I found their message board, so I met for their saturday ride.


1 ZX14
3-4 Gixxers
2 CBRs (one was a repsol replica...kinda cool)
and me on my 620

I knew I was in trouble when one started doing stoppies at each stoplight in town 

and then when we hit the free way I got left standing on the entrance ramp going 85...left like I was sitting still. Caught back up when they hit traffic (I know how to deal with traffic  [moto]). Get to the exit and they were gone again. The baby monster just doesn't hang when we're 2 up.

Oh well...I probably didn't want to keep up anyways. I would catch back up in the twisties some (even with the wife on the back), but they would wheelie away on the straights.

It was some squidly riding...I've been known to drive at a rapid pace, and hit the corners pretty hard, but I don't know if I'll go back out with them again. I don't know if I want to be associated with them or not when the local authorities are around. 

I wish I had some good folks to ride with in town.

I hear that.. too many people out there that ride like that.. not that i ride like the perfect citizen but it definitely is difficult trying to find people that ride the same way as yourself. Keep looking. Nothing wrong riding alone anyway... I actually prefer that most of the time.  [moto]

I have had the same experience, people I know on Jap bikes expect me to haul a$$ everywhere.  I enjoy speeding up quickly and taking twisties, but not cruising 80 in 45 or wheelying at stop lights.  On the contrary, my brother has a 74 BMW r75 and when we ride, he can't even begin to keep up with me...so it's hard for me to ride with him.  Just a different type of riding style for everyone I guess, and some involve doing stoppies around the grocery store.

I met up with a group of local riders once - pretty varied group, on a Sunday ride. Couple of heavy cruisers, a very, er, sexually questionable chopper, one of those BMW dualsport 1200s, and a couple of repli-ricers. So, we head out from the local Starfks and get on our merry way, my friend and I maintaining a position by the "leader" so that she'd know if we had to let her know about anything. Everyone was going achingly slow - speed limit was 60, and everyone was doin' 55 mph in the commuter lane. I only had about 30 miles worth of gas at the start of the ride, and I clearly signaled that I was pulling out for a gas station (using the pre-agreed upon tapping on the gas tank). So I exited the highway with my friend and we filled up, and we got back on the road. Nobody waited, not even the sweep - everyone was long gone. We decided to try and catch up, riding at decent speeds for about 80 miles until we reached our destination in the mountains. Then we realized that we'd overshot everyone by about 20 miles. . . and had more fun doing that than if we'd ridden in formation at a snail's pace. So, I was glad that nobody waited - made me realize how much more fun it is to not be held back by others and just do my own thing.

Basically, I came out of that with the notion that i'd rather ride with a small group of friends than a large group of n00bs. . .

Quote from: Le Pirate on July 26, 2008, 08:12:32 PM
I wish I had some good folks to ride with in town.

I feel for ya Le Pirate.  I end up riding by myself a lot for similar reasons. 

It always seems to be one extreme or the other.  I ride with the cruiser types and I end up feeling like I'm at a senior citizen's club.  There are a few decent riders with lots of experience but in general I see some of the worst riding ever (sketchy is probably the best word I can think of for it) by people driving less than the posted speed limit!  I've been on group rides where I have been afraid that the guy beside me is going to manage to hit me!  I really don't fit with this "poser biker" crew but sometimes it's nice to go out with them just for the ride.

Then I go riding with the sportbike guys and it usually starts out pretty good but then one guy does something and the next guy decides to raise the bar a bit.  Then the third guy tries to best the second.....Pretty soon we are all flying down the road spending all of our time hoping no one eats it and no cops are nearby.  Some of the riders are pretty good and know how to handle their machines.  Then there are "average guys" like me.  I enjoy riding "briskly" but within my lesser capabilities.  Sometimes when watching the other "average guys" in the group I get the feeling that they are in over their heads half the time but don't want to be labelled the slow guy so they push themselves past whqat they should. 

It seems that for some reason two guys with differing skill levels can ride together reasonably well.  In my experience, three or more and it becomes a game of keeping up to the best guy.  I know I'm not the best and I don't feel like hurting myself (or seeing anyone else hurt themselves) trying to prove otherwise.

It also seems that if you can ride with the same bunch of guys often enough you get to know what the other guys' comfort levels are and you accept each guy's style for what it is.  It's usually when riding with guys for the first few times that I feel I have something to prove and get uncomfortable.

I dunno......just us guys and our egos I suppose ....

I just got back from a group ride. Me and another monster, a 996 and his girlfriend on a 748, and 5 jap bikes. It was a very nice group to ride with. I led through the first half of the ride with two of the jap bikes taking off at a faster clip at times and then we would all regroup further up. We kept a good pace and all had fun. The 748 brought up the rear with a ZZr 1200 or something like that. The 996 kept to the middle.  There was no real squidly behavior given the group and pace.  It is a group I would ride with again. We were able to ride at our own pace and then regroup later with no one complaining about having to wait.

I've only done a couple of group ride on my SM, but I'd prefer to ride with people I know and feel comfortable with.

