I realize people get busy, and have schedules, but I finally learned! No more, "I'll go too, but I can't leave 'til noon or 1:00." Then it's, "Sorry. I won't be able to get away today." Now it's, "I'm goin' to ________, and I'm leavin' at _______ . My wife doesn't ride, but she doesn't care if I'm gone all day, so I go by myself. Even an overnighter. I'll go to a zipline or a scenic train ride by myself. She thinks I'm nuts, but I don't mind at all. Am I the only one?!!! (I bet I'm not!)

 

The probability of everyone in a group agreeing with the schedule is inversely proportional to the number of people.

 

"Group" rides just aren't my thing, so I guess this doesn't affect me.


If there are people going where I happened to be going I'll tag along, but to preplan a ride with a bunch of people going to fixed places on a fixed schedule doesn't seem to work very well. I learned early on that isn't usually feasable.

 

Yep. Except for my wife, on larger rides, it is 98% of the time just us on one bike. If someone does a group ride, we just meet the group at the time mentioned and follow along. TriGeezer has the formula correct. If it is one of my rides, you meet me at X time or I am gone. Sitting in the driveway sucks.

 

Yup... Been there, done that!! No more large groups for this cat(We were up to 10-14 couples) as people aren't on time, never know who's gonna show up, too long of smoke breaks, people aren't happy with the route, why didn't you stop there, why are we taking this route, etc, etc.... I was the lead guy for many years.. made the plans for a few long trips(5 days) which is a lot of work & no appreciation so done with it. Weened the wife & I out of that large group & now we are the ********!!
Downsizing to either the wife & I, maybe the brudda/wife sometimes, & got 2 rides going this yr for a group of 4 couples which is much easier!! Otherwise weekend rides will be the wife & I & maybe just a few whom appreciate all the work that goes into ride planning!!

Life goes on!!

 

I like being able to ride as long, stop as long as i want, mostly me and the talking half, but large groups are rough on longer rides, not worried to much on the 100 mi day rides Have a few people i ride long distance with, same kinda riders, thats what makes it good

 

I've been riding for a long time and I've rode in, and have lead some large bike and car groups and once you have more than 10 (or so) vehicles it takes a lot more work and communications to keep them together and on track.

I drive at the posted speed limit (maybe 5 over if traffic allows) and still get the "rubber band effect" from the vehicles in the back of the group due to some drivers who refuse to keep a close following distance, it's just how it is.

Group trips can either be a blast or a bust and herding a group of people is much like herding a bunch of cats!

Here's a bit of what I've learned and a few suggestions:
**Everyone has a full tank of fuel at the starting point and EVERYONE fuels
up at EVRY fuel stop--NO exceptions regardless of what their fuel gage
reads!!!
**Have a pre-determined break schedule (15 minutes) after 1-1/2 hours of riding.
This is in addition to fuel stops and is about as long as most people can go
without using a restroom.
** Get real here, 30 minutes for fuel stops and more potty breaks!
** Meal stops, fuel stops and potty breaks combined, allow ONE HOUR.

1. Set a daily departure (leaving the parking lot) time and keep it consistent.
Once everyone gets used to a set departure time the better it works.
2. Give everyone the destination(s) addresses and the names of the places
where you are going to be stopping or staying.
3. Give everyone a copy of the routes (with maps if available).
4. When you make a turn or major route change be sure everyone follows.
5. YOU at the leader. IF they choose to NOT follow you, they're on their own.
6. Once at the destination, everyone does NOT have to go on every day trip
or excursion. Some folks may want to sit by the pool while other may want
to ride and explore he area and that's fine, NO problem.

When you're ready to return home, I would say RINSE & REPEAT but I've found that when some people are ready, anxious and wanting to go home I just get the h**l out of their way and watch 'em fly!

 

I agree with everything here, group rides can be a lot of fun, but yeh it is herding cats. No one is willing to commit and no one is ever on time. Add to that 45 minute gas stops and a long days ride can turn into a real long day. My observations and/or thoughts:

1- My mentor is very firm on this point, we start making reservations, you are only in if you start putting up money. Other wise we expect you will bail. And the money (lets say we are splitting a house rental in Sturgis) is not refundable unless a replacement couple takes your spot. Arrangements and costs are set based on how many people, if all of a sudden you can't come, we do not expect everyone else to absorb your portion of the costs. Sounds mean, but it weeds out the unreliable people. A real live emergency might change this, but usually it is BS.

