Protest Ride-Cautionary Note

[Wasp27]

November 17th-ACC Levy Protest Ride to Parliament

I am writing this note knowing full well it'll probably get me Red Blinged off the planet.... Firstly let me say I do not wish to appear an ogre but feel someone has to issue a cautionary note with regard 'Group Riding" in particular this up coming Protest Ride. It concerns me greatly to hear of excitement and gleeful anticipation expressed by some riders who intend to take this trip. Some I've overheard actually think there will somehow be safety in numbers....... NOT!!!!!!

THIS RIDE WILL BE NO PICNIC RUN FOR NEWBIES

especially those that have not ridden in groups of 20 or more bikes. The projected number of bikes expected to converge on Wellington could exceed SIX THOUSAND (6000) which in my estimation will extend at least 20 kilometres from start to end.... but could if stopping and starting becomes eratic easily extend out to 25-30 kilometres. IMHO it needs serious reconsideration with regard the present plan of having 2 potentially huge groups joining as one at the Ngauranga interchange.
The concentration required when riding in close proximity to experienced riders is Massive and very Tiring..... Imagine if you can, what it will be like to be amongst thousands..... with many on their first group ride.
I personally have been on many large group rides and can recall close calls on many..... and that was riding with so called good experienced riders. I do not want to see anyone injured or worse..... but unfortunately the reality is if someone goes down surrounded by bikes the consequences could be catastrophic. If you think riding a 350kg Cruiser makes you invincible then consider how you'll fare if someone ahead of you riding a scooter suddenly goes down. For those less experienced riders still determined to participate..... no matter what, I can only offer the following advice;
Watch the bike in front of you... pay attention to their Brake Light.practice will allow you the ability to keep the Brake Light of the Bike immediately in front of you in your peripheral vision and still be able to glance ahead to anticipate. There is no need to look any further ahead than say 4 bikes. Stay focused in your zone only. Do not have any more than an occasional quick glance in your mirrors. You don't need to know where they are.... as much as they need to know where you (the bikes in front of them) are. I guarantee you... If every rider follows these simple rules there will be NO problems
Maintain a constant gap of at least 4 bike lengths (8 metres) to the bike immediately in front of you with group riders adopting the common 'Staggered' formation, any bikes to the left or right of you should be positioned midway between you and the bike ahead of you.. but they will need to keep a minimum gap between handlebars of 1.5 metres.
Always keep 2 or 3 fingers on the Brake Lever when Group Riding do not apply enough movement to the lever to activate the STOP light. Practice this alongside a shop window where you can see the Tail light working or even in the dark of a closed Garage etc. If you ride with the STOP light on... the following rider will NOT know when you are braking and chances are, they will crash into the back of you.If during your periodical glances ahead you see the bikes ahead are either slowing up or stopping..... its a good idea to warn the following bikes by flashing your STOP lights 3 or 4 times before you need to apply your brakes to slow down. A flashing light will catch their attention quicker than a constant on light.
It is definitely in your best interest for the following riders to know exactly what your intentions are
Occasionally glance further ahead (than the recommended 4 bikes) to anticipate what is happening ahead bikes ahead may at any time suddenly via left or right to avoid an obstacle you cannot yet see.
Do not allow yourself to stare at just one object...YOU WILL CRASH!!! keep averting your gaze..... constantly change the object of your vision within your looking zone. You will have to constantly think about this as you are riding..... particularly when you get tired from all the concentration. This you can also practice.... after a while it will become second nature. So start thinking about it now!
Highly recommend all riders practice this section.... it could save your life!
If for any reason you stop or slow down... immediately Clutch in with your Left hand... DO NOT BRAKE... Raise your Right (Throttle) Hand as high as you can to signal the bikes behind you that you have slowed down (practice this before you go on this ride.... preferably on a no exit street in a quiet location... much safer) Glance in your mirrors to see they have reacted to your signal.
Maintain your heading... DO NOT via left or right Using your foot brake slowly start to bring your bike to a halt ... all the while keeping your right (throttle) hand high in the air.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE YOUR BIKE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHILST STILL SURROUNDED BY PASSING BIKES OR OTHER VEHICLES.Once you have completely stopped (still in gear) release your clutch lever and raise your left hand high in the air as well. Other experienced riders will see your signal and hopefully react by coming to your aid. Note- whilst you are amongst passing bikes or other vehicles you are on your own!
When (and only when) ALL the other vehicles have safely passed you.... should you select neutral... then quickly move your bike off the road all the while looking to the rear to check for any oncoming traffic. Again raise both hands (if you can) as high as you can, to signal any oncoming traffic that you have stopped.
Maintain your position in the group unnecessary passing or lane changing will only upset the smooth flow of the group and likely lead to an accident.
We are all heading to the same venue for the same reason... please show consideration for other riders.
Stopping/Starting techniques; Smooth Acceleration as well as Smooth, Progressive Braking is the key As mentioned previously it is the following Riders responsibility to maintain the distance to the bike immediately in front of them.If you are riding a 200 horsepower Superbike and happen to be following or leading a 20 horsepower (or even less) commuter/scooter machine then you need to be aware of their acceleration rate and indeed their braking distances. You obviously cannot apply full braking and expect the following scooter rider to match your braking performance.
Please be vigilant and extra tolerant in these circumstances
I expect (hope) many first timers will come through this ordeal unscathed simply because more experienced rider/s have yielded and allowed them exra room or indeed shielded them from other dangers. Remember......
IT IS WITH THE COOPERATION OF ALL PARTICIPANTS THAT THIS PROTEST RIDE WILL SUCCEED AND HOPEFULLY FINISH INCIDENT FREE

