Written by a friend of mine.
Don't know why it posted chopped up like it did. Too lazy to fix it.
Some observations made on many of our RIDEs has moved me to clean house a little
on some potential problems that need addressing:
Stagger... I realize many of my clients and former clients have come to know
what a Fun Monitor means when he writes in the DUI
arrest report that there was some staggering going on butt on our RIDEs we gotta
clean up our act! Please, on those rare occasions when we form up as a group, on a
relatively straight section of roadway, let's try to keep into a 'stagger'
formation.
The stagger is controlled only by the rider directly in front of you, not the guy up
in front of him that is out of line... The leader can certainly help the rest of the
crew by staying either to the far left or right and not constantly moving from line
to line, I know (I'll try harder). We should all know that the 'stagger' will fall
apart once some turns are come upon or in the use of a passing lane/maneuver, etc.
Butt, once we get back on the straights please reform up... staying safely behind
the rider in front of you and to either his left or right. I hope you all realize
that this is a general statement and when conditions are such that one section of the
lane is just plain unsafe you need to back way off the rider in front of you if you
then have to follow in his lane/line.
When you are riding in the pack and you are on a section of road that is like
Highway 299 (wide, two lanes in each direction, mountainous with both a lot of
straightaway and some slight curves), try to keep your line without running to the far
inside/outside for each curve, save that for the real fun sections of Highway 36.
When on something like 299 where the stagger is trying to be maintained and the
curves are so slight, it is a pain to the guy right behind you to have to
basically
take what you must think is the 'bad' line through each corner and then fall back
into the stagger.
Fun Factor... While the Fun Monitors are out to keep our fun in check we can
certainly take into account how we exercise what we all have come to enjoy. The
'Fun Factor' is a nebulous term that means that when the odds of a Fun Monitor being
set up to have a talk with anyone demonstrating their said enjoyment that the 'Fun
Factor' is low... And so then should be our velocities. Conversely, when those odds
are less, then is the time to truly relax, concentrate on the RIDE and the velocity
might just increase. Hooking the throttle on Interstate 5 might feel good, a well
patrolled roadway and long straights = low fun factor), butt the real
fun starts
when the road is undulating, twisting (short straights,
less patrolled = high fun factor) and you are carving those turns with such smoothness
that the speed is hardly noticed, butt as your experience builds so will that 'fun'.
I've heard it said before that it seems strange riding with us as we slow for the
straights and haul butt through the twists... well, have you ever seen a CHP set up
his radar in a corner???
Overall it is always a pleasure and an honor to ride with anyone in this group...
We try to address problems as soon as they arise and hopefully no one will take any
personal offense. The safety of all riders on the RIDE is of the utmost concern
for us all. If somebody has some problem with this concern of safety, please get it
out there as soon as possible (on the RIDE, if possible). Sure, we will be hauling
butt, butt if we are endangering somebody by unsafe riding (note speed alone is not
the sole consideration in what is unsafe... if you think the guys in front are riding
too fast, then slow yourself down cause the speed is unsafe<for you>). What we are
more concerned with is riding too closely, when on the gas and when the road gets
interesting. This is where problems may arise taking out an innocent rider when
somebody goes into a corner, over their own head and can't prevent running over
the guy in
front
of him... Ugly, real ugly!
Let's RIDE!
ButtHead
Don't know why it posted chopped up like it did. Too lazy to fix it.
Some observations made on many of our RIDEs has moved me to clean house a little
on some potential problems that need addressing:
Stagger... I realize many of my clients and former clients have come to know
what a Fun Monitor means when he writes in the DUI
arrest report that there was some staggering going on butt on our RIDEs we gotta
clean up our act! Please, on those rare occasions when we form up as a group, on a
relatively straight section of roadway, let's try to keep into a 'stagger'
formation.
The stagger is controlled only by the rider directly in front of you, not the guy up
in front of him that is out of line... The leader can certainly help the rest of the
crew by staying either to the far left or right and not constantly moving from line
to line, I know (I'll try harder). We should all know that the 'stagger' will fall
apart once some turns are come upon or in the use of a passing lane/maneuver, etc.
Butt, once we get back on the straights please reform up... staying safely behind
the rider in front of you and to either his left or right. I hope you all realize
that this is a general statement and when conditions are such that one section of the
lane is just plain unsafe you need to back way off the rider in front of you if you
then have to follow in his lane/line.
When you are riding in the pack and you are on a section of road that is like
Highway 299 (wide, two lanes in each direction, mountainous with both a lot of
straightaway and some slight curves), try to keep your line without running to the far
inside/outside for each curve, save that for the real fun sections of Highway 36.
When on something like 299 where the stagger is trying to be maintained and the
curves are so slight, it is a pain to the guy right behind you to have to
basically
take what you must think is the 'bad' line through each corner and then fall back
into the stagger.
Fun Factor... While the Fun Monitors are out to keep our fun in check we can
certainly take into account how we exercise what we all have come to enjoy. The
'Fun Factor' is a nebulous term that means that when the odds of a Fun Monitor being
set up to have a talk with anyone demonstrating their said enjoyment that the 'Fun
Factor' is low... And so then should be our velocities. Conversely, when those odds
are less, then is the time to truly relax, concentrate on the RIDE and the velocity
might just increase. Hooking the throttle on Interstate 5 might feel good, a well
patrolled roadway and long straights = low fun factor), butt the real
fun starts
when the road is undulating, twisting (short straights,
less patrolled = high fun factor) and you are carving those turns with such smoothness
that the speed is hardly noticed, butt as your experience builds so will that 'fun'.
I've heard it said before that it seems strange riding with us as we slow for the
straights and haul butt through the twists... well, have you ever seen a CHP set up
his radar in a corner???
Overall it is always a pleasure and an honor to ride with anyone in this group...
We try to address problems as soon as they arise and hopefully no one will take any
personal offense. The safety of all riders on the RIDE is of the utmost concern
for us all. If somebody has some problem with this concern of safety, please get it
out there as soon as possible (on the RIDE, if possible). Sure, we will be hauling
butt, butt if we are endangering somebody by unsafe riding (note speed alone is not
the sole consideration in what is unsafe... if you think the guys in front are riding
too fast, then slow yourself down cause the speed is unsafe<for you>). What we are
more concerned with is riding too closely, when on the gas and when the road gets
interesting. This is where problems may arise taking out an innocent rider when
somebody goes into a corner, over their own head and can't prevent running over
the guy in
front
of him... Ugly, real ugly!
Let's RIDE!
ButtHead
