Deadly accident(last time i ride with large group)

[rdeady]

Just left a veterans day bike run prematurely. Hundred of bikes traveling down parkway which they had closed down for us. Going maybe 75 . I'm near the back . Bikes slow down drastically and low and behold 3 bikes in an accident. One up the hill on the side still standing as i think the front wheel was stuck in the dirt. One poor fellow laying face down and he looked broken, I am not 100 percent but i am pretty sure he was gone. Those big packs are so dam dangerous !!!

[wjduke]

Just left a veterans day bike run prematurely. Hundred of bikes traveling down parkway which they had closed down for us. Going maybe 75 . I'm near the back . Bikes slow down drastically and low and behold 3 bikes in an accident. One up the hill on the side still standing as i think the front wheel was stuck in the dirt. One poor fellow laying face down and he looked broken, I am not 100 percent but i am pretty sure he was gone. Those big packs are so dam dangerous !!!

My first bike run ever was a large one like that. I hate them. the highway was blocked and everyone went bezerk. No one got hurt, but it wasn't pretty. I did my last one this past summer. Boston Wounded Vets ride. Never again. 7,000 bikes and we were bumper to bumper all the way. Once again, no one got hurt, but they're just not fun. I'd rather donate, then ride on my own.

[Big TP]

I agree. Dangerous and stressful especially when you don't know the persons riding around you or their skill level.

[zeus661]

I rarely ride with more than 2 other riders for that reason.

[cueman]

I have 4 good life long friends and that is our normal riding group. And that's the way I like it. cueman

[Kdarmy]

That is way I ride alone 99.9% of the time.

Most riders I watch can't even come to a stop without having to put both feet down. The access to my local Harley dealership for example (not picking on the Harley crowd...) has no left turn access to it, so if you're coming up to it in that direction you have to go to the light and do a u-turn onto a 2-lane road...Its pathetic how many are not able to do this, either without having to duck walk their bike thru it, or by having to pass the light entirely and make a turn into the plaza and come back to it....I have no desire to ride with these kind of riders....and to just join a large group, which I'm sure there are plenty of these type mixed in with it...No Thanks!

Keith

[seadog]

That is way I ride alone 99.9% of the time.

Most riders I watch can't even come to a stop without having to put both feet down. The access to my local Harley dealership for example (not picking on the Harley crowd...) has no left turn access to it, so if you're coming up to it in that direction you have to go to the light and do a u-turn onto a 2-lane road...Its pathetic how many are not able to do this, either without having to duck walk their bike thru it, or by having to pass the light entirely and make a turn into the plaza and come back to it....I have no desire to ride with these kind of riders....and to just join a large group, which I'm sure there are plenty of these type mixed in with it...No Thanks!

Keith

Small groups like 4 or 5 and ride staggered and no hot doggers in the group and you can have a pretty successful ride. But just putting 50 bikers together that have never ridden with each other is an accident waiting to happen. One exception to the large group rule is a club of bikers that has ridden together many times and know what's expected of them. I road with such a group when I had my M109R and the group was the Chi-town niners a club out of Chicago. They were precision at its finest, I would ride with them anywhere, we would get to a stop and two of them would break off and stop the cross traffic while the rest rolled thru and they did that everytime there was a stop. 45 bikes just kept rolling no matter the situation, stop light, stop signs and the group rolled on without a hitch. If a car pulled into the middle of the group the next guy ahead of the car would signal the guys behind until they got everyone back in line and the car eliminated from the goup. I was impressed with their methods and just safety conscious way of dealing with traffic and keeping the group safe.

[53driver]

That is way I ride alone 99.9% of the time.
Keith

While there are some groups that do ride well together, I too, am a loner. Maybe with one or two others.
As a RiderCoach - I quite unintentionally start picking apart peoples' habits while they ride and I find myself backing off further and further......

I want to ride with the local PGR Group and I'm learning their ways.
I'm not there yet though....
Cheers,
Steve

[Bill_C]

I did a couple large rallies with 450+ riders. What a mess. On one run the guy in front of me was a maniac and wound up crashing into a ravine. A few of us pulled over and found him and the bike covered in dirt and leaves. We got him back in the saddle and he took off like a nut case (didn't even thank us).

Another time I was in back of someone who rode in the center of the lane vs. the staggered side-by-side arrangement the entire run. Very frustrating. Its the 80/20 rule for me now: 80% solo & 20% with a riding partner I know well.

[Travelor]

Small groups like 4 or 5 and ride staggered and no hot doggers in the group and you can have a pretty successful ride. But just putting 50 bikers together that have never ridden with each other is an accident waiting to happen. One exception to the large group rule is a club of bikers that has ridden together many times and know what's expected of them. I road with such a group when I had my M109R and the group was the Chi-town niners a club out of Chicago. They were precision at its finest, I would ride with them anywhere, we would get to a stop and two of them would break off and stop the cross traffic while the rest rolled thru and they did that everytime there was a stop. 45 bikes just kept rolling no matter the situation, stop light, stop signs and the group rolled on without a hitch. If a car pulled into the middle of the group the next guy ahead of the car would signal the guys behind until they got everyone back in line and the car eliminated from the goup. I was impressed with their methods and just safety conscious way of dealing with traffic and keeping the group safe.

"

I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but what gives you (or this group you rode with) the right to violate traffic laws by stopping cross traffic so your group can roll through? That's an accident waiting to happen, and guess who would be liable. This is about the farthest thing from "safety consciousness" you can get when it comes to dealing with other traffic.