Road the Toys for Tots ride today. Some say 1,000+ bikes. Really great day for a ride. LONG procession.

But, there are some bikers that don't have a clue about riding in formation. As luck would have it, I got behind this guy who kept a space between him and the previous bike you could have put a semi in. I was real tempted to pass him, but figured he might take offense so I stayed behind him.

Well, what I was worried about happened. As the parade portion we were in went under a red light that was red, some joker in a pickup made a hasty right turn (on green) and got in the procession of bikes in front of the slowpoke. The slowpoke slams on brakes. I guess the cop had left to move up the the next intersection, figuring the cagers would wait until the procession had passed. I saw it developing and had no problem handling the situation, but I still feel that if biker in front of me had kept a proper distance (closer to the bike ahead of him), the truck may not have pulled out. Lots of horns blowing, swerving bikes, flipped birds, etc. Oh by the way, at the next intersection the pickup made a u-turn and was the subject of much disrespect as he reversed his direction. When we moved onto the 4 lane, I immediately got in the left-hand lane abd passed the slowpoke - as did many others. I wonder if the guy ever figured out why we passed him. I never saw him again, in that I peeled off, before we got to our destination. Maybe someone educated him.

I remember that he and a guy in front on him both wore leather jackets with red letters "TR" on the back. Hopefully, I'll never get behind "TR" again.

Hack

 

Hate I missed this one - Sundays are hard for me...

I really like the IDEA of group rides like this, but in practice they make me nervous for the reasons you spoke of. So many riders have little or no experience in groups, and ultimately I don't feel safe on these types of rides. Of course, it's impractical to require some level of training or experience in a ride of 1000 bikes, but on our club rides where there are 15-20 bikes, we always spend a few minutes as a group going over the "ground rules" of safety and conduct to minimize the danger and apprehension that many of us feel. Perhaps the best we can do is promote the idea of the MSF Group Riding course or at least some reading materials to help prepare riders for these types of events.

 

We had a Toy Ride in Conyers GA on Sat also. Beautiful day and about 500+ bikes. I don't see anything wrong with passing a slower bike as long as it's done safely and not as a drag race. The formation changes at times as people have mechanical problems or have to pull over for whatever reason.

 

My wife and I were going to ride the Columbus Toys For Tots ride on Saturday, but when we heard that one of the organizers won't let his wife ride her scoot in that run due to unruly behavior and bad riding...we decided to pass. He said he's seen as many as 12 bikes go down at once during that run. Great cause, but it sounds like it's outta control. We're donating our toys at Chattahoochee HD. My wife just started riding a couple of months back and I didn't want her dealing with it.

 

Mike, the turnout was unbelievable. But, donating to the Hooch is probably what I'm gonna do next year and skip the ride. Too many bikes, too many rookie's, no safety briefing (that I was aware of) just makes me a little anxious. Not unruly behavior, just too many bikers without (or so it seemed) group ride experience. A lot of crotch rockets, speed up and then hit the brakes when they close on the guy in front. I was riding in the last fourth of the procession and the accordain effect happened more than few times - that's no fun, either. It wasn't long after that that I got over, and out, and went home. Enough was enough.

Since your wife had just started riding, you and she made a good decision to sit this one out.

See ya around the Hooch.
Hack