Riding in a group... is it odd that I don't really care for

  • June 11, 2013 7:02 AM PDT
    Is it odd that I do not particularly care for riding in large groups?  I've done a few MASS rides like toys for tots and some Harley dealer stuff (shhh...., don't let them know there was a jap bike in there), but I typically don't like riding with more than four or five bikes.

    I'm not the most social person and that may have something to so with it, but it seems like almost everyone else likes the big "parades".  I only like to if there is a "payoff" at the end like we went to an exclusive big cat sanctuary with the Harley shop that you can only go to as a member otherwise.

    -Joe
    • Moderator
    • 19067 posts
    June 11, 2013 7:44 AM PDT
    Not really odd. I bet that you will find most experienced riders only ride in small groups of people they know. I have had two almost tragic experiences in big groups. The last of which has caused me to no longer do it unless I am in front or W A Y back
  • June 11, 2013 10:34 AM PDT
    I've been riding for 3+ decades and I hate large groups of riders who I am unfamiliar with. I just ride in the back of the pack and maintain a big gap between me an the other bikes. Common sense should be your judge about other riders experience and your gap can be adjusted accordingly.
  • June 11, 2013 3:08 PM PDT
    I don't think it's odd at all. I've been riding since '64..and would rather ride with only a few bikes or friends most of the time....or sometimes just the wife and I (we can go and do as we please). However on June 30th we'll be riding with probably around 200 bikes for a friend's memorial ride(Son killed in Iraq). We do it every year..but that's the biggest ride. Never do Harley dealer Rides. Rode with 2000 bikes once to the James Dean festival in my Indiana hometown..but more of a hassle than anything else. Always the jokers who want to show off..and laggers in the middle who must keep the group spread out. Never fails...
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    June 11, 2013 3:47 PM PDT
    When riding with a group I like riding at the rear, for two reasons, 1. I can see everything going on, 2. If someone has problems I'm there.
    • 5420 posts
    June 29, 2013 2:56 AM PDT
    Not odd at all. I like riding with people I know in a small to mid-size group. On a long distance ride maybe 4 or 5 bikes and on a local ride maybe 8 to 10 bikes is max for me.

    Years back I rode with the local HOG chapter who had rides every weekend with 40+ bikes. I could never enjoy the ride in a group like that that was first of all too large and second I was surrounded by people I had not rode with before.

    The only exception I will make is a parade style ride for a cause. But I really can't enjoy the ride because I am busy paying attention to everyone else who is not paying attention.
    • 1855 posts
    June 29, 2013 4:23 AM PDT
    I don't think it's odd either. Honestly, I never much enjoyed riding with the club, strange as that may sound. I think there's a sense of Freedom Lost when riding with a group. I prefer the free solitude of enjoyment in the ride, not the confines that come with group riding.

    Peace
    • 44 posts
    June 29, 2013 11:56 AM PDT
    I don't think it is odd at all we ride in a toy run every year last year we had 1376 bikes and I was right in the middle showed up late hoping to be at the end.I was so tense that end of the ride I felt like I had rode 500 miles so iguess I am saying small groups 5-10 bikes is plenty for me
    • 2 posts
    June 30, 2013 1:43 PM PDT
    Do it sometimes, enjoy it never

    Something wrong about riding thru beautiful countryside and keeping 1/3 of focus on the road - 1/3 behind you - 1/3 on the axles of nearby rides and zero on the scenery.

    Not the least anti-social, will be glad to meet most anybody, most anyplace, for most any reason.
    • 57 posts
    July 1, 2013 1:28 AM PDT
    Personally I don't find group rides any different than the drive to and from work, but I am picky about which rides I attend, while all charity rides have a good purpose and worthwhile,the putt-putt rides from bar to bar are not for me,as for whats at the end of the ride,the look on a kids face at St.Jude or the family of a soldier who didn't come home,that all the reward I need,no T-Shirt or Ride Pins or Meals but thats just Me
    • 10 posts
    July 8, 2013 10:34 AM PDT
    I don't drink or ride with people I don't know. I also prefer riding at the back if there is a group. I like blocking the assholes coming from the rear and always carry tools.

    Most of the time I ride by myself because everyone usually has to plan evrything or be "in charge".

    • 544 posts
    July 8, 2013 10:41 AM PDT
    I'm not a big fan of large group rides and generally prefer to ride alone. I think it's partly because of trust and partly because I like to be in charge and stop where I want too and when I want too.
  • July 8, 2013 11:04 PM PDT
    nope ! to many fumes and to many idiots who brake check constantly .
  • July 16, 2013 11:16 AM PDT
    I don't like it either get a few of your buds stop when you want stay as long as you want ride as long as you want that's the way I like it
    • 1161 posts
    July 17, 2013 2:07 AM PDT
    Yep I was riding with our group and the Prez locked the breakes up and slammed into the RC. That was the last big group ride I was on. Four or five max for me now and I need to know them if it is that big. Two or one other if I don't know them.
    • 3006 posts
    July 17, 2013 6:21 AM PDT
    Its certainly not odd,.Everyone rides at their own comfort level,group riding demands dealing with a lot
    of different situations over varied roads.Its not pleasant when anothr rider in the group doesnt feel comfortable or rides in a manner that is unheeding of others around them.
    The largest group I can recall riding with, that wasnt a parade sort of deal,was about 50+ bikes about 10 years ago,to celebrate & raise money for 9/11 victims fund.The ride went well.Yet a lot of us had rode together before.
    • 844 posts
    July 17, 2013 11:38 AM PDT
    Same here. A few friends on bikes is enough for me when going for a ride. But I do like the once or twice a year riding in a Toy Ride or Veterans Day ride with a couple hundred bikes and having the people lining the street and waving.