38 years ago on a group ride one of the Riders I was riding with forgot about the face in the mirror rule and fell back creating a large space in the group. An impatient driver waiting to cross the highway decided the gap in the group was his chance to cross and he nailed it. The problem was that the cage was sitting on gravel when he gassed it. He spun the tires and only made it far enough out onto the road for my buddy to crash into the driver’s door. The driver in the car was killed, as was my buddies wife, and today my friend is still living with permanent injuries from the accident. Remember that once you have fallen back and created a gap in a large group that you have now lost the safety bonuses that come with riding in a group such as visibility and control of the highway at intersections.

The reason a large number of bikes might get together varies from the funeral of a fallen soldier to a fundraiser with a popular cause, and can draw motorcycle riders by the hundreds. A good motorcycle group ride will have a route planned by the Road Captain(s) that will accommodate the various levels of experience. This is essential for a safe and successful run. If the RC’s know there will be smaller bikes signed up for the group run they should try to accommodate by taking the proper route where speeds will not be a factor. If you are leading a large group of bikes on the interstate avoid changing lanes as much as possible. The Riders in the rear will thank you later. Drivers on the interstate are mostly on a mission, so be extra careful with any movement on the big road, be it slowing or changing lanes, and always pass signals back.

In any group ride the absence of rules will create chaos, as will the lack of riding knowledge by even one rider, and could result in an accident. I will always say “ride your own ride Grasshopper” even in a large group, but by that I don’t mean ride in the next lane over all by yourself pretending you are part of the group when, in fact, you have disrupted the staggered order of the group. You can no longer pass signals back, nor does anyone know when you might want to come back over into the space you started in.

Ride your own ride means you are master of your motorcycle. Don’t follow the group over a cliff like your Mom would say, but you still have to know the rules and conform a little if you agree to ride in a group. The dangers of a rear end collision, someone going down because of improper braking, or someone changing tracks ahead of you and taking out your front wheel are increased inside the group. Keep your focus on the ride. You can look at the great scenery and dig the cool river later. Look ahead and behind and visually keep the face of the next rider ahead in their mirror. This will keep you in a properly spaced staggered formation.

Traffic of today is more impatient and inattentive than I have ever seen in my two million miles on the road. This is all the more reason for Riders out there to operate with heads up and with as much skill and attention as we can muster.   

John ‘Hammer’ Hanzlik          

ALR Road Captain                                                                                                                 

Post 1, Omaha, Ne                

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