Both times I did group rides with sport bikes, they just played around doing wheelies.  They seemed to be just riding along, of course there cruising speed is redline for the DRZ.

Now I try and stick stricktly to a small group of no more than 4-5 riders.

I usually hand in the back, unless asked to lead.  Being new rider, I don't really feel obligated to go crazy just because someone else chooses to.

I'm cool hanging in the back and observing.

Glenn

The first time I hit the local "rocket" club was actually pretty pleasant surprise.  There were probably 20+ riders, all riding Japanese with the exception of me and a guy on an 848, but just like porschaholic said, everyone was quite content to ride at their own pace with the REDICULOUSLY fast guys up front and a couple of younger folks hanging out in the back.  I like to keep to the middle ground but anytime the group was planning on turning, the leaders would do well to regroup everyone and even get in a head count.  I think I'm lucky just go have a decent group with a few guys who don't tolerate any kind of dangerous riding.  I think as long as there's someone there willing to take the tiniest bit of responsibility and lay down some rules, group rides would be much more enjoyable for all. 

I totally know what you mean about the older gents on the cruisers.  When I first bought the bike I loved going out with all the "big boys" just because that was closer to my pace.  A few thousand corners worth of practice later and I can't handle just doing the speed limit on the backroad twisties.  I'd like to get a cruiser sometime for the longer bouts, but I don't know if I can ride like that for more than 50 miles at a time.  Boring.  Maybe I just need to grow up 

I ride by myself all the time, I have ridden with groups, but most of the time they want to leave in the middle of the day (I ride early to avoid the traffic) they want to stand around and chat for hours before we go, (yes it's a social thing, but do we need to talk that much?) and then no one seems to be able to follow directions or follow a decent pace, they either want to scrape the pegs and go insane speeds or plod along like grandma.

I just get annoyed with group rides, I change my mind, explore back roads and go to places that interest me, I set my own pace (my chicken strips could feed thousands) so for the few times I've been on them, only once have I finished the ride, I give the leader or the Tail end charlie a wave and I go off in my own direction.

And now I ride alone.

Maybe I'm just getting grumpy in my old age! 

"Bloody Kids, with there hippin and there hoppin!" 

If you're ever near OKC give me a shout and we can ride  [moto]

Anywhere near Cairns Australia? 

don't get me wrong, I like to ride alone, in fact I prefer it, always been a bit of a loner in that regard.
When I'm in a group I have to keep slowing myself down because I can't help but try to keep up with the fast guys.

I feel safer by myself, because then I concentrate on myself and my surroundings, I'm not worrying about what other people doing and being distracted. after 10 years of riding, I still prefer the lone rides.

Maybe I should have in my Sig line
"Does not play well with others!"  [moto]

Try going to ducatimeetup.  The website should have a group near your area.  The group here in Atlanta is a real good group of guys....we always stop at intersections and wait for everyone to regroup.  I had gone out with a group one time (all the chromed out super big jap bikes)  There idea of "riding" was to get on the interstate at 100+ cruise through downtown, go to hooters then race back down the interstate.  Lame and shameful...two gusy almost crashed on an on ramp.  I'd have hated to see them in the Mtns.   I sometimes enjoy venturing out by myself, but if I ever crashed or broke down in the mtns of North Georgia, it could be a while...if any one found me.  This is why I prefer to have at least one other guy with me.  Also if I am pulled over by mr policeman, I have an alibi as to what I was or was not doing.

As far as I know I'm the only Ducati Monster in Lawton, so if you want to meet up Pirate, let me know.

I totally feel your pain pirate.  I metup with some of the local sport bike guys around me a couple times and the last time i did we rode down the expressway to a local hangout spot and sat there for 2 hours chatting about bullshit.  I was there in full leathers sweating my ass off thinking WTF this isnt riding.  I haven't rode with them since......

But now those other NYMMC guys they are some real riders , i have ridden with them on numerous occasions and they rock, seems this forum attracts some great riders.

Just went for my first group ride ever as well on Saturday, and similarly had a lame experience.

I was headed to an event with a friend of mine a few towns away, and two other riders from his neighborhood were joining, both on GSXR type bikes.

Ride to event was ok, a few instances of feet dragging or other goofy riding (I don't get the feet dragging thing, what's the appeal?) but we took a slightly windy road back and out of nowhere one of the GSXR riders rockets past me over 100 and passing three of us and he's careening downhill towards a blind right hand turn with almost no room left before the corner.

Big surprise, he brakes hard, looses control and goes off road into the 1-2 feet (at most) of big rock and dirt and slams up against the cliff wall. Somehow he manages to not fall over, and the rest of us nearly crash in the resultant dirt storm and almost get nailed by the cars behind us. 

Well, we stopped a ways down and he's ok but shaken a bit, or so I think. Not but 5 minutes later he's in front of me with the other GSXR rider and he starts doing his stunt crap and he's leaning forward putting both feet up on the rear of his bike, and then his friend apes this and does it too. Oh yeah, the one that didn't crash just got his license and his friend is teaching him great skillz.

I think I'll just keep riding alone. To each his own, but I just can't ride with crap like that.