There's a big difference between riding in a formation, and riding in a club. Club riders know each other, and how the group will act as a group. Formation riders are just that, riding in formation. There's no telling the skill level or experience any member of that formation has.

Group riding is a skill that should be practiced.

 

Um.......not trying to be a ***** here but I have to ask....

How exactly does one "go down" simply be riding over oil in the road? It sounds like you here goin straight down the highway. There is no way this will cause a wreck unless someone did something silly line slam on the brakes or swerve.

 

I was wondering the same thing. Many years of riding and I have seen a lot of stuff. Made lots of group rides for many stupid reasons and some good causes. I answered his oil post. Rode on a memorial ride with my club two weeks ago. We parked in a loose gravel parking lot after riding down a long gravel driveway without a single bike going down. When we turned on that driveway. I knew someone might go down. I knew it would not be me. Apparently everyone else thought the same thing because no one went down. I wasn't there, but I wonder how big the spot was and if it was rider error that started the chain of events. OP, describe the size of the oil slick please. Knowing what yall came across and what caused the chain of events might prevent on of us from having to experience it. How big was it? When did yall see it? Was there anything that kept yall from riding through it without getting unstable. The only unpredictable things I have come across in West Texas is the weather and critters so far.

 

I hate riding in big group, not every rider skill equal, needless to mention disaster, oil, rocks etc. I either ride solo or max 3 staggered run.

 

I have rode one group ride with maybe 20 bikes or so. I knew one of the other riders and a few of them were from the FL Crew. I kinda got stuck in the middle and I was uneasy about being there. All in all it was a good ride though. Not one close call that I can remember.

I usually ride with 3 or 4 good friends who I trust quite a bit. All of them I would feel comfortable with riding right next to me. I think you have to put a lot of trust in people you might not know when riding in big groups. The more you ride with the same people, the more you learn the ones to trust and the ones not to.

 

Group rides plain old suck any way you cut it. alot of those folks only pull their bikes out to ride every great now and then. Guy tryed to get me to do a big ride and said they were only going to do 45 mph on the interstate. NUTZ. Most of the time they do 5 mph under the speed limit causing traffic problems. Tell me where their going so I can miss it.

 

Many years ago I'd do a poker run from time to time but lost interest in them. A couple of years ago I decided to go on another that a friend talked me into. I was the 3rd bike, riding in the same line as the lead bike....who was riding 2up with his wife. We were riding staggered and fairly tight but not so tight where it was unsafe. As we were heading down the road in a residential area at about 40mph, the lead rider slammed his brakes to make a sudden left turn into a driveway (the driveway of his house). His wife decided that she wanted to get something from the house. Instead of slamming my brakes and possibly causing a pile up, I rolled the throttle, swerved slightly to the right, and managed to squeeze between him and the 4th bike.....missing the lead bike by about 2 feet. When we got to our next destination I was waiting for him to get there so I could have a little talk with him, but apparently some chick had the same idea and the second he walked through the door she laced into him, and good. I pulled up a stool a few feet away and watched this girl shred him to pieces....and enjoyed every second. Once she was done there really wasn't much else to say. I just gave him a look and asked him what the f'k he was thinking when he did that. He said he wasn't, and I agreed. He never finished the ride that day. When we pulled out, he stayed behind.

I don't plan on doing anymore poker runs, or group rides with people I don't know, and if for some stupid reason I do, I'll ride the tail end and keep my distance. I have no problem riding with small groups of friends who I know and ride well together with, but there always seems to be a clown or two when riding with a bunch of people I don't know.

 

X2

I'll ride in a group, but I also believe in keeping 3-4 seconds between me and the person in front of me, doesn't make for a tight formation, but that's the idea of the gap anyway.

I will ride closer to people I know well, but I still leave a gap, when that deer jumps out people react to the deer/object/oil/whatever and not to who's next to them often enough that I like a little extra space.

Some depends on road conditions also.
Al

 

Anytime you get a bunch of strangers, not riding their ride, it is a potential disaster. I had a close call on a HD Demo ride this weekend, sure didn't expect that...

 

It's a common problem.