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How to organize a group ride.

10K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  LNWLF 
#1 ·
Starting this thread to get the collective knowledge of those who have organized, road captained or ridden in group rides.

This will become a very valuable resource for those that get asked to set a group ride up.

Please contribute. Tell us all what you have seen, both good and bad. Tell us what you do to make everybody as safe as they can be, and yet let them have fun.
 
#2 ·
I organize for a gruop i head up in RI. I work with another fella that is a road captain. So its always he and I first and second bike. I like to ride the route myself it at all possible. That way you know what the road is like, traffic concerns, road work etc. Its best to try to ride the road at the time you plan to come through with your group, but obviously not always possible. I have riders RSVP so i know who is coming. Not all of our riders are all day riders. Not all of them are experienced riders, so all of that has to come into play. It sux babysitting, but if you want to plan and lead, sometimes thats what has to be done. I plan rides that are scenic and fun to ride. Plan stops at unique places if possible. Instead of eating at a chain restaurant, plan for a mom and pop place that serves stuff you cant get locally. This is some of the stuff i had off the top of my head. Planning will be detirmined mostly by the company. If you have a group of four friends that can ride hard all day, you can plan a dif ride than one experienced and 3 newbies.
 
#3 ·
Gonekat, thanks! Really good points. There are all kinds of guides out there in HOG Chapters and such, but often we are involved in groups that are less than formal. I get asked to Road Captain charity rides several times a year, and riders are from all walks of the two wheeled world.

One of the things I find is a problem now for me is my fuel capacity with the RGU. I sometimes have o remind myself that there are still "peanut tanks" out there.

When I pre-ride I go with 3 gallons on-board...
 
#4 ·
Few ideas I've garnered over the last few years:
  • Sweeps are hugely important. They should be one of your best riders, if not the best
  • Easier to manage smaller groups, so plan on having multiple leads and sweeps, and make sub-groups in the range of 7-10. I've found eight to be ideal.
  • Always review basic road commands, and emphasize the riding style you want.
  • You can never educate riders on staggered riding and one and two second rules enough.
  • Leads and sweeps should always know the route in advance
  • Route sheets for the other riders are nice, but not always important.
  • Always end at a destination. Circular routes with people peeling off can be disasterous.
  • Always end the ride before the drinking begins. Nothing worse than being liable for others stupidity.
  • Break sub-groups into relative experience levels
  • If you're going to tolerate speed demons, give them a destination and let them loose on their own. Too much of a hassle trying to argue with them or keep them under control.
  • All participants must be able to handle the minimum ride requirements. To me that means being able to exceed the speed limit on all given roads you'll be riding, if necessary.
  • While riding your own ride is a great concept, if you have riders that aren't comfortable with the pace, give them the ability and road commands that allow them to drop back to a slower, more comfortably paced group
That's all I can think of at the moment.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I did the whole HOG thing back in the day. I was a Road Captain and an Officer in the Chapter. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I think there needs to be different rules (or lack of rules) for different groups. HOG Chapters need rules. You're riding with people who range in their abilities. There is too much controversy over the proper way for HOG Chapters to ride so I won't comment.

I ride in small groups. I don't like any rules but I need to ride with people who have a mutual respect for the road. In general, I don't ride with newbies or people who cannot completely control their motorcycle in any situation. Yesterday I rode with a new group and had an issue with one of the riders. He was competent in his riding abilities but he was crowding me. Thanks to advise from the forum members, I will be able to handle the issue properly on future rides.

So, my advise is to ride with people who you know and to ride with people you trust. There's no need for leaders or sweeps when everyone in the group is a skilled rider. I usually tell everyone to ride their own ride. Don't try to keep up if you're not comfortable and use your head. The people I ride with have the same attitude as me. It works well for us.

Also, if you're not a skilled rider, try riding with people who are better than you. If you stay with people who are average riders you'll never get any better.


EDIT: I JUST READ THE POST ABOVE MINE. HE WAS POSTING AS I WAS TYPING. WE PRETTY MUCH GIVE THE OPPOSITE ADVISE. I THINK THERE WILL BE MANY OPINIONS IN THIS THREAD. THERE'S NO RIGHT OR WRONG BUT WE ALL NEED TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR US. BTW, I'VE MET ZzzzEN DOG AND HE'S A GOOD GUY AND AN EXPERIENCED RIDER.
 
#8 ·
I did the whole HOG thing back in the day. I was a Road Captain and an Officer in the Chapter. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

So, my advise is to ride with people who you know and to ride with people you trust. There's no need for leaders or sweeps when everyone in the group is a skilled rider.
Former Road Captain myself who has nothing to do with HOG anymore. Too many rules and riding with vastly different skill levels in huge groups is just a recipe for disaster.

