Another reason why I don't go on group runs....

[Joe Bob]

Back in the day...I organized AXs, group runs and participated in others. I began to notice that certain asshats would do stoopid things...a good friend of mine did a header into a mountain with his 911....he's still not right after 10 years.

I have been constantly invited to fun runs.....I don't go......there's always and incident......


DRIVE ALONE......be safe.....don't be a douche if you do....drive/ride at the back....take yer time.....

[crustychief]

I agree with you JB. I knew a couple of the victims involved in that.
Ocotillo Crash: Driver Released in Deadly Accident Involving 7 Motorcycles Near San Diego; Second Driver Sought - ktla.com

[imcarthur]

I stopped doing group runs 4 years ago. Too much testosterone in play. I led them & I anchored & it didn't matter. I bought my car to enjoy, not to compete.

Ian

[Noah930]

I understand your reluctance to go on group runs, but I don't see how this tragedy had anything to do with too much testosterone on behalf of the group (or its individuals). Car tried to pass a line of 12 cars on a 2-lane hwy. It didn't have enough space to do so and swerved, causing a second car to swerve and hit 12 motorcyclists head-on. Doesn't sound like the bikers were the problem.

[Drisump]

Honestly the group runs in the Porsche that I've been on (even when the pace is very brisk) I Haven't witnessed any testosterone fuelled outrageous behaviour. I guess every group has a different mix but most Porsche runs don't seem to have many (if any) teenage or twenty something year old males. Obviously you don't have to be in that age group to make ridiculous decisions but the older you become, the longer you've survived at being who you are as a motorist. At this point, I like the fun of a well organized drive, interesting cars, fun people and an awfully cool soundtrack. If the description of the event is accurate, what a waste, you have to wonder why the driver elected to drive into the bikers when there was appears to have been huge shoulders. Texting or using the cell, looked up the very last moment and had to avoid?

[Rapewta]

We (five street rodders) used to caravan our group to car shows. I don't know if that is considered a "group run" but we always had a blast.
Nobody got stupid. I did that for a couple summers and enjoyed it.
Breakdowns were fixed on the spot from group participation and a combination of five tool boxes.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I stopped doing group runs 4 years ago. Too much testosterone in play. I led them & I anchored & it didn't matter. I bought my car to enjoy, not to compete.

Ian

It is easier being the lead sled dog and then u don't have to look at the rear ends of others. I prefer to drive on my own. If I misbehave then there is nobody else to blame. If I break down I am on my own.

[vash]

i love em!

but i havent been on one in years!! i used to to the sunday morning ride on our motorcycles all the time. that is insanity. young, dumb, and full of _____. i saw a guy hit a cow. i think his name was quinn. he centerpunched it on the throttle.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

I agree with the first three posters, things have a tendency to go sideways a few too many times to make participation in runs worthwhile.

Cheers
JB

[varmint]

Went on a love ride years back. Never again.

If you can get three or four guys of comparable riding ability and maturity, it's great. Otherwise it's just a cluster **** waiting to happen.

[crustychief]

Originally Posted by Drisump

...... you have to wonder why the driver elected to drive into the bikers when there was appears to have been huge shoulders. Texting or using the cell, looked up the very last moment and had to avoid?

The group was being passed by a car, the ( D.W.I.) driver of the accident vehicle swerved to avoid a head on collision with the car that was passing.

[LakeCleElum]

Agree for sure Joe;

6 of us were on this group ride a few years ago, a few riding stupid fast and over the center line in curves. We stood around for an hour and watched this guy die:



The view I had as I rolled up and parts were still floating out of the sky:

[on2wheels52]

Curious as to whether there was a line of cars backed up behind the bikes. I'll quit riding when I start holding up traffic.
I've been on a couple of Christmas toy runs, no more of them for me.
Jim

[island911]

Damn Bob. "parts were still floating out of the sky:"

Life is a balance between risk and boredom.

In the end, no one avoids death.

[Jeff Higgins]

Years ago, I used to participate in and lead large group rides with our local HOG chapter. The only reason I wound up leading these rides was out of pure frustration with the snail's pace these people liked to hold; typically 5-10 mph under the posted limit - all in the name of "safety". You should have heard them ***** when I started leading rides at 5-10 mph over the limit, or at whatever pace it took to actually keep up with traffic. They would have none of that... that was "unsafe".

With that in mind, and seeing a bunch of wrecked Harleys, I'm left to wonder just what preceded this pile-up. A pack of a dozen, twenty, thirty, or more motorcycles traveling in a group, and not keeping up with traffic, presents an all but impossible to pass obstacle. I have seen the mounting frustration in other motorists as I followed these parades in the "sweep" position, wondering if the group leader had the common sense to perceive what was going on behind him, or the common courtesy to pull the group into a pull-out to allow the delayed line of cars following us to pass. It never happened, and the cars behind us would simply be stuck. I've been in one of those cars myself, stuck behind a large group of Harleys puttering along, blithely unaware of what was going on behind them. Hey, it's their world - we're only guests in it...

