Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Riding Technique Be Careful on Group Rides

I went to a Charity Poker Run this past weekend.
Poker Run
It is for raising funds for childrens cancer research. The items on the site are from last year. This year there there were over 300 bikes. It appears that a number of riders (predominantly the Harley riders) thought it was a race and performed some very dangerous inside passing (same lane as there was only one lane in each direction for much of the ride) and weaving through the staggered pack especially on the straights. As it turns out, one guy decided to pass on the inside approaching a crest on the road where the bikes had slowed down from around 120 to 90 kph. Apparently he was going to hit the bike in front of him, hit the brakes and lost it. He went into the dirt over the handlebars and into a tree. He died within a few minutes after that. It was a shame this fund raising event had a fatality during the ride due to the stupidity of a rider. It was fortunate he did not take anyone else with him. News Article

The behavior on this ride will discourage many riders including myself from ever doing a large group ride again.

Anyway, this is just a note to anyone contemplating a large group ride with unknown individuals to be extra careful and ride safe.

Well, that's a bummer, but at least he didn't take anyone with him.

That's me, Mr. Brightside.

Sickening to hear of any loss on a motorycle no matter what he/she are riding, but even more so when they are on a charity ride.

It takes seconds to loose control of a bike so take extra secial care when riding in a pack. i feel for the family left behind who have all the greaving to do after a lapse of concentration on the ridrs part

I thought the point was that he was one of the ones screwing around and riding unsafe?

I rode in a charity poker run this weekend too. There was one guy who passed the group in the wrong lane, actually forcing oncoming traffic to swerve to avoid him! He was hauling a$$ too!
You definitely see all kinds at these kind of events.

I don't ride in large event groups anymore. In our small weekend groups, I try to end up at the tail end.

My first poker run, about a month after I bought my bike, had chuckleheads riding like idiots. Some of them were flying colors so I just avoided them as much as possible and let them pass. I prefer small groups of friends with similar riding styles.

No fan of group rides larger than a handful of friends.

I only do 2 charity rides per year. One is with a strong police presence, the other with a the support of multiple fire departments.

Your best bet is to have friends you know around you. Otherwise, it can be an adventure, and not in a good way.

Ride safe guys.

"(I just ain't in any kind of hurry nowadays....) "
+ 1 to that

Talking about this with a few mates today. One of the guys had good words of wisdom.

There are many Old riders,
There are many Bold riders,
There are very few Old Bold riders....

Combine the reckless bahavior with stoping at every bar and it is dangerous. I did a poker run once and will not do another. At the close of a the run one Motorcycle bumbed into his friend and they both crashed. Both of them and their dates were seriously injured.

I went on one of those poker runs last summer. And it was very similar to the one Henry wrote about except there were no fatalities, a lot of near misses but no accidents. It was so scary that I abandoned the ride mid way through,and I had a good poker hand. The only large group ride I will go on is a BA.com rally.

I have to chime in with the general "gist" of this thread. I've been on just a few of those "strangers thrown together" type rides. The inevitable near miss scenes. I'm so busy watching the bike ahead/behind/beside I don't enjoy the ride itself. Too many unknowns for me. We have a worthwhile fundraiser ride for seriously ill children. The last few years I make a donation, but avoid the gaggle.

Small groups of friends (on Triumphs) riding their ride is another matter

jh

+1
I don't like group rides for the same reasons including the fact that the "serpentine" effect magnifies the differences in skill levels - especially mine. My reaction times ain't near what they used to be, and testing them at the peril of myself and others isn't my idea of a fun ride.

Yep, a few buddies of known habits and riding styles is the extent of my idea of a group ride. If I believe in a charity, I'll give them a donation then "go my own way".

I guess our Poker Runs are a little different.
Ours have an hour or two between start & last bike out. We always leave with the 3-6 close friends we came with, and travel at different times with just our small group.
Now, as far as the others passing you, that would happen even if you where just there on that route alone, not even a participant with the run.
Thats how we do it here.

Ours was about 5 to 10 min between the first and last bike and thats over 300 bikes. I ride on some roads that have a fair bit of motorcycle traffic and over the last few years only had an inside pass (in the same lane) once when riding on my own. Usually if I see a sport bike behind me I move and ride on the left side of the lane (we drive on the left) and let him go by on the outside.

Never had a problem on the British bike rallies (other than the oil slick and smoke ) or the Old Farts club Ulysses Club I ride with even when there are 50 plus bikes.

Interesting to see many non club group riders have similar experiences.