+1 on the ride with people you know. One or two outliers / unknowns in the groups is okay, but I just give them plenty of room until I can determine their riding skills.
 
#6 ·
BD and Zzzen Dog. Thanks! See that's what makes this a great way to learn. I can agree with both of you! Been in both shoes at one time or the other.

In my part of the world, we commonly see a charity or foundation look to the free spending bikers as a way to raise money. It becomes a real nightmare to organize and pull off one those rides.

I don't do the HOG thing either, and yet there are some of the rides they do I'm tempted to go on. I always end up sweep or trail because of my EMS status...and willingness to wrench on anything. Most everybody is well into the second beer when I get to the end usually.

With my small regular group we have ridden so much together that we know what the other rider is going to do, and we compensate automatically...and ride hard as a result. I can't imagine getting up close to some I see on charity rides or poker runs for that matter.
 
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#7 ·
With my small regular group we have ridden so much together that we know what the other rider is going to do, and we compensate automatically...and ride hard as a result.
I think you've helped make my point. You become intuitive when you ride with the same people on a regular basis. You trust them and can predict their actions. My friend Ron and I always draft each other. We will ride directly behind the other about 1" apart. We only do it on open highway and when there will be no sudden stops. We can do it because we know and trust each others abilities. We also know when it's ok or not ok to do it. Sometimes we'll get side by side and put our foot on the others' floor boards or highway pegs. Again, it comes down to skill, ability, trust and logging 100K+ miles together.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
Has anybody figured out a way to get people to ride with a mentor? As in if this is your first group ride, or you are apprehensive...here we are going to tuck you in with so and so...

I don't wanna be the so and so...but it would help new riders learn to negotiate a group.

Another thing I learned is to never ride in an organization role with a passenger. Had a really cute nurse one time that was part of the charity...she wanted to ride with me...and see the road. Wow... She panicked every time we got 2 degrees off from vertical...man could she latch on. She showed up in a very short pair of shorts...which didn't do my concentration any good either... Now I ride alone when I'm workin' the ride...
 
#11 ·
I feel as if I'm posting too much on this topic but I have a lot of opinions. As far as planning a route, if you have an regular group of riders there's really no need to plan in advance. My friends and I pick a destination a few days before the ride. Once we all meet up, we decide which route to take. There's a lot less planning involved when you're riding with a regular group regardless of your skill level. The best rides are when you just go.

Now, if you're riding with a group where everyone is not familiar with each other or a club (like HOG), you need more structure. You need rules, a leader, a sweep and, in many cases, a safety officer to enforce the rules. A safety officer gives the responsibility of correcting another rider without everyone ganging up on him. You also need to have hand signals and rules about how you will structure the ride. Usually weekend clubs ride staggered. Everyone should stay in their place and there is a particular way that the group will change lanes. In many cases, routes are emailed to the group in advance but only after the route is approved by the Head Road Captain. This has been my experience with organized weekend groups and I understand that other groups may have a completely different structure.
 
#12 ·
BD, no way you can post too much on any subject. I have learned a pile of good stuff from you. Fact is you are on my must read list!

You are helping this thread do what I was wanting it to do. I wanted it to become a general "primer" on group riding. Given time this could become a central spot to look at when we get involved with a group, and remind us all of what is and isn't safe and acceptable.

Rules are great for those that don't wanna bend them...I suspect most of us bend...grin.
 
#13 · (Edited)
HOG and me dont gee haw , I did it for a couple years way back in the 80's when they first got going .. Like BD , just not "my thing" ..

They broke me from large group rides real quick ..

I ride alone mostly ..

There were five of us who used to ride together , we did long road trips , those guys I trusted , like BD , ya rack up enuff miles with the same people , and ya know what everyone else is thinking or going to do ..

Two of those guys have passed away , one is no longer able to ride because of his health , and Bill , at 72 , shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon .

And he's like me , just about the only group ride either of us do , is together , so , I dunno , is two a group ??

But from my personal experience , and it may be because our group was rarely larger than five .. To me much over six riders , is too large of a group to manage ..

And like BD , we all knew where we were going , and where we would stop for fuel , so if we did get seperated , it was only until the next fuel stop ..

I still don't like riding SxS , and it's probably again , from an experience we had , where two were SxS , and one was cut off and nowhere to go , and both went down hard ..
 
