Riding in a group

[Ironhorsepilot]

Hi All! Today I did my first ride with a large group of bikes. There were only two trikes. Mine and one more. I wanted to get in the back of the pack, but somehow I managed to get right in the middle. I will admit there was a gap between me and the riders ahead. I would catch up, but then they would put on brakes or whatever and I was constantly slowing and going faster, braking and shifting. So I purposely put a little distance. I always got right up at stop lights and stop signs and we lost no one behind me. Probably about 30 bikes behind me.

We were told to ride our own ride and I did. I felt very comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed it. But of course, the ever present know it all hubby, said I did a great job, but I could have tightened it up. I said that is why i wanted to ride in the back. I feel like the trike was more dangerous riding right up on the rider in front, in case they braked hard, I would not be able to go around without either going off the road or over the center line. Hubby just says" that's what brakes are for." He wasn't upset and said he understood what I was doing and why, but that i still need to learn to get in tighter. There was probably 2 bike lengths between me and the bike ahead. No cars got in and if i thought they might, I picked up the pace. So, as trike riders, what do you guys do when riding in a group, such as a toy run?

[John Luciano]

U did the right thing. In the 1st place your Trike will stop faster that the 2 wheeler so u will not run over them. You should be in the back because of this reason. RIDE YOUR RIDE always . And true if you don't keep 2 bike lengths you will be braking and accelerating constantly. The bike behind you should be told to do the same . , in a group 2 or even 3 bike lanes is a good rule to follow. Also you should never stagger lanes with a trike.

[Gorilla]

Yes ride to be safe and comfortable. There is a fine line on how far back you stay and it can not be defined. If you know the rider in front of you real well and know how they ride and are comfortable with them, you can get a little closer. If you are not familiar with them or are not comfortable you back off. How much you have to decide. You have to keep your ride under your control.

[Lunchbox1983]

Trikes are usually either Ride Captian or tail gunner, very seldom in the middle. My wife is a great tail gunner and uses her stallion to block out the bad guys as we move through traffic.

The speed up slow down ellect is called Slinky Dog, it almost funny watching people try to kill the slinky Dog, by pacing their speed. I actually have grown to enjoy tearing out at max speed only to lock up my brakes only to race out at top speed again.:eek:

Long LIVE the SLINKY DOG

[BlueTrinity]

No disrespect there Lunchbox, but that can make the ride downright miserable for the bike (or trike) in front of you.

Then of course there are all those behind you who are constantly slowing down or speeding up. We all ride to enjoy ourselves and that constant distraction of having to worry whether we're gonna have to brake to keep from running up someone's fender or goose the heck out of it to keep from holding up everyone else can kill the pleasure.

There's also always he remote possibility that your brakes fail and you take someone else out with you.

When we lead, we discuss the speed we expect to maintain and urge everyone in the group to maintain 2 - 3 bike lengths from the bike in front of you, but anything over 4 is getting to far behind. We also caution them about dropping back and closing up out of respect to those behind.

[Lunchbox1983]

I was being sarcastic

but as side note when several hundred bikes are in a column Slinky Dog happens.

My typical ride is 15 bikes, I am ride captain 50% of the time, the rest i am the mid pact leader. My wife is tail gunner 100%.

[Lunchbox1983]

Ok because this is the Internet and people will read this stuff and are stupid, I want to set the record straight.

Always ride your ride, that above advice from other is correct.

Never ride in a group without a safety briefing

Put ride leaders every 6 Bikes or so, establish hand signals, and route guides

NEVER Drink and drive or ride with anyone who does.

If you want to be a hot dog and show out, do not ride in a group, go get yourself killed else ware.

Don't let the guy in front of you get you killed

Get training, get your club trained

[Yellow Trike]

Riding in a group takes practice...and having confidence in the group you are riding with is also important.

If I ride with an unknown group I leave a gap....if I know the group I tighten up...again riding my own ride.

If I am riding in front of riders who appear to want to go ahead I let them. No skin off my nose.

In the 'olden' days trikes were ALWAYS sent to the back...some had the mistaken impression they weren't fast enough, others that they would not be able to brake in time. Time has disproved both impressions.

[BlueTrinity]

I was being sarcastic

My brain must have been "Out to Lunch" and I didn't recognize the saecasm

But all is not lost. At least we got some positive group riding safety discussions.

[Ironhorsepilot]

Yes, this group ride was put on by our Blue Knights MC and safety briefing was given. It was not escorted and we had several lights to encounter before getting to our more rural route. We were told to ride our own speed at our own comfort level and everyone would meet up later if some got left behind.

I thought we did great, we didn't loose anyone! But I thought being in the middle position( actually there were less bikes in front of me than behind) was too much for me for the first big ride. So I was proud of myself for maintaining the speed and not loosing anyone behind. I still can't do curves as fast as the bikes, but getting better!

[Mr.Wizard]

IHP.. my :2cents:

Will have to side with hubby.. you did fine being in the middle of the pack. Those behind you, if they have any riding experience, understand what you are doing and the responsibility rests with them to keep it smooth behind you as it is your responsibility to keep it safe while riding behind others to enjoy your ride. Tighten it up only when you feel it is right to do so.

One thing that was not noted but close... Trikes should lead or sweep but not pack. Why? Easy. It's hard to see around the trike rear end and those behind you can't see road hazards. While on a trike you need to use hand signals to those behind you, leg warnings can't be seen due to the fenders. If riders behind you aren't used to riding behind a trike they should fall back until they get accustomed to it.

Now for the obscure... While riding my trike, I too caught center pack, I had some DA try to parade beside me. No Way! Easy fix... when you have an extra lane pull over and let the pack go by. I'll take sweep any day over RC or center pack with an unknown group. That way I can also inform the bike in front of me that I'm leaving the group if necessary so he can take sweep duties.

You go girl! Good Job.

[Ironhorsepilot]

Thanks Wizzard.....I really tried to get in the back, but it just didn't work out. Next time, I will just wave the riders around me before we begin. When we went to line up, I purposely parked way in the rear with a hugh gap behind the first bikes there. So what did everyone do? Park behind ME! I told everyone, go ahead and get in front of me, but they would say...ahhh, that's OK, we'll stay back here. TOOO Funny! A bunch of crusty looking bikers being so polite, and I didn't even want them to be!!!! :no::no: Had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

[Mr.Wizard]

Seems they all do that.. here's a trick...

When people line up behind you just say HI!

When the pack starts to leave you can out turn any of them so let out the clutch and circle back behind them... easy and they have no say in the matter. Poof, you're sweep rider