I enjoy helping out the charity but I am at a crossroads when it comes to the runs. it is not the amount of people really but the % of riding to sitting is eating at me. Not really one to sit at bars for hours on end when the weather is great for riding.

I know they are a good cause but leaving at 12:00 and getting back at 7ish and only logging 100 miles is not what I call riding.

My friends and I are coming to a conclusion that we are going to go to the sign ups. Pay the registration fees and go do our own thing.

The other thing is the bars. Not that I have a problem with people drinking, but many tend to over do it when sitting for hours and hours. Some people don't understand moderation it seems. By the end of the run they can hardly walk and talk. It just amazes me that there are not more accidents then there are.

That last run, I was so full of water and soda by the end of the day that I felt like I was going to explode. LOL. I did have 1 drink through out the day but that was at the second to last stop.

My brothers wife put on this last run, A friend and I helped with road duties etc. It was for a family that lost their young son in a house fire. 41 registered riders and passengers, she did 50/50 draws at each stop. Raised a little over 1400 dollars for the family. All went pretty good I would say.

 

I hear ya! But the reality is, I don't think that most of the charity rides are about riding (at least the ones that I've been on). It's more about the charity.

I don't drink & ride so, if we have to get a card or tag or something from someone at a bar, I usually just give them a dollar tip and be on my way. I have a much better time riding with friends, away from the main group of people/drinkers. But again, first & foremost, it's about the charity.

 

We try to be a little selective for the reasons you state. We just went on a Charity ride for Combat Veterens. It was a nice ~80 mile ride out of town to get to the start. It ended back in our city just 20 minutes from the house. It was Police escorted and looked like it would be a good time for a worthy cause. A good ride, well done, and I won the 50/50! lol So it worked out quite well.

 

One and done. My one experience was not good.

I'm sure the charities are well deserving and I am willing to help out usually financially. But I value my life, wife and bike more. I will pass on the rides themselves also.

 

Never been on one like that. The only kind of rides I can think of that have a lot of stops, sometimes at bars, are poker runs and they are usually self-paced. I haven't been on a poker run where I have to wait for a group and I wouldn't go on one (if I ever saw one here).

Whenever this is posted here, it seems like most HD Foorums posters are just afraid to ride in groups. Not sure why people here are so different than the ones I meet in the real world.

 

There's one starting at a local bar this weekend. I did one with them before that would spend 15 minutes on the road and 45 at a bar. It was terrible and I'm thinking that's how the one this weekend will be.

It's not that I'm scared of group riding; I don't mind it if I'm in a good group with like minded riders. I'm scared of riding in groups with intoxicated riders and I'd rather be riding than sitting around waiting for them to finish their drinks so they can ride to the next bar and drink more.

 

+1 on what he said - it's definitely about the charity, not about the riding. Every charity needs a "gimmick" to get people to come out, sometimes it's riding, sometimes it's walking. But in the end, IT'S ABOUT THE CHARITY!

 

I"m in the same boat as you.

Went on my first organized/charity ride last weekend. I doubt I'll be doing another. Like others said, I'd rather be riding than sitting in a bar. From the start to the fourth and final stop took over 6 hours and we only went 100 miles.
Between the second and third stop there were two 'close calls' that happened right in front of me.
First, the guy riding to the front/left of me wasn't paying attention. Came up fast on the guy in front of him, locked up his rear tire, hit the guy's rear tire with his front tire, swerved all over our lane trying to gain control!!
Then 5 minutes later the guy directly in front of me drifts off the pavement in a straightaway onto the loose gravel shoulder, rear end swaying back and forth throwing A LOT of rocks up into the air and on the road while he's trying to gain control and get back on the road.

Both incidents happened at about 50MPH and scared the **** out of me!!

I have no issues riding in groups of people I know and ride with on a regular basis. But you never know what you're getting into when riding with strangers.

It's not worth my life to donate $20 to some charity. I'll stick to riding with my friends from now on.

 

I don't do "runs" of any kind--charity,poker,toy,etc. The only runs I do is when I get on my bike & ride somewhere by myself. Don't even like riding with anyone else, unless it's the ex, and we havn't ridden yet as exes but I'm sure we will. Most of my friends either lost their bikes to repo, or their wives won't give them permission to go out, and you just KNOW how Dickey feels about THAT!

Nope--no runs for the Dickster.

 

The crowds don't really scare me much as long as everyone keeps a decent following distance.

I only had one experience that got to me and it was a guy on a trike not paying attention. he ended up going around me on the shoulder at a stop sign. Missed me by about an inch or so, grass and gravel were flying through the air. Scared the hell out of the two that were in front of me. One actually was so shaken up that she went home.