#15 · (Edited)
Ride Planning

Been leading rides for 11 years. I've led rides from 1 bike to 86 bikes. For some, this may be overkill, but here are my steps:
  1. Pick out destination and/or start end points.
  2. Plan route on Garmin's MapSource and/or ADC Street maps.
  3. Find roads that are low in traffic, high in fun quotient. More right turns than left in traffic areas and the fewer stop lights and stop signs are better
  4. Preride route and make notes on areas for improvement, if needed. Then make changes to route.
  5. Pre-ride route with changes
  6. Ensure stops or breaks are planned for water, fuel, butt rests about every hour.
  7. Plan any food stops and inform restaurant of planned arrival time and amount of people. This makes meals go better as they will have planned their staffing with enough notice.
  8. On the preride, make notes to give during pre-ride briefing - Look for areas that may have grass on roadways, gravel, mud on road, etc.
  9. Day of ride, give pre ride brief to include possible problem areas, rest stops, ride leaders (tailgun, road capts, leader, etc) hand signals, and other pertinent information.
  10. Ensure you have enough personnel to assist on ride for teh amount of riders you expect on the ride.
  11. HAVE FUN!
Remember to keep a watchful eye on the rearview for trouble. Slow down and keep as many riders in your site as you can. It's okay to allow cars in the pack if you have a large group. If not, they may force their way in and cause more trouble. Keep an eye out for cars at on ramps and stop signs. Be courteous to cage drivers and don't give motorcyclists a bad name.

If the ride is difficult, do not be afraid to announce early that new riders are not welcome. Then keep slow riders off of ride. On non-difficult rides, keep newer/slower riders up front so you can adjust your speed to their pace. Make sure that they are not over their heads trying to keep up with you.

This said, my favorite rides are with 1-3 other riders that I know and trust in their riding abilities. I am a 1st Officer of a SCRC chapter, so need to lead group rides, but not really my preference.
 
#16 ·
OK, here I go. Just said yes to organizing a charity ride. They have 425 bike pre-registered. They fully expect that to double or even triple by June 2012, when the ride happens.

Big charity, and a long ride. It has been billed as "500 miles of Torturous Fun" with "Gourmet Food".

Thinkin' I'm either an idiot, or it was a very weak moment...
 
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#17 ·
OK, here I go. Just said yes to organizing a charity ride. They have 425 bike pre-registered. They fully expect that to double or even triple by June 2012, when the ride happens.

Big charity, and a long ride. It has been billed as "500 miles of Torturous Fun" with "Gourmet Food".

Thinkin' I'm either an idiot, or it was a very weak moment...
That's not a group ride! That's organizing an event!!! You'll have your hands full putting together good maps and organizing stops/food/prizes/etc. :eek:
 
#18 ·
It may be that it's going to kill me before it's over. There is going to be a wide variety of riding levels involved, and I am going to do some serious research into where we are going to place everybody.

I have a couple of good things going for me. LEO organizations are involved with a dotted line responsibility, and they will do some serious route protection.

The other thing is in my part of the country, it's pretty easy to avoid cage congestion for about 80% of the route. Have some municipality penetration on the route for stops and food and charity photo ops. Fuel costs are included in the registration, and fueling will be done rural from tanker hookah rigs (2 or 3 trucks with 10 nozzles each).

Betting I put put 800 miles on my bike during the ride alone, to say nothing of the pre-rides...

This should be fun!
 
#20 ·
You need an army of road captains and volunteers to make it run smoothe.

Someone has to teach the less experienced about group rides. Yeah, I wanna ride with only my best riding friends. On sunny dry days that are 75 degrees.
Road in a club pack this weekend, 500+ miles, and all was well.

But a prospect went down because he lacked knowledge and skill.

Not my pack though. Different chapter.


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#21 ·
Wow! That's 7 hours of riding plus stops. I can't imagine be in a formation for that long; especially if the route is through the Hills.

One thing I always notice when riding in staggered formation is that folks try to maintain formation going into sweeper turns instead of moving in or out entering the turn. That scares me when I see the guy in front of me maintaining his outside position on a fast left turn.

What event is this that you're planning?
 
#22 · (Edited)
It is a combined Make A Wish and Children's Medical Services charity ride. Gonna have everything from weekend warrior surgeons up to...yes I meant UP to...some 1% Club Chapters. The Club chapters are stepping up to help some.

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#23 ·
Just some random thoughts:

Sometimes people who are good at organizing can overdo it. Planning things down to the 'nth degree can sometimes suck the fun out of an event. It's more important for riders to have fun (and contribute to the benefit) than to do things "right". Of course, you don't want to have so much fun that you run out of refreshments, lose riders, etc.

Individual riders or small groups are safer than large groups. If I have to ride with people I don't know and follow hand signals, I'm not going on your ride.

