increases both your visibility and predictability to cars on the road. I read "own the lane" here pretty often: riding reasonably tight staggered in traffic owns it way more than a single rider can. If you're thinking of an abreast formation, that has no real purpose besides parading. I wouldn't ride like that above 30mph-ish in ideal conditions. Even then I'll accept the risks only with like two people in the world I can trust completely. nsaP posted:You're right, and that was the decision I made. I did mitigate the risk, just not for myself. I'd say you did the opposite of mitigate... for everybody there; the bicyclists, the car, you, and your group behind you. If that car had come further over the line than you anticipated and you didn't react in time, what happens when you or parts of your bike bounce off it directly into your dad and sister's path at an unpredictable speed and direction? Honest mistake obviously; learn from it and be safer. clutchpuck fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 02:10
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clutchpuck posted:I don't like *group* rides, I agree that they can be dicey from the start. There's almost no way to know what the people around you are going to do until they do it. The problem with riding in tight formation is multifold - you can't see the road through the rider that's blocking you (or if you have 3 or more, the people behind you can't see poo poo in terms of road conditions), and there's a distinct possibility that a road hazard could cause them to brake/swerve, and if you're already in tight formation, that's putting either you or the rider behind them on a collision course with them. Riding in tight formation is fine if you can assume no road hazards, no other vehicles, no mechanical breakdowns, and nothing that could cause anything unexpected to happen. Also the idea of a motorcyclist "owning the road" is loving hilarious, the only thing a motorcyclist owns vs just about everything else on the road is a hospital bill if you're lucky, a grave if you're not. Moving into the path of an oncoming vehicle to "own the road" is just stupid. Z3n fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 02:17
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You're my favourite poster z3n. Your walls of text are the best walls of text, I am not being sarcastic. On a semi-related note, this morning coming to work (in the car, luckily) one of the notification signs above the motorway said "Spill ahead, extra slippery. Drive with caution.". It was pissing down rain. When I got to 'ahead' there wasn't a cone or a cop car or a lane diversion vehicle in sight. So they know about the spill, but won't do anything about it? I feel sorry for any poor bastard on a bike that happened to come along; I would've slowed down to 40 in the left-most lane and proceeded to poo poo my pants thinking I'll run into diesel or whatever.
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Sep 25, 2013 02:19
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Slavvy posted:You're my favourite poster z3n. Your walls of text are the best walls of text, I am not being sarcastic.  That reminds of me of the "warning, gravel ahead" signs that they post around here sometimes in areas of road construction. No loving gravel on the road cause every car has blown it off in the time since the sign went up but still makes me paranoid as gently caress every time. Or the unrepaired potholes, or the rest of it. But that's just more reason you have to take responsibility for loving everything as a motorcyclist. It's also why I'm either commuting or at the track these days. Despite the risks of the commute, saving 1 hour plus a day is worth it. 
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Sep 25, 2013 02:29
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Z3n posted:The problem with riding in tight formation is multifold - you can't see the road through the rider that's blocking you (or if you have 3 or more, the people behind you can't see poo poo in terms of road conditions), and there's a distinct possibility that a road hazard could cause them to brake/swerve, and if you're already in tight formation, that's putting either you or the rider behind them on a collision course with them. The risk definitely increases the tighter you ride. Should only ride tight in slow/heavy traffic, to keep in a unit, and virtually never abreast. If you're spacing properly, the faster you go the bigger the gaps - once you're at highway speed you can easily see enough of the road before and after the rider in front of you. If there are hazards or curves, the proper move would be to ride loose in trail formation so you can use whatever lane position you prefer. When I talk about riding in formation, this is about as tight as 45mph should get, about a 1sec gap (and about as evenly spaced as we get when we ride, that's beautiful):  Z3n posted:
My friend habitually blasts through those zones and maybe speeds up a bit, it drives me bonkers because one of these days the sign won't be a liar. "I'll help him pull the bike out of the ditch when I catch up /rolls off throttle".
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Sep 25, 2013 02:40
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| # ? May 3, 2024 19:25 |
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 Finally got my fuckin reimbursement check in the mail, finally gonna get the bike fixed, finally gonna get to ride after 6+ weeks, finally
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Sep 25, 2013 02:40
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