Who Do You Ride With?

[kkim]

How do you decide who you ride with?

I've seen a varied many posts here about people that enjoy big gatherings, some who like to ride alone and still others that will ride with just anyone in a group.

I've been riding by myself on the street for much of my street bike years, being that I'd been using the bike for commuting to work, but within the last year, I've started riding on occasion with another member here and the experience has been very satisfying knowing we share the same interests in the bike and enjoy pretty much the same type of riding.

Still more recently, I've invited some new 250 riders who will hopefully join us on our Sunday cruises.

In my dirt bike days, we found that a close core of riders were the best mix. We liked the number to get no more than 4-6 on any given ride. Any more and you end up having someone break down, crash/get hurt or just not get along with due to personality differences. Any less than 2 or 3 and it became difficult when you were stuck on the bottom of a muddy river crossing and bikes needed to pulled/pushed out of the stream beds.

So, does the same apply to street bikes as well? Curious to see how everyone determines their riding partners.

[backinthesaddleagain]

a father of one of my daughter's teammates and i ride together, he rides a vulcan 1500. a friend down the street and i ride together, he has a sportster 883.

had to laugh the first time he rode my ninja he clicked it in gear by accident and almost dropped the bike. the gear shift throw is much less on the ninja than on the sportster.

[noche_caliente]

I will only ride with one or two other folks, and I prefer to ride with people that i know are calm and not at all squidly - I've got my little boy at home to think about, so I don't ride with anyone who I feel will make me feel like he's more at risk of losing him mama...

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

I will only ride with one or two other folks, and I prefer to ride with people that i know are calm and not at all squidly - I've got my little boy at home to think about, so I don't ride with anyone who I feel will make me feel like he's more at risk of losing him mama...

good point. my 2 riding friends have families, don't push the limits, and keep their space. in fact one organizes alot of runs so he knows good roads and always points out the bad spots in the road (and pays at the toll bridge)!

[Ken]

I used to cruise with other guys in the past, and those guys frown upon "squidly" behavior -always in staggered formation, using hand signals, never pulling away when riders fall behind on the freeway--usually I'm the one falling behind being the one 250 rider lol--, not splitting lanes (legal in CA), etc. I stopped going with those groups because I know I'm holding them back, but I do like how everyone has an understanding to behave maturely.

With regards to other 250 riders, It's hard to find 250 riders in the greater LA area to come out riding, so I'll go with anyone that's willing to come along. The one's I've met so far are good people with a mature mindset.

[Kurosaki]

I've got a couple friends from KF.com I ride with on the weekend and do trackdays with.

I like riding with the same people, especially at the track, to see each other get faster. And you learn how each other rides which makes you more comfortable riding with them. I'm generally a little weary of riding with people I don't know and would rather either be up front or all the way in the back, not in the middle of a group...



As far as 250s, I've ridden with Chris(Beast) at the track a couple times and that was super fun.



Lately, I've been riding with a small group (mostly Hondas) I was introduced to by my coworker who rides a 1000RR(so does his brother).

[Snake]

So far I ride alone but am still looking for that elusive rider or riders in Louisiana.
On occasion I will ride in charity rides for march of dimes, american cancer society and other charities. I enjoy these rides because I get to ride in a deverse group and give to charity at the same time.

[Verus Cidere]

I've actually only gone on one ride with anyone else. A friend of mine has a scooter and we took a back road into the desert. It was fun but it was a little hindering as his top speed was 40mph. I'd like to go on more group rides, but I seem to be a little more of a stickler for the rules than most bikers around here, which annoys both them and me quite a bit.

[CANTFUNCTION]

I have only ridden with two people so far. One is a guy that is about my age that has GSXR600. I don't like riding with him because 1 he wants to go 120mph and 2 he thinks the proper gear is flip-flops and a tank-top. The other person is a coworker that is in his early 40s. He just bought Suzuki Boulevard C50T. When I ride with him it is more like a ride than a race.