2- I like to leave early so I am at my next hotel by 5 PM the latest. I want to get checked in, have time to clean up, maybe a quick nap then go find food and beer. With a 500 mile day that means kick stands up by 8 AM the latest. One trip I let everyone else pick the times to start (knowing our mileage) and we did two days in a row getting to hotels after dark. Lots of whining and I explain if you want to do miles and stop at every road side attraction and smoke two cigarettes at every gas stop, we can not leave at 9:30. Next day they did it my way, we saw everything the group wanted to see and still got to the hotel by 5.

3- Set the rules for rain before you take anybody's money or have them be part of the group. Common question, "what happens if it rains?" Give an honest answer of your plans. For us, we pull over and put the rain gear on ASAP, and then we ride. I do not like to tempt the rain gods, too many miles cold and wet. If it looks like rain, gear on. And I am not stopping 30 miles later because the sun came out. You put it on, it stays on until our next fuel stop. And lets be clear, unless the storm has a girl's name, we are not stopping and getting a room because of rain. Especially if it is not even lunch time yet. I have been touring for 30 years, twice I threw in the towel and got a room, once the storm had a girl's name and it was after 5 PM, once we were already 500 miles into the day, it got cold, dark, visibility was s**t and it was still heavy rain. That is it, besides those two times we grin and bear it, better then being at work.

4- Make sure you have gone over all of this with your buddy and his WIFE/Girlfriend. Make sure she understands. Listen this way is not for everyone, no hard feelings see you at the local bar for a beer.

5- Make hotel reservations, this gets more important with the amount of people and bad weather. Summer time, popular destination, pouring rain and you need four rooms, not happening. Trust me, nothing worse then getting back on the bike in the storm after leaving a hotel lobby.

6- After I have a general route, I like to ask what does everyone want to see. it is a negotiation. Maybe the ladies don't want to see the Corvette Museum, but there is something else they do want to see, talk it out. Nothing worse then hearing about a place you passed 300 miles ago that someone always wanted to see. Give them the route and let them do their own research on places of interest you will be passing. Then have a another sit down to discuss. At least then it is not your fault that you didn't tell them about the largest ball of twine that we just passed.

7- We are riding about 9 MPH over the posted speed limit, keep up, we are not waiting. I have cruise control, I use all the time on the slab. I set the pace. You feel like doing 90 MPH, go for it, but be ready to slow down so the group catches up to you. I am not riding like an *** all day long. If I had to give up my radio or my cruise, the radio is long gone. And I do not ride in the left lane except to pass. Yes that means we will be making an ungodly amount of lane changes with a string of bikes. Deal with it, that is the right way to ride or drive on an interstate, especially a two lane one like I-81 in Virginia. I will not block the left lane because it is too much work for you to change lanes.

Right group, everyone on the same page, some of the best times of my life riding around this beautiful country. After everything I just typed, still my favorite vacation and would take a road trip with 4 couples over any bike week, anytime. BUT as long as we are all on the same page.

Now go plan a trip, weather is a changing and it is time to ride.

 

I've tried the " Let's all leave at xx am. 2 hours later, half maybe, are ready to go. Went for a day run, four stops and 5 hours later we weren't more than 50 miles away. So now it's: I'm leaving at xx am and this is where I'm wanting to go. If you show up and want to go somewhere else, we'll discuss that as we are getting our helmets on.

 

Rode with a couple a few years back. they were great because they were early risers. we were always on the same page. He joined the PGR riders and has been real active with them ever since(Retired Navy). Since then its just me and the missis. We like it even better. Stop when we want. Easy to decide on Lunch or Dinner. And if we have to make a unscheduled stop for whatever, Who cares. Rode to Yellowstone in 2016. Longest trip so far by ourselves. This year is a short trip to the Hill Country of TX. But next year were off to Utah. Loved it in 2013. want to see more.