While we're still on the safety topic the point I'm most strongly advocating is I dont think we should be mixing the inexperienced riders together with the experienced riders at any time during this ride. Let me clarify that statement; By inexperienced I mean all riders not attaining a full Motorcycle Riders Licence AND any Rider not experienced in group riding involving 20 or more bikes.... which if my guess is right will be most of the riders in this campaign. Remember this is my opinion only and is based purely on the safety of all participants, regardless of what you ride and how long they've been riding and is a reaction to the invitation extended by the organizers to all motorcycle riders including scooters.

Consider if you will.... Right from the outset, we keep the 2 groups (Newbies/inexperienced Riders and the experienced Riders) separate.... from our initial Starting points all the way to Parliament or where ever we park up. If we provide a Lead Rider for each group from each area and keep them together as that group for the duration of the ride... that in it self will I'm sure give the newbies more confidence... particularly when we get into the final leg.

Also I dont agree that there should be any merging of 2 or more very large groups as has been proposed to date at Ngauranga interchange.
Once the riders of the various groups become familiar with the other riders in their respective groups... the worst thing we can do is all of a sudden mix them up with riders they are not used to. This will affect the newbies a lot more than it will affect the more experienced amongst us.... and if memory serves me correctly thats when things can go bad... very quickly.
I think that it would be relatively easy to organize at each Final Grouping Placei.e... The Police College for us and the Duck Pond for the Hutt side.... that the final assault on Wellington should be lead by the Slower newbie group with the rest following fairly close (but not too close) behind.
When we get to the Ngauranga interchange the leading Slow Group proceed through and the following experienced group should remain stationary at the lights and let the Slow Group from the Duck Pond pull in behind the first Slow Group (NOT MERGE) this will maintain the smooth flow already (hopefully) established amongst the various groups. This could also be easily prearranged with the Police to control this interchange.
Continued in Part 2

[Wasp27]

November 17th-ACC Levy Protest Ride to Parliament

Continued;
Once the newbie Slow Group from the Duck Pond have all gone through then the remainder (experienced riders) from the Parramata side should follow which will free up the lanes that we have occupied while waiting for all the Slow Groups to go through. Once we have all gone through.... then and only then should the remaining group from the Duck Pond move off from their stationary position at the lights and follow the precession toward Parliament.

