Lines of bikes

Nice early start this morning for a cracking ride out with an IAM observer mate of mine - 'progressive', glad I didn't take the Henfield! As the morning wore on, on certain roads there were a lot of bikes about (it was sunny!) and quite a few groups out. Fair enough, each to their own but why do so many like to ride so close in such bloody big groups, you're not in the Tour de France?

Sounds like you enjoy the "progressive" side of riding;) Would definitely like to join you on one of those :)

I personally prefer to ride in a staggered {zig zag) formation on the straight roads in big groups. This way I am (approx) 2 seconds behind the bike/car straight in front and 1 second behind the bike diagonally in front/side, as it gives me a better view of what is up ahead while still maintaining a safety bubble.
In corners I go for the position that gives me best margin of safety, stability and best view in decreasing order of priority.

I've only ridden in a large group once, and that was enough for me. Too many overblown ego's strutting their stuff. A group of three is just about enough to cope with.
And safer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gibbo

I've only ridden in a large group once, and that was enough for me. Too many overblown ego's strutting their stuff. A group of three is just about enough to cope with.
And safer.

---

You really ought to try a WB group ride mate - after 8 years of doing them we like to think we manage to avoid too many egos

I usually ride alone but I did enjoy riding with Trev and Conehead as a small group. Ridden once in a larger group and felt like the sense of "freedom" (for lack of a better word) was lacking.

I saw an MC in Andover on the weekend riding in a tight pack (at a fairly progressive pace), that looked pretty impressive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dennis_Sinanan

Sounds like you enjoy the "progressive" side of riding;) Would definitely like to join you on one of those :)

I personally prefer to ride in a staggered {zig zag) formation on the straight roads in big groups. This way I am (approx) 2 seconds behind the bike/car straight in front and 1 second behind the bike diagonally in front/side, as it gives me a better view of what is up ahead while still maintaining a safety bubble.
In corners I go for the position that gives me best margin of safety, stability and best view in decreasing order of priority.

---

Dennis, that looks like a Blackbird (?) in your profile pic, I was on a 660 single at the weekend so our ideas of 'progressive' may be a little different! Certainly mine can differ depending on which bike I'm on, roads and conditions and therein lies one of my problems with group rides - one bikers 'progressive' is another's crawl and vice versa ; )

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WR6133

I usually ride alone but I did enjoy riding with Trev and Conehead as a small group. Ridden once in a larger group and felt like the sense of "freedom" (for lack of a better word) was lacking.

I saw an MC in Andover on the weekend riding in a tight pack (at a fairly progressive pace), that looked pretty impressive.

---

I saw them too - overtook them on the 303