It’s been a while since I’ve seen a discussion of group riding in print so I thought I’d pass on some of the thoughts of one Road Captain. This article is intended as a refresher for the old timers as well as a guide to the new kids on the block.

Riding in a group is quite an experience You get to share your passion with others with similar interest. That passion for us, of course, is Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I feel a certain electricity every time I see a pack of Harley’s rolling down the road. Even though some of us may not want to admit it, I think we all do to some extent. It’s like rolling thunder every weekend. Seeing a group is okay, but being a part of one is even better.

I have ridden with many groups, including HOG chapters, and freelance herds. If there is one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that Frederick HOG has got it right. This is the best group I’ve ridden with. The rides are great and go smoothly, no matter how many there are in the group because we all know and follow the simple rules of group riding. The road captains are experienced, easy going and know how to pick the best routes. It don’t get no better than that.

Riding in a group is not difficult. It just takes a little attention to your surroundings and a knowledge of what’s going on. That’s what this article is all about.

For the new riders in our group you need to learn the various hand signals we use to communicate with each other. These were given to you in your new member package. Some of the more often used signals are right turn, left turn. Slow down, single file and road kill. For the old hats, it doesn’t hurt to refresh your memory before each season starts. Winter has a way of thickening the cob webs and dulling the memory.

The first item to know about is the riding formation. Normally we ride in a staggered formation. This allows us to use a minimum amount of road and still have an escape if something goes wrong.

The stagger starts with the leader who will pick his position, say, the left side of the lane. The next rider will take the right side of the lane, one second back. The third rider will take the left side, two seconds behind the leader. This continues to the last rider.

Maintaining a good spacing is very important. The preferred interval is two seconds between you and the rider directly in front of you on your side of the lane. It’s easy to figure your spacing. Just pick a landmark and as the bike in front of you passes it, count off 1001, 1002. You should pass the mark as you reach 2002. It is not necessary to maintain exactly two seconds. An approximation is okay. Just don’t get too close or too far behind. Getting too close takes away your safe stopping distance. Leaving too much gap can give cars entering the road an opportunity to get in the middle of the group. If we get a slow poke in there it could allow others to get in front of him, and soon the group is broken into smaller pieces. One of our Road Captains likes to find some of the most scenic out of the way routes he can. If we get separated from him, the rest of us could be out there for months trying to find our way home.

Sometimes a traffic light or some other uncontrollable situation will break the group. For this reason we like to have CB radio bikes at both ends. If some of us get caught at a light, the rear bike calls the leader and he will either slow down or pull over and wait for us. If the group is large enough we even try to get some radio bikes scattered throughout the group. There are enough of us with two wheeled Barco Loungers that this is usually not a problem.

If there are no radio bikes to lead and sweep (last rider) then the Road Captain will check watch his mirrors and decide if the group needs to slow down to wait for the back pack to catch up.

If the road gets too narrow to maintain a stagger the Road Captain will signal for a single lane. If you see the leader point straight up, that doesn’t mean look up. That is the single file signal. Move left or right to the center of the lane and maintain a two second space behind the bike in front of you. There may be a situation such as a bicycle rider that makes it necessary to use the left side of the lane. In that case follow the leader’s lead.

As a rule, we don’t pass on two lane roads. If we are on a multi lane highway and a pass is needed, we use the radios to set it up. When the leader wants to pass he will call the rear bike. The rear rider will get the passing lane when it is available and tell the leader. The leader will signal the lane change and each bike will also signal the lane change. At that point we move to the passing lane. LOOK BEFORE CHANGING LANES!!!!!!!!!! The rear rider may have moved over behind other traffic. Let the traffic go by before changing lanes. Sometimes you will get a sweetheart that feels they just have to stop traffic to let you move over. Just wave them on and fall in behind them, but keep an eye on him. He may do it again.

After the pass, the leader will signal to move back into the right lane. He will maintain enough speed to allow us to get ahead of the vehicle we are passing. Check the lane and then move back to the right lane behind the leader as you pass the slower vehicle.

If there is not a radio bike in the back, the leader will signal for the lane change and everyone will also signal. The rear bike will get the passing lane when it is available, and the group will move into the passing lane from back to front. Again, LOOK BEFORE CHANGING LANES for the same reasons just mentioned. Check your mirrors to see when the bike behind you has moved over before you move over.

If a problem occurs with a bike, and they pull over, don’t stop. Keep going with the leader. The rear bike will stop and assist the problem bike. He’ll let the leader know if the problem is fixable if he has a radio. If it can be fixed easily, the leader will pull the group over in a safe place and wait. Otherwise the leader will continue with the group and the rear bike will stay and help the broken down bike get taken care of.

A lot of times when we come home some members will drop out at some point to take a different route home. If someone in front of you does drop out. Change your position to maintain the stagger. Everyone behind you will also adjust their position.

If you are new to the group riding, are a new rider, or are just new to Frederick HOG we ask that you ride in the back for a couple of rides till you get the feel of things. The rear rider is usually a Road Captain and will help you learn the ropes.

The whole object of this is to have fun. This stuff isn’t hard and these simple rules do make things go much smoother, and more importantly, safely.

RIDE TO EAT, EAT TO RIDE

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