The timing of this should ensure that both groups will remain stationary for approx the same time and as such minimize the disruption to the general public.
PROCESSION SPEED. In my opinion there is no way we can expect to maintain a procession speed of anything like 90kph. Having been the lead bike during the WRB ride to Parliament I can tell you the optimum speed is closer to 60kph. This speed will be better suited to the slower groups and go a long way to preventing the Compression/Elastic effect which we all know can hinder that smooth flow.

If we can arrange something like this at an early enough time and publish it throughout... then I believe more newbies will feel comfortable about their safety in joining this ride. The Leaders of each group should remain leading their groups throughout and I'd like to think that the Wellington Group could perhaps provide Lead Marshals to meet at the Final Grouping Points and escort (Lead) the individual Group Leaders and their respective riders all the way in to the venue.

I can still fondly remember the Leadership and Organizing skills of one young Wellington Lady who was largely responsible for the smooth incident free Wire Rope Barrier campaign we took part in sometime ago.... hopefully with everyones cooperation this most worthwhile campaign will be as incident free.

In conclusion... I'd like to repeat my earlier concerns.... the main reason for bringing this Cautionary Note to your attention is simply to point out to riders intending to join this Protest Ride on the 17th that this will be no picnic ride.... if the thought of riding probably at times 5 to 6 bikes wide at speed scares the bejeezes out of you.... then please think about it. If however after reading all this you still want to participate knowing all the facts then fair enough... welcome to the ride.
The last thing I want to hear... particularly after the fact is... "Crikey... we had no idea it was gunna be like this" believe me.... if there's going to be anything like 6000 bikes at times, it'll be scary. I also dont want to see riders deciding to join this ride based largely on ignorance and then decide to pull out when surrounded by hundreds of bikes... if reading this scares you... then thats good.
Remember the eyes of the Media will be on us... Ride Safe.
Consider this Protest Ride as a springboard to future campaigns.... all the more reason to achieve a good result.
p.s. This note is in no way a criticism of the organizers or any individual connected with this campaign... it has been generated purely for the consideration of the participants. thank you for taking the time to read it.
cheers W

[NONONO]

Excellent post
Only bling...
Sticky?????????????????

[James Deuce]

Very good points indeed. One off would be a PR victory for "them".

Back in the day we used to have protest rides if someone forgot to put toilet paper in the now unmissed toilets on top of the 'Takas.

We don't practice so much now.

[Jantar]

I fully agree with most of what you have written here, but I am concerned that you would send all the inexperienced riders away as one group. May I suggest that a better scheme is to match each inexperienced rider with a responsible more experienced rider. This will create a larger group but we can then have the inexperienced riders on the left side of the staggered formation with their more experienced buddy to their right and in front.

The experienced riders will then be able to ensure that a suitable gap is maintained to allow for the unexpected.

[madmal64]

Great post! A lot of thought has gone into this one. Be good to make it a sticky.

[Jantar]

Great post! A lot of thought has gone into this one. Be good to make it a sticky.

Not a sticky yet as it is still a proposal and may not fit in with the planning. If it becomes policy it will be included in the National BIKEOI Final Information thread which is already a sticky.

[sunhuntin]

awesome post!

jantar, your suggestion about pairing a newbie with an oldbie [LOL!] is a good one. i set up like on the WRB ride, with mcduck as the newbie. it went smoothly as. i do think separating the new riders from the more experienced is a good idea.

[Pussy]

Good stuff there, Wasp27!

[Pixie]

I suggest on the long stretches, e.g. Auckland to Wellington,that riders separate themselves by 50 to 100 metres.
Riding close is tiring and pointless.The Bikoi is not a formation riding display .

[martybabe]

Excellent post, thank you for the time and effort you've put in.

Your point about the hand signals is an excellent one, even in our relatively small Taranaki ride, 3-400 bikes, Several people had to stop dead and head for the Kerb due to staling/ overheating/breakdown or panic. You need to be recognised immediately as having an issue and becoming a hazard. It works and it should definitely be adopted.

