Group rides

[Cary]

I've only been on 1 KB ride and before we were 2k up the road someone had already fallen off! And this was supposed to be a learners ride (I was doing it as a get so see what KB rides were like)

I rode with the 'Two Wheels MC & touring club' for around 5 years and in that time we had 1 person fall off. Reading the after ride posts on KB it seems like almost an every ride event.

To all I would say 'RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE' as trying to keep up with someone above your skill level is a big mistake so don't get pressured into it, if your going to slow for the guy/girl behind you they can always pass.

[Two Smoker]

Yes i agree that you have to ride at your own pace... The bin on the Newbie ride, was most likely due to a newbie mistake... For instance on the ride on sunday, there was a HUGE range of paces, and no one binned it... there was also 40 odd bikes...

[sAsLEX]

ride in the weekend had 50 odd riders only event was a honda electrical fault, rare i know but hondas can break down

[Zed]

I've only been on 1 KB ride and before we were 2k up the road someone had already fallen off! And this was supposed to be a learners ride (I was doing it as a get so see what KB rides were like)

I rode with the 'Two Wheels MC & touring club' for around 5 years and in that time we had 1 person fall off. Reading the after ride posts on KB it seems like almost an every ride event.

For the record, accidents do not happen on almost every KB ride - that is a gross exaggeration Cary!

I'm sorry you had to be riding on that "leaners ride" (the second ever on KB), but if you had been on the first learners ride several months earlier, where no bins occured, you would have received a more positive impression I'm sure!

Kiwibiker is not a motorcycling club or school, and it is not to be unequally compared to one. The rides organised here are usually just the spontaneous idea of one person who starts up a thread in the Meeting and Events section. On the day it is all very informal and pretty much everyone is free to do what they like, some ride fast while others ride slower, some pull stunts while others just watch in awe, some ride only part of the way while others keep on riding until it gets dark. This is why I enjoy the KB rides - it's good to have the freedom to just ride without having to conform to a set of rules like in a club or like association. Another reason why I enjoy the rides so much is because generally everyone rides seriously and is considerate of eachothers safety.

Your recommendation to "ride at your own pace" is the best advice that can be given, but just remember that on the KB rides there will always be a mixture of different skill levels, the key is to find the level that best suits you and ride in it!

[vifferman]

I rode with the 'Two Wheels MC & touring club' for around 5 years and in that time we had 1 person fall off. Reading the after ride posts on KB it seems like almost an every ride event.

I'm not surprised you think it seems like that. I've been on Kiwi Biker for about 15 months, and it seems to me too from reading the post-ride reviews that that's the case. It's a bit of a worry.
But, like Zed said, they're casual rides (perhaps sometimes with overly casual attitudes?) :spudwhat:
In the final analysis, each rider is responsible for how they ride.

[dveus]

I don't think most KB rides have someone binning, It's just the ones with bins seem to get alot more attention on the forums.

[Cary]

For the record, accidents do not happen on almost every KB ride - that is a gross exaggeration Cary!


Kiwibiker is not a motorcycling club or school, and it is not to be unequally compared to one.

This is why I enjoy the KB rides - it's good to have the freedom to just ride without having to conform to a set of rules like in a club or like association.

Your recommendation to "ride at your own pace" is the best advice that can be given, but just remember that on the KB rides there will always be a mixture of different skill levels, the key is to find the level that best suits you and ride in it!

Get what your saying about KB not being a school and am all for learner riders doing a course before they join a group ride as they can be intimdating.

As for the club I was in, there were riders happy to do 100k and those doing 200k+ on the same ride.

I think the riders themselves need to slot into the group according to their pace as a learner should not go near the front while an R1/GSXR(sterotyping ) in rear etc.

Yes it is an exaggeration but it is what i've heard/read in my limited time with KB, looikin foward to more rides with KB folk in future.

[Two Smoker]

I think the riders themselves need to slot into the group according to their pace as a learner should not go near the front while an R1/GSXR(sterotyping ) in rear etc.

Yeah!!! Why do you fuckers always slot myself and my RG150 up the front all the time???

[Sensei]

Yeah!!! Why do you fuckers always slot myself and my RG150 up the front all the time???

They may need to have a laugh at how slow you ride

[2_SL0]

Not sure if anyone else finds this. But on group rides I tend to actually ride slower than I do when Im by myself. Not really sure why. I actually like riding the most either by myself or with just a couple of people. I tend to ride right at the back of large groups, the larger the group the further back I am lololol.
I agree with everyone above, you ride at your pace. Thats where the problems begin, people dont and come unstuck.

[Ixion]

I don't think most KB rides have someone binning, It's just the ones with bins seem to get alot more attention on the forums.

I don't think anyone came off on either the Coro loop ride Sunday or the (admittedly short) Wellsford ride Saturday ?

And the weather was dubious for both

Naturally, the ones where people bin get more attention. As they should. Bins can mean dead bikers.

[Motu]

I used to ride on the Triumph Owners Club Poker Runs,someone always seemed to come off,sometimes in a big way,no injuries and something to talk about afterwards.No learners on these rides,just over exuberance fueled by too many handles at the Pub.It's a part of riding in groups - which I seldom do.I only get annoyed when the blame starts getting dished out to everything and sundry....except to the rider,who is nearly always the only one to blame....

[SlashWylde]

The issue here is not that riders (inexperienced or otherwise) are riding at too fast a pace and consequently having crashes, but that they are riding at their own pace but due to lack of skill and experience, or error in judgement, people have had crashes.

At any rate this seems to have been the case on the rides I've been on when others have come off.

Crashes haven't happened because a new rider was trying to keep up with the fast pack, learners infact don't try and go near the front as they would quickly be left behind anyway. These learners (thankfully) know they can't ride fast and wisely stick to 70 or 80km/hr, but what they desperately need is good basic skills training, mentorship from more experienced riders and lots of careful practice.

It still amazes me that with all the endless discussion in a variety of threads over the last few months, both from those that have been on controversial group rides and those that haven't, that people are still convinced it's all about "Ride at your own pace".

[2_SL0]

The issue here is not that riders (inexperienced or otherwise) are riding at too fast a pace and consequently having crashes, but that they are riding at their own pace but due to lack of skill and experience, or error in judgement, people have had crashes.

At any rate this seems to have been the case on the rides I've been on when others have come off.

Crashes haven't happened because a new rider was trying to keep up with the fast pack, learners infact don't try and go near the front as they would quickly be left behind anyway. These learners (thankfully) know they can't ride fast and wisely stick to 70 or 80km/hr, but what they desperately need is good basic skills training, mentorship from more experienced riders and lots of careful practice.

It still amazes me that with all the endless discussion in a variety of threads over the last few months, both from those that have been on controversial group rides and those that haven't, that people are still convinced it's all about "Ride at your own pace".

Sorry but doesnt your statement contradict itself, if people were riding at there own pace I would think that would mean they would be riding at a level that is exceptable for them, ie cornering, cruising speed. When I say pace I dont mean just there speed it covers everything. If you ride at your own pace you are riding within your own skill range. Soryy but all the offs I have seen have been from pushing that level further than the skill level of the rider.

[Motu]

Sorry but doesnt your statement contradict itself, if people were riding at there own pace I would think that would mean they would be riding at a level that is exceptable for them, ie cornering, cruising speed. When I say pace I dont mean just there speed it covers everything. If you ride at your own pace you are riding within your own skill range. Soryy but all the offs I have seen have been from pushing that level further than the skill level of the rider.

Well,that's what ALL crashes are - exceding your ability to cope with whatever situation just happened to come along....the more experiance you have the less chance you have to be caught out unawares....