I could definitely see where the driver of the as yet unfound car simply got frustrated/pissed and decided to go for it at any reasonable opportunity. I've seen this happen with our group. Funny, too, the group of motorcyclists then become rather unyielding, not allowing the interloping car to return to its own lane if it cannot complete the pass of the entire group. It got pretty damn dicey a few times with our group. When the car wants in, it's going to "win", one way or another.

I quit riding with those boneheads after just a couple of years. I saw the handwriting on the wall for something like this to eventually befall those knuckleheads. To my knowledge, they are still getting away with it, but I would wager their day is coming. It's simply a very discourteous, thoughtless, maddening situation for other motorists to encounter. I bet that's at least a part of what happened here.

[MMARSH]

I don't consider 6 people a group ride and have no problem with that many, if riding with my particular "group" of friends. We've been riding together and been friends for years (like 20 years) and have some very specific rules. There's no egos in the group and everyone knows where they are in the group as far as ability. We dont ride with strangers or some guy we meet at the local bike spot. Are they spirited rides, you bet. But no crossing the double yellow around corners or trying to out brake someone into a corner...we do that at the track.

I agree with Jeff about the Harley parade. Except i think they know exactly what they are doing. I was going to Vegas a while back and they took up both lanes of the 2 lane road. But they looked cool...but I wanted to drive straight thru the middle of them. I've had the unpleasant experiance of having to escort large groups of riders for various love rides and other charity events. Its a rolling chicane, does nothing but frustrate the cars around them and I question the ability of most of them to properly control their motorcycle. I couldn't have been happier when the directive came down that we would know longer be supporting any of these rides.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by MMARSH

I don't consider 6 people a group ride and have no problem with that many, if riding with my particular "group" of friends. We've been riding together and been friends for years (like 20 years) and have some very specific rules. There's no egos in the group and everyone knows where they are in the group as far as ability. We dont ride with strangers or some guy we meet at the local bike spot. Are they spirited rides, you bet. But no crossing the double yellow around corners or trying to out brake someone into a corner...we do that at the track.

I agree with Jeff about the Harley parade. Except i think they know exactly what they are doing. I was going to Vegas a while back and they took up both lanes of the 2 lane road. But they looked cool...but I wanted to drive straight thru the middle of them. I've had the unpleasant experiance of having to escort large groups of riders for various love rides and other charity events. Its a rolling chicane, does nothing but frustrate the cars around them and I question the ability of most of them to properly control their motorcycle. I couldn't have been happier when the directive came down that we would know longer be supporting any of these rides.

We're on the same page - I've never considered a handfull of buddies a "group" ride or drive. To me, a "group" outing is some sort of organized event, like the "love rides" and other charity rides (why do the Harley people always have to ride "for" something or another?), or HOG chapter rides, PCA drives, etc. Events where the only criteria for participation is the ability to show up, where you don't know anyone you are riding/driving with. The kind where you sign waivers, and all that official kind of stuff before you depart.

I'll continue to ride and drive with my buddies, under the same circumstances Michael describes. It's an awful lot of fun to head for the hills with a group of like-minded riders/drivers, where everyone knows one another, and everyone knows the "rules" (for lack of a better word, although there really are no "rules"). And, unlike the Harley "parades", the objective is to go as unnoticed as possible...

[Zeke]

The real reason Joe Bob doesn't do group rides is that trailer hitched to his 911.

[stuartj]

We used to call them "tosses". A flock of seagulls, a murder of crows, a toss of Porsches. We would leave in the dark, get on the designated road at daybreak, drive like lunatics, then have breakfast somewhere and drive home like perfectly law abiding citizens. Only ever had one crash.

Then we discovered tarmac rally, and closed roads. Always have a little chuckle as the police look at our totally illegal, fully road registered car, and wave us onto a road theyve closed for us. If they'd every caught us back in the day, we still wouldnt have our licences back.

Timing. Its everything.

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm envious, Stuart. We just don't have that option in my area. I would be all over it if we did. Granted, track driving is an awful lot of fun, but... Even then the "road" never changes, and it gets a little boring after awhile. So, as a result, we are still operating in your pre-rally mode. And, yes, we have been "caught", but fortunately the gendarmes have only found us while we were parked, plotting our next lunatic assault on the next bit of road. We would all be riding the bus for the rest of our lives if they had actually seen the antics that elicited the cell phone calls that alerted them in the first place...