How to Organize a Ride in Way Too Many Steps

To be honest, we never thought it would end. The rain. For those of you who don't know, I live in Colorado where the natives like to brag about 300+ days of sunshine a year. Well, we're probably not going to meet that goal this year. The only two days in May (2015) that didn't have precipitation in one form or another (yes, it snowed and hailed) was the last weekend of the month - this past Saturday and Sunday.

But, now riding season is [officially] upon us. And with riding season [hopefully] there will be more posts to this blog.

Let's begin the summer riding season with a post I've had toiling around in the back of my head for a few years now. Actually, the idea came to me from another local rider who sent me a PM on a local riding forum asking me how to organize a ride. First, some background: we always had a local noob ride that unofficially kicked off the riding season by taking veteran riders and putting them in riding groups with newbies. Now, those noobs could be new to riding, new to sportbikes, new to Colorado or just new to canyon carving. Regardless, it became somewhat of a tradition and was, until he moved, put together by one of our local riders.

After he moved no one took up the mantle and I kind of liked the idea of the seasonal starter ride so I gave it a little twist of my own and made it happen. I'm also a military veteran and while I never organized convoys personally, I was a part of many of them over the years and I took those successes as well as the ever necessary After Action Review (or, AAR) and applied them to herding cats sportbike riders.

The first thing I did was change the scope of the ride from the annual Noob Ride to the annual Seasonal Kick-Off ride.

Why? Because we had habit of attracting sixty to 100 experienced riders and 8 to 10 noobs on the traditional Noob Rides. In my opinion the ride itself had morphed from a new rider mentorship ride to a bunch of friends getting out together before the responsibilities of summer life (mowing lawns, vacations, children being home, etc) started upsetting everyone's schedules. Plus, after winter we were all eager to be on two wheels and see old faces.

So, how did I do it? That's what we're all here for isn't it? How do you organize a ride?

Well, it's actually pretty simple. Or not simple, depending on how you look at such tasks. For me it was simple.

The first thing you need to know is your audience. That is, what kind of riding are you planning on doing? Are you cruising along, surfing the asphalt, breaking the sound barrier or out to enjoy the scenery? As any reader of this blog will already know, I ride a sportbike so this How-to will be geared towards sportbikes, but should be applicable to any style of riding. Will you be riding with your regular group where you all know each other's skill sets or will you be riding with unknowns, new riders, squids or other purveyors of chaos?

These are important considerations when planning a ride. If the riders you plan on attracting are regulars - people you've ridden with regularly - less planning needs to go into the starting point, finishing point and route. Chances are you already know it by heart. But, if you're going to be attracting a hodgepodge of riders, more planning needs to go into considered and implemented.

The second thing you should know is your route. This includes starting points, ending points and any rest stops along the way.

Starting Points, or Staging Areas:

Anywhere can be a starting point but here we usually start at a neutral location that has easy access to gas and caffeine, maybe some food as well. In general we pick a gas station near where our real riding will begin. Sometimes it's a coffee place near a gas station, but it's almost always near a gas station. We do not start at bars. This ensures everyone has a chance to fuel up before the ride begins, add some wake-me-up juice to their system and grab a quick bite to eat if they haven't already.

Ending Points:

This one is a little more ambiguous. An ending point can be anywhere. At the same location as the starting point, at a person's home, at a restaurant or another specific location. Many times our ending points are in the same location as our starting points with 300 miles in-between. Sometimes they're on the other side of the state or at a half-way point where the group will grab a bite to eat and people will be on their own from there to split off into smaller groups, go home or go on solo rides. Again, knowing your audience comes into play here. Do you normally ride in a group from start to finish? Do you typically ride from pub to pub to pub or some other string of stops along the way? Do you ride with an official organization that mandates all riders start and finish together? These are things that need to be considered when planning an ending point. Heck, there's been plenty of times where the official ending point was nothing more than a park-n-ride or a intersection where most people would then pick their own way home.

The [Actual] Route:

This is the tricky part and where knowing your audience really becomes a factor. Are you cruisers out for a ride? Are you kneedraggers looking for that thrill? Is your intent to get from Point-A to Point-B or is your intent to explore, to hit as many turns as possible or to wear the chicken strips off the rubber? These are the things that need to be considered.

For us, we're sportbike riders, so we typically plan our rides along twisty roads with little to no traffic. We also have to consider that sportbikes aren't terribly comfortable for sitting in hours on end. So, we take a lot of stops to got off and stretch legs. Is there a gas station for refueling? Bathrooms? At least some sort of scenery? Do you need to consider cell phone service? Living in Colorado we know not every inch of the mountains and valleys are covered by the mobile carrier maps, whether they're red, blue, yellow or magenta. And living in the southwest as I do, we know that sometimes you can get out into the middle of nowhere where the chance of a passerby is slim if there's an emergency and the cell phones won't get signal. Just be aware of local service coverage maps when planning out your routes.