For the most part I like ridding by my self. I like just going down roads that I never been on and seeing where they take me. I have found some great roads doing this.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by Verus Cidere

I've actually only gone on one ride with anyone else. A friend of mine has a scooter and we took a back road into the desert. It was fun but it was a little hindering as his top speed was 40mph. I'd like to go on more group rides, but I seem to be a little more of a stickler for the rules than most bikers around here, which annoys both them and me quite a bit.

40 MPH !!! How did you keep from dying of boredom?

[Verus Cidere]

Well, the road we were riding on was nice and clear. It's a 2 lane road and there are plenty of long straightaways with dashed yellow lines for passing. So one of us would fall behind and watch the other (and for traffic coming up ahead) while the other would move forward a bit and weave back and forth quickly between the dashed lines, sorta like a skier in a competition. We were very careful about this of course and as soon as we got about 2/3 of the way down the straightaway, or a car showed up on the other end, we'd fall back into formation. We would also exchange random rythmic honking while riding down the road. The best thing of all, however, for combating the boredom was the terrain. It may not be exciting roads, but there's some great country over here. It's beautiful! That, and there's exciting things to dodge, like the vulture eating roadkill in the middle of the road.

[kazam58]

A coworker of mine, who is probably 40 years older than I, has a 30 year old 1400cc BMW. I've ridden with him once and it was nice. However, we don't cross paths often so it's really impossible to go riding with him on a regular basis. I wish I knew someone else around my age with a sportbike, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking. There are few bikes in VT to begin with, lol.
That being said, I do like riding alone, and it's how I do all my riding. For lack of choice really. There is a beautiful road through the notch of a local ski resort that winds back and forth that never lets you get above 60mph, even when redlining it between the hairpins, that I frequent. There are hardly ever any cars there and it's a wonderful spot to just work on body positioning and figuring out the bike. I really don't think I'd enjoy that kind of riding if I was with someone else. But, I've never gone up with anyone, so it's hard to say...

[Nickds7]

I commonly ride with a friend I met at the msf safety course. I've ridden with a guy from work who also has a black 250r...

I like riding with others but its a little hard right now unless I know the road. If I don't know the road then I get a little nervous around turns and end up falling a little behind, only to gun it to catch up.

[richierich781]

i usually ride with my brother who has a red 250r and one of my employees who i got into riding when he saw me with my 250r, i recommended he took the msf class in which he did and he ended up getting a black 250r.

[zartan]

I don't like to ride with more than 3-4 total. Usually it is Me and Tr. Good to see those of you inviting others to ride or learn .

[Nny]

Well, I am on my second year of riding and with around 17k miles under my belt. I would say 95% of that has been solo. I have people to ride with, I guess I just don't make the effort.

I commute back and forth to work, and everything else is kind of spontaneous. Where I go and how far really depends on how well the ride is going. If I find a paticular stretch of road I really enjoyed, I turn around and do it again. Maybe I will see something as I am passing by that I may want to stop.

Sundays are usually my day to spend with my bikes. Lately I have only had half the day for a casual ride. What I mean for a casual ride is about a 150-200 mile trip. Housework is almost done so I will soon have the whole day to putt around.

There is alot of freedom with riding solo. However, it may not be as safe. The company isn't there for the stops and if something bad were to happen I would be on my own.

I have had my ninja for two or three weeks and I am around 750 miles now. Once I am able to open it up I'll be taking the ninja for some of my sunday rides.

[CC Cowboy]

I like riding by myself or with my kids. It seems everyone else crashes.

[rage42]

I usually ride alone. I've did a ride to Ohio from Michigan with my dad, he's a safe driver on his triked goldwing...and a couple short rides with this guy I know, but he's almost always travelling for work.

I've seen soo many squiddy types on the road, they love to turn around just to blow by me doing 50 over the limit. I'm all for a little fun while riding, but I want to avoid riding with those types of people.

[Apex]

I'm a solo kind of guy, or maybe a small group.

Group rides, normally it isn't an "out of the blue" decision. Normally group rides are planned ahead, usually (these days) online. A local group likes to go on weekend rides. The problem I have is that it is usually at night (the ones I can attend), and everyone there seems to own a 1000. Some have 600's, but most are 1000's. My issue is how they conduct themselves.