I anticipate, hitherto reliable bikes will catch many a rider off guard due to the constant stop/ start nature of the ride, older and air cooled bikes in particular, it may be worth considering riding kerb side if your old girl gives you any cause for concern so as to exit stage left quickly and safely.

Well done Wasp27!

Here's to a safe, enjoyable and worthwhile protest, go get 'em guys.

[Quasievil]

Im going but fucked if Im riding there in a big group, aint that dum, will meet up for the protest action down there, thats is it

Imagine the chaos , variable speeds, dickheads but more importantly imagine the crazy delays at Petrol stations and COFFEE stops , screw that

[Maha]

Im going but fucked if Im riding there in a big group, aint that dum, will meet up for the protest action down there, thats is it

Imagine the chaos , variable speeds, dickheads but more importantly imagine the crazy delays at Petrol stations and COFFEE stops , screw that

All good points Quasi, most (if not all) the smaller towns the ride will be going through has only 1 gas station, Taupo being the exception. Everyone will need to have a fair idea (know how far they can get on a tank or less) as to when and where they will need gas and perhaps nut out a game plan before leaving.

[sunhuntin]

I'm not entirely convinced about the inexperienced riders keeping in one group, I feel that they would be better amongst the main group using more experienced riders as mentors.

the first few group rides i did had bout 50-100 bikes, and i was the newest rider out. would have loved another slower rider to pair up with... being in amongst the more experienced guys scared me half to death.
my biggest problem on those early rides was being overtaken, and then cut off when that rider pulled back in, aiming for the left hand of the lane [i was in the right hand]
if the new riders and those on small bikes are going to be mixed in, there needs to be some rules set and adhered to.
i would like for the slowbies to be in the left hand of the lane, that way, if they do break down, its easier to get off the road without messing the following riders up too much. also means if someone does decide to overtake, they arent gonna get scared to death.

All good points Quasi, most (if not all) the smaller towns the ride will be going through has only 1 gas station, Taupo being the exception. Everyone will need to have a fair idea (know how far they can get on a tank or less) as to when and where they will need gas and perhaps nut out a game plan before leaving.

will the auckland and surrounding riders be passing through wanganui? cos theres tons of servos here, but not all of them are on the main road from the paraparas. theres a bp on that road, and across the bridge is a shell, plus a few others dotted around.

[Ixion]

Also I dont agree that there should be any merging of 2 or more very large groups as has been proposed to date at Ngauranga interchange.
..Placei.e... The Police College for us and the Duck Pond for the Hutt side.... that the final assault on Wellington should be lead by the Slower newbie group with the rest following fairly close (but not too close) behind.
When we get to the Ngauranga interchange the leading Slow Group proceed through and the following experienced group should remain stationary at the lights and let the Slow Group from the Duck Pond pull in behind the first Slow Group (NOT MERGE) this will maintain the smooth flow already (hopefully) established amongst the various groups. This could also be easily prearranged with the Police to control this interchange.

Once the newbie Slow Group from the Duck Pond have all gone through then the remainder (experienced riders) from the Parramata side should follow which will free up the lanes that we have occupied while waiting for all the Slow Groups to go through. Once we have all gone through.... then and only then should the remaining group from the Duck Pond move off from their stationary position at the lights and follow the precession toward Parliament.

The timing of this should ensure that both groups will remain stationary for approx the same time and as such minimize the disruption to the general public.
PROCESSION SPEED. In my opinion there is no way we can expect to maintain a procession speed of anything like 90kph. Having been the lead bike during the WRB ride to Parliament I can tell you the optimum speed is closer to 60kph. This speed will be better suited to the slower groups and go a long way to preventing the Compression/Elastic effect which we all know can hinder that smooth flow.

From the Duckpond/Police College the two groups will be escorted by police - ie a police car (or two) at the front setting the pace (SLOW!) , and polcie behind.

The police will manage the merge of the two groups.

Simple message is

FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF POLICE AND MARSHALLS.