Other considerations to make are weather (is there a high mountain pass? Is snow possible?), construction zones, known hot spots for speed traps?

HWY 128 in Utah

It helps to go over the route with everyone before the ride begins just in case someone falls out or has mechanical problems [but to be fair, that's what the sweep is for]. Leads and sweeps should be very familiar with the route in case the group gets separated somehow. They should also know about any stopping/resting points where the group can reform if necessary.

Size Matters: 

Not the size of your engine or the size of your saddle, but the size of your group. Are you organizing a ride for 3 people or thirty? Are you expecting a turnout of your most trusted compatriots or is it an open call ride? Should you consider capping the ride's numbers?

These considerations are important because they change how the ride should be handled. Does the number of riders change group dynamics? Do you have to plan for leaders and sweeps for a number of groups or just one fairly large one? Do you have enough people willing to play the role of leaders and sweeps? With more casual riding [read: cruising] having one large group might be feasible, but with sportbikes, not everyone rides at the same pace. This means, unless the ride is specifically targeted to a skill level you have to plan for that rider who wants to ride triple digits the entire time and that rider who just clocked their first hundred miles. With my rides, if it turns out we have over 15 people interested we generally break into smaller groups, each with their own leads and sweeps. 

I once planned a ride that had nearly 100 people show up. We broke down into eight separate groups, each with a lead, a sweep and each group based on the tempo the group wanted to ride. The faster group, obviously, went first, then the more moderately paced groups and finally the noobs whose leaders and sweeps were experienced riders. We even had enough women riders that they had their own group.

With the greater number of groups staging starting times becomes necessary. First group, then give a few minutes. Second group, then give a few minutes. Third group and so on. This gives the groups enough time to put some space between themselves so they do not end up merging into one larger group. This also gives any group that was stopped by a red light or two a chance to get going before the next group gets stopped or the two groups become a cluster f....

Cash is King:

This isn't something you can require your individual members to bring, but it's always a good reminder. Sometimes you get out into the rural areas and restaurants or gas stations may not accept debit or credit cards. Perhaps they just don't have a reliable internet service or maybe they're locally owned and don't want to pay the credit card company their 15% [or whatever the convenience fee is at the time you're reading this]. So, it's a good idea to remind people to bring a few bucks in cash, just in case.

Get the Word Out:

Message boards, social media and newsletters have made this pretty easy these days, so I won't get into too much detail here other than to say give your prospective riders enough time to plan for the day. Maybe they have to take the day off of work or put off a honey-do task; perhaps there's a few other events going on that day and they need time to make other arrangements. The simple matter is, people have lives and those lives, sometimes, take precedence over riding motorcycles. 

Becky [here] organized this ride

Blasphemy you say! Well, maybe, but it happens. The kids have little league, families come to town, or you go out of town. Life happens whether you plan for it or not. Unless you have a standing Saturday at 8am ride reservation with your regular riders group, give people enough time to make arrangements if needed. I suggest at least six weeks notice, but I've seen large turnouts with as little as a few days. This also goes back to knowing your audience. Are they just looking for someone to send out the "Avengers Assemble" command, are they used to meeting every Thursday evening at 5:30 or are they wild cats that need herding?

Also, as anyone who has been paying attention already knows, law enforcement knows how to use the internet, too. We take the extra added precaution of not sharing the route on social media or forums. The ride organizer usually shares the route with the leads and sweeps at her own discretion or waits until ride day to let everyone in on the plan. Hopefully this keeps the small town cops and state patrols from setting up speed traps along our expected path.

KSU:

If there's anything a regular rider knows it's that getting riders to ride is impossible. Sure, they all say they want to ride, but conversations start, socializing begins and suddenly you're way off schedule. That 8am KSU [kick stands up, for you laymen] has now turned into 8;45 with no indication you'll even be on your bike by 9;30.

Due to this, the ride organizer needs to be firm: KSU is KSU. If you planned on being on the road by 8am or 9am or 10pm, be firm with that time. That means the safety brief needs to be done beforehand, that the leaders and sweeps are matched up and set-up for riders to fall in and everyone needs to be fueled up already. 

Nanny State:

This shouldn't have to be said, but it needs to be said. No matter how dumb you think the person next to you is, someone else is dumber.