On their weekend outings I've seen more than one message (in the past few months) saying how someone wrecked and just destroyed a bike. A guy went "too hot" into a turn and flew off the road, so on and so fourth. I like some of the people in the group, actually a good majority, but I don't need to put myself around those kind of riders. I don't want to go out for a great ride only to have to stop because we got pulled over by cop due to some people riding recklessly, or because someone went too fast into a turn and wiped. It just seems the more people you get, the more of a need people have to show off, or "try to keep up" (even though they can't).

I'll leave that fast stuff for the track. When I ride, I want to cruise, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the group of riders. Plus my bike can't keep up with the cruising speed of the local group. That speed is very close, if not over, the top end of my bike.

[patw]

Usually alone, but I did get to ride with Nemy and GoldieTiger a few weekends ago. Group rides are enjoyable.

[demp]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

I will only ride with one or two other folks, and I prefer to ride with people that i know are calm and not at all squidly - I've got my little boy at home to think about, so I don't ride with anyone who I feel will make me feel like he's more at risk of losing him mama...

On my way into work today, I was following behind an R1, I was so impressed by his gear. (sarcasm), he was wearing a wife beater, a pair of track pants, and running shoes. oh and a helmet, and some shorty gloves... So anyways, I'm riding behind him, he's going all slow and calm so okay... few km's later he gets bored and starts wheelie-ing down the road...

Squids...

[ScraitT]

I prefer riding with people. The thing I like most is deciding on going to a restaurant or bar or something on the bike because we always pick a place much further away so that we can make a bit or a ride out of it (not huge, but a place 30-40 miles away vs a place 5 miles away). So we get to see and experience new restaurants and places we normally wouldn't be inclined to drive to.
I like riding in groups (small groups of me and 1-3 others) because once we get somewhere we can talk about the ride and what happened along the way and such.

99% of the time it's just me and my roomate and sometimes the gfs, so pretty small group. But I find riding with friends more enjoyable. Especially in S Florida where its all straight roads and redlights every block.

[Rayme]

I ride with my Ninjette.


seriously I ride alone.

[ninjablk08]

most of mine riding is solo but have two good friends that have a 636 and Yamaha r6 on the weekend ride if we can get together, i enjoy both

[Nemy]

When I first started riding none of my friends had bikes. So I ended up meeting other riders through our local forums. Probably 30-40% of my 20k has been in a group (3+), but I'll only ride with non-squids and people that follow staggered position - but I had to find those people through trial and error.

So now I have a list of people never to ride with again, a group of friends when I want to ride hard, and a group of friends if I want to take it easy. Then there's the nice 250 meet we try to do to meet new ninjettes

Main thing I've learned, though, is that esp at the beginning of the season it's important to stick with people you already know. And for the bigger group rides (20+), I make sure we have a good lead and sweep I've ridden with before.

Still, group riding is something I would definitely recommend (even if it's just +1) as long as you're confident in your own riding abilities and know the people you're with/know their reputation. It's great to share the experience with friends, make new ones and to #$@!% about the cagers that try to kill us along the way

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by demp

On my way into work today, I was following behind an R1, I was so impressed by his gear. (sarcasm), he was wearing a wife beater, a pair of track pants, and running shoes. oh and a helmet, and some shorty gloves... So anyways, I'm riding behind him, he's going all slow and calm so okay... few km's later he gets bored and starts wheelie-ing down the road...

Squids...

maybe he thought the sopranos look was in

[beowuff]

My wife and I ride together alot. Other then her, I only have 2 other friends I usually ride with. If I'm going on a "group" ride, I split off with 1 to 3 other bikes and go at our own pace. I just feel more comfortable in a smaller group. Large groups are fun when you meet them somewhere. For riding, I'll take the small group.

[CodE-E]

So far I've only been on a ride with others once, which was with 2 of my colleagues for a few hours after work. One of them drives a Gixxer and drives fairly fast. He was leading and kept the pace so that I could follow on the twisties. But when we got back into civilization, he did loads of lane-splitting, which is something I'm not very confident with yet. I ended up bumping mirrors with some cagers twice that afternoon! >_<

[tinng321]

Solo for now.
I'm searching for a small group (4-5 members) to ride with.
I've been trying to persuade my friends to take the MSF.