The more winners you have the better. Have lots of drawings, door prizes, etc. If you've got $100 to give away, split it up as $50/$30/$20, not one $100 prize.

If you know you're going to have a lot of 2-up riders, give the passengers something to do. Ride the route ahead of time and make a list of "observation" questions about things along the route, and give a small prize for the most correct answers. For instance, "which town has an orange water tower?" Ask questions about billboards, strange yard ornaments, anything that's eye catching.
 
#24 ·
An old post, I know, but...

Be courteous to cage drivers and don't give motorcyclists a bad name.
+whatever on this. When I worked at the H-D plant in Kansas City, I went on a lot of rides with the employee riders group. One year we rode to Ft. Riley near Manhattan, KS. Had around 75 bikes. We rode straight down I-70, but the ride leaders for some reason had us riding in the left lane at sub-posted speeds. I was riding tail and there where a lot of cages that got fed up with the left-lane bandit stupidity and tried to barrell up the right lane, only to get caught behind other slow cages and forced to fall back behind us. One idiot decided that two feet off my rear fender was an acceptable position to take. After a few "hand signals" ("That means you're number one with me!") he/she finally got the message and blasted up past us. I sent up word to let him/her to merge in and get around us and finally he/she was on down the road, no doubt cursing "stupid motorcycles". I talked to the lead rider about it when we got to our destination and was told that "if they don't like it they can suck it." I just shook my head and promised myself I'd never ride with that idiot again. No need to piss people off just to satisfy some misguided sense of control. Six people is a HUGE group for me nowadays!

Also, when it comes to hand signals, I, and everyone I ride with, use "foot points" to indicate road hazzards. I've found that the "arm at 45degrees" isn't clear enough and can be misinterpreted.
 
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#25 ·
group rides

having rode in many large groups,and riding very fast,you want your best riders up front,or the ones that know the road the best.you also want someone in the back that will not allow anyone to get in your pack.and make sure to tell everyone that if someone breaks down, let everyone know whats going on and where you at.if you got people that your unsure of tell them to ride in their own group or by themselves.if feelings get hurt..to bad,its better than having the whole pack go down.most important to find out how far everyone can go,so you can plan gas stops.there is lots of things i prolly left out.these are just a few
 
#26 · (Edited)
Here is just a couple things to add. These are things we use in our group rides with 10 to 30 bikes.

The lead and sweep have to have CB radios on our group rides. They communicate during the ride to keep the group together. Others with CBs are welcome to listen so they know what is going on as far as turns ahead. They also communicate information about problems or hazards on the road.

When approaching a slower vehicle in our lane and we want to pass, the lead tells the sweep to "grab" the passing lane. The sweep moves over, and then tells the leader he has the lane. Once the lane is clear between the sweep and leader, the leader moves over. After the leader moves over, the following riders then slide over in order.

When on the Interstate, we try to move the group to the middle lane if there is 3 or more lanes. That way other vehicles can still pass, and we don't have to worry about vehicles that are entering the Interstate from the entrance ramps. This helps to keep the group together. If we get separated, the leader slows down (just a little) to encourage other vehicles to pass and bring the group back together.

We used the above in most of our rides. But this was very useful to get about 80 bikes from Indy to Washington DC for the Ride to the Wall. We also divide the large group of bikes in to smaller groups of about 15 to 20, each with a leader and sweep. These smaller groups usually stay within sight of the group in front of them, but far enough away from each other so other vehicles can move around the groups easier and have room to exit the highway.
 
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#27 ·
sum advise to ther person putting on a event make sure u try an get a police escort with that many bikes.. i do the halloween ride every year here in boston an its about 5-10k bikes an il tell u with out the police escort the ride would be a terrible idea if u cant get any police escorts then u need EXPERIENCED BLOCKERS an such tokeep the group together.. there is also a bunch of other stuff u need to know but i see alot of people have most of it covered.. i was in a MC for about 4 years worked my way up to a board member an i had to be road captian sometimes when he was not available
 
#28 ·
1st time logging into this thread. Personally have only ridden in a couple of organized group rides although have ridden for many yrs. Have put together a couple of group trips the last 2 yrs. with 4-5 bikes in each. Organizing the route, lodging and attractions are only part of the job I have found out. Trying to keep the group in formation and together has proved to be my biggest challenge thus far. There are several suggestions here that will help and I appreciate all the tips. What are the responsibilities of a sweeper, and would one be needed for such a small group? From the response of this last group trip I suspect our road trips will become an annual event. And of course that means the group will no doubt increase in size, so I would like to be as prepared as possible. Keep the tips coming.
 
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