Hi all........thought the following article/link attached below may be of interest for all of us to read and ponder over. My main enjoyment from our rides comes from the social interaction and friends that i have made through OZ Monsters and i hope that this continues. The reason for us going out together first and foremost, is to enjoy each others company and ride at a comfortable pace to all. Rob was meant to be our lead rider on our Bells Line ride  but many a time i saw him passed and yes, i think i may be guilty of that as well, so my hand goes up. The idea of the rides, is keep the group (or split groups) together where possible so lane splitting is a definate "NO" (guilty again your honour) and not to take up both the fast and slow lanes on dual lane roads. The main objective of the day is to enjoy it, you do not need to be up front to do this. For instance, i was enjoying myself hanging out at the rear of the pack and keeping an eye out on things, meaning....... you do not need to be at the front of the group to enjoy the ride. Imagine what would happen if all of us thought that we should be up there, lets leave that for Eastern Creek track days and respect our fellow riders.
Next time when we go out, i strongly suggest that we, of course, choose our group leader (usually someone with experience i.e.  Rob S, Matty, Mmmick etc.) ,  the second bike to mark any turns........and a sweep bike at the rear......Mark/Betty has , for most of the rides, been our unsung hero here.....bringing up the rear yet enjoying the day.
I am saying and writing this because i enjoy the rides and the social interaction on the day and hope this continues. Lets keep our spirited riding (plus egos)  for track days and small select small group rides.....just my two cents worth, not aimed at any one person.....maybe more so me if that.....!


http://www.netrider.net.au/articles/?page=group_rides















 
 

+ 1
well said
Now can we slow down for corners so I don't crash  .........again

Well said Brian.
Group riding is always an enjoyable day and for the reasons you have stated.
What has been troubling us lately is that the size of the groups are growing and without proper organization and guidelines it can become too much of a free for all.

There has always been a leader who has good enough pace to please pretty much everyone on the ride and yes we have marked the route especially when many are riding in unfamiliar surrounds. The sweep has usually been taken care of by Betty or Andy when he's there.

I guess what needs to be done before any ride of a group that is not familiar with each other is a short meeting before setting off and lay down the rules. Otherwise incidents will continue to happen.

It was not written because of your incident des.......nor aimed at anyone in particular....maybe at me more like it       

Hi All

I'm also in favour of a short meeting before a ride.

At Maccas  I expected a short meeting before the ride started and was surprised when no one announced anything at the pub as to the route we're taking.

As a new comer it would've been helpful to establish the route and a perfect opportunity to to establish any group ride protocol.

As to the route on the way home I had no idea whether we were regrouping or returning to Maccas again, or simply peeling off (as we please) on our way home.

On other rides I've been on the SECOND person to the group leader people marks a corner by pulling over before it to give people notice.

Good points Andre........
  You see,........your group rides have been wih Sydney Riders i gather......i have heard bad reports re a few of their rides (not all, just a few)....from actual riders btw.......main problem was the large numbers .......meanning.......the larger the group.......the more egos .....everyone quietly thinking that they are better or faster than the guy in front of them.....
Monster rides i like to think are a tad more civilised.....we all have one thing in common as well.....
  Look.......I was riding bikes before most our younger members were even born..(hmmmm)...  definately not making me a better rider .........  but wiser...?  i would like to think so there....
I can remember vividly, back in the early seventies, when Jap bikes were just starting to build for power mainly....Honda's 750 inlline 4........Kawasaki had their 900........not forgetting the Mach 111 500's and 750 (aptly christened "The Widow Maker")......I lost two mates compliments of the then RTA rules allowing them to ride those on L plates...and two is two too many as far as i am concerned.........yadda yadda yadda...from this old fart  hahaha...!  time for my Bonox eh......
Take care all..... 

No doubt there are some spirited individuals on the Sydney Knights rides, but I assure you everyone there has fun.  It's the reason why so many people turn out, even on cold winter nights.

People ride however they like providing they abide by a few rules such as - no overtaking on the left, no overtaking of group leader, and no burnouts or excessive revving of engines at our regular stops.  (30 people revving their engines at the same time is deafening to bystanders!)

The rides are quite well organised with very few accidents considering the numbers (70-100), and the same announcement is made every week for any new faces and to remind those with a poor memory.

With traffic lights etc the riders can eaily be spread out for over a kilometre, so the density is quite good after the first 10 mins.  The group leader has an R1 and holds a decent pace so people can choose to ride up the front, middle or back of the pack (for those who just want to cruise or are less confident).

I'd agree with that, knowing Greg and having spoken to him lots about his group and the way it's organized.
IMO the greatest difference between the two groups is that Sydneys Riders always ride in built up areas for the most part only having a few destinations where traffic lights don't dominate the landscape.