The ride organizer may consider making additional requirements for the ride. I bring this up due to a situation we had the first year I organized the above mentioned Noob Ride. While we were in the staging area socializing as the clock ticked towards KSU time, a local police officer parked in the parking lot of the gas station and just sort of hung out. He didn't harass anyone or start checking IDs or anything, he just sat there after getting his coffee and doughnut (okay, I guessed there) inside. 

Fast forward a half hour or so and we're leaving: group 1, group 2, group 3, etc. I think it was group 4 out of 5 that the police officer pulled over. Now, technically the officer can't pull over a group, but when he flashed his lights the lead pulled off to the side of the road and the rest of the group followed. They hadn't done anything wrong and the lead had no expectation of trouble. Except one rider. This guy took off and the officer called state patrol to go after him. 

Actual Photo of the Stop

Apparently the local officer had been in his car scanning plates. He discovered the rider who ran wasn't currently registered and, as it turned out, this rider didn't have his motorcycle endorsement on his license as well. And, it also turned out, the rider didn't have insurance. Now, the rider took it upon himself to show up and try to ride in the group while not being legal and that was his choice. However, he caused and entire group to be pulled over as well as misrepresented sportbike riders as targets for local police. Forever more he was persona non grata with our group.

So, this is up to the ride organizer, but you can require everyone be tagged and licensed properly or they're not allowed on the ride. I put this rule on all my ride announcements so there's no misconception at the staging areas. If I notice no tags or out of date tags I tell them they can't come. Sometimes they throw a fit and sometimes their friends throw a fit, but they always leave. 

And on a final note [finally!], the ride organizer has a decision to make. Which group to ride with? Does she or he go first, go in the middle somewhere or go last? Personally, I prefer to go last. I see each group off and join the last group or the next to last group depending on the skill levels involved. As the ride organizer I feel it's my responsibility to be the ultimate sweep, the ride sweep, if you will. This, of course, does not apply in smaller rides where the organizer will most likely be the lead rider, setting the pace and route.

Did I miss anything? Leave a comment below.

It's Not That Difficult

One of my least favorite things in the world is dying. No, no – not death. Dying. Specifically, when it's me. More specifically, when it's me doing the dying and someone else doing the killing. That's when you know life sucks.

Just a little bit ago I found myself just a reaction away from death. A little slower, perhaps a little more tired or had I been distracted and I wouldn't be here to type this out, relating how one man in a SUV nearly killed me because – why the hellz not?

The weather is dry, the sky is blue and I was riding my motorcycle running a few errands and grabbing a bite to eat. It was a normal day. I wasn't speeding (as if I ever do that); I wasn't in the canyons subtracting from my chicken strips nor was I acting the fool in any way, shape or form. In fact, I was merely leaving a parking lot via a one-way exit when a man in a SUV decided he couldn't wait until the corner to turn into the parking lot, he had to come in the exit.

Now, you have to understand, this is a dedicated exit from the parking lot to the street. From the street a sign clearly marks the exit as a Do Not Enter. In fact, the exit exits at an angle that should indicate to all involved it's not meant to be entered from the street.

But this jackass did. I can't recall exactly the make of the SUV, but it was one of those luxury kind, reminiscent of a Lexus or BMW – more egg shaped and less likely to be found with dirt under the tires. It was some sort of metallic goldish color. Not red or rust, but more beige than brown. I really don't know what color to call it other than ugly. The windows weren't tinted so I got a good look at the douchbag driving the thing. He was older than me, probably upper forties or early 50s, graying hair and a blue dress shirt. He actually had the audacity to wave at me as he drove around me.

Having my helmet on he more than likely couldn't hear me through my shield and his window and I doubt he heard my horn. From my rear view mirror I watched his SUV drive through the parking lot. Angry, I exited and rode around the corner to enter the lot from the proper side and then drove through looking for his vehicle. I didn't find it.

Not Actual Sign

Had I not been paying attention, had I been just a little more slow on my reaction time, I would probably be in a hospital right now if not dead.

The sad thing is, this isn't the first time this has happened in that exact same spot. The last two times I was in a cage, either my full size Chevy SUV or my friend's sedan. Both times wouldn't have been good for anyone, but at least I was protected by a metallic cage unlike today where only a helmet and leather riding jacket would have protected me.

Not that I'm complaining about riding at all. I take more precautions than a lot of people and less than a few (I rarely wear head-to-toe leather unless I'm carving the canyons). I'm complaining about the jackasses who don't obey the traffic laws, who can't read signs or who have decided that rules of the road are reserved solely for everyone else.

You wouldn't drive the wrong way down a one-way road, would you? Then why would you enter an exit only? Each and every one of us relies on the other's adherence to