[komohana]

well, i've ridden with large groups of riders, usually on organized fund-raising rides. i've also been involved in an accident on one of these large bike runs, and we were SO lucky just 2 of us went down as the area this incident occured at had the potential to take more riders down.
in my Interceptor days ('80's & 90's), i ended up riding with a group of about 4-6 riders. we were all friends and knew each other's riding habits well enough to be comfortable, but we still managed to squid-out occasionally. i eventually joined a local street bike club that was not exclusive to any type of cycle. those organized rides were ok and the club had strict group riding rules.
between then and getting my 250 (bout a yr. ago now), i would rent a harley to scratch the riding itch. usually did so for an organized ride, but spent most of my rental riding solo for the most part.
since owning the ninjette and finding myself back in sport-biking mode, i've found myself not preferring to ride with anyone i don't know. it seems the group of sport riders i've seen lately got squid patches on and sport them proudly.
that said, i've been riding solo, with the exception of someone i met here at ninjette, and have enjoyed riding with as we seem to share alot of the same riding interests and ideals.

[Grn99Kawi]

I ride by myself as well, commuting to work. Now that work is over for a few months.. I will just ride 'whenever time allows' I guess.

I did meet a new rider with a cruiser and we will be takin a ride near the beach this weekend.. I'd like to get some group rides going, but it's tough to take time away from the family..

[headshrink]

Nobody

I have enjoyed riding with a buddy twice. He lives in another state, so opportunities are few. I find it does take more concentration, but it is always more enjoyable to share experiences with others.

[Alex]

So when you coming to one of our bay area meets, Bob! I'd be happy to start a group ride somewhere up near Cordelia, there are plenty of fun roads near there and it shouldn't be too much of a haul for you...

[headshrink]

Hwy 80

[sprale]

There are a few Ninjette riders in Central Texas. I've ridden with them a few times in the last 26k miles, but not often. Usually a Harley or BMW rider are in the mix.

Mostly, I ride to work. My neighbor has a Ninjette, but we've only ridden toward work once together. Neither of us have much free time.

I've spent more time riding with my four-year-old than anyone else. She's been riding with me since before she was two. I taught her how to fire up an old Honda at ten months. She's dying for the Texas heat to subside...

In general, I enjoy solo riding. My own pace, my own route. I don't ride with squids or anyone who doesn't respect their limits or the merits of protective gear.

I usually just take as many curvy roads as possible between A and B. I'll put in some ear plugs and listen to the wind, the road and my thoughts. It's a time to reflect on the day's activities, or the nights dreams. I'm both attentive to the road and lucid in thought, enjoying the escape and the attachment. Beneath all the other reason, I ride because I enjoy riding. I haven't found other riders generally understand that, but maybe that's the hook.

I ride with Nobody Owens.

[CC Cowboy]

I did a four hour ride today. I rode with a couple pick-ups, two girls in a G6, a corvette, and a couple of cruisers. Most of the time I was by myself though.

[shortstuff]

I prefer riding with other bikes when I'm doing twisties, feeling like there is some safety in numbers, even it's with just one other rider. The forum I'm on (dcsportbikes.com) is very social, and I've done group rides with 5 people and group rides with 50 people. Sometimes I sweep, and sometimes I get behind because everyone is on a bigger bike, but there is the expectation that everyone rides their own ride and waits at each stop sign, so the ninjette has never held me back.

I've accrued sportbike buddies over the years, but if I'm just toodling around town I'll probably be squiding and riding solo. As a single female rider, I also have to be careful that whoever I ride with understands its just a ride, and not a "date" so to speak

[dvldog0121]

I ride alone. Not necessarily by choice, but by circumstance as I do not know anyone else in my immediate area that rides.

I'm not sure how I'd like riding with someone else, or with a group, for that matter. I think that I'd like a mixture, which would depend upon my mood, of course.