On most Oz Monster group rides you'll ride at least 200-450 klms in a day, meaning that traffic lights and high-rise don't have much to do with the day.
Thus leading to the fact that most of the Oz Mo people know each other and have done for sometime. This said we were all newbies he at some stage in the group, I guess it's just that being a group of like minded Monster riders. There is no formal proceedings and we don't have a nominated leader as such.

What people do discover is that as a group we are very very sedate compared to many others. Yes we might well overtake at will and keep our general pace up, but for the most part you won't find any of us pulling the double tone on the open road.
You won't find any of us pulling wheelies or stoppies or burn outs, not as a group anyhow.
Yes I know Sydneys Riders have rules, the most important to not overtake the lead rider.
I have seen many a rider doing many of the other things though which just can't be controlled.

I guest at the end of the day if our group sizes continue to grow or stay at the average 10+ per ride there needs to be a more solid set of ride day guidelines.

As a whole I don't think we do too badly ... sure we lose the odd person and after lunch can be a bit of a shambles, but we still do alright.

Obviously I wasn't on the ride on the weekend (but that won't stop me passing comment ).

Our 'full-on' every-other-month ride (we are due again Saturday 4th June for those playing along at home ) is generally best attended and includes the most planning. Route maps are generally posted, etc, etc. As has been said many of us know our relative place in the ride order because we have ridden together once or twice ... so all is good. Chats do take place before kick-off (whether you are involved or not) to try and coordinate front and back-markers, fuel stops, etc. Plus there is usually a quiet chat to any newbies.

On these rides some will be peel off early (usually announced beforehand) and often the numbers will dwindle through the lunch break ... this may lead to a 'find your own way home' attitude after lunch as we all head off in different directions. Usually you coordinate your own leaving party ... or a 'farewell' point is organised. All pretty low key and informal ... but it usually works the bulk of the time.

This particular ride may have been a little different because it was planned with relatively short notice ... on a (perceived) known route. With quite a few newbies to the Monster riding group and some last minute additions. Quite often these type of rides don't focus the organiser/s attention as much as the 'bigger' ones ... for example we have many impromtu 'old road' rides without any real planning or pre-ride discussion. Luckily we are a pretty sensible bunch most of the time .

None of this is intended to be criticism ... just observations from an outsider.

Quote from: Andre J on May 15, 2011, 05:01:57 PM
Hi All

I'm also in favour of a short meeting before a ride.

At Maccas  I expected a short meetingbefore the ride started and was surprised when no one announced anything at the pub as to the route we're taking.

As a new comer it would've been helpful to establish the route and a perfect opportunity to to establish any group ride protocol.

As to the route on the way home I had no idea whether we are regrouping or returning to Maccas again, or simply peeling off (as we please) on our way home.

On other rides I've been on the SECOND person to the group leader people marks a corner by pulling over before it to give people notice.

Hi Andre
I didn't think a meeting was needed with only 11 riders including me.and being only a short run with about 2 turns to look for from maccas, two easy.
I spoke to every one personally and to you about the planed route and direction and fuel stops.
And agree the return regroup stop may have been a bit vague. and got totally lost when you and a few other riders rode past me and Wiskas waiting at the Kurmond turnoff, no big deal both roads meet in Windsor.
The protocol is ride to the road rules [  
We don't condone bad behaviour  
Up to the individual  how much you value your your licence, if they want to cut loose, but wait at the next regroup point.
And we usually have a corner marker which i was doing for the two basic turns.
I like ozmo rides ,and we don't want to complicate them with to many rules keep it simple.

Betty as allways has nailed it.

Hey Teff is this the type of thing your talking about re ride protocol

Men behaving badly

One thing I'll add is that faster riders should sit up after twisties (or better yet split rides up), so that slower riders don't feel they have to go at insane speeds to catch up.  I was out on the pushbike on the old road on the weekend, and saw a couple of red P platers go past at 120+ km/h trying to catch up to groups that they really shouldn't have been riding with.

We're an example of a group that generally has a big variation in ability, and I'd hate to think that we were encouraging newer riders to ride so badly.

Been on quite a few oz monster rides over the years and others and always had so much fun with the D M F'S and confidence knowing that up front and behind that there was strong leadership and at the end of the day , almost feeling guilty i should be doing more towards the cause, but then thinking what for when there's nothing more that needs doing !   [moto]

oh dear.................what can i say here..........
re Wobby's vid i meant btw

I think that this airing of ideas from everyone will only make the rides even better...
When we 6 did Oxley.......the group motored along well together......as the pace picked up it would always split into two......then back together for a nice sedate pace, which was just as enjoyable.......I am pretty sure that next time out it can be easily achieved.....
Hats off to Rob tho.........it was a great day out......even my "ringin' mate Paul said it was the best day on his bike he has had.....a P plater btw.......Nice to meet and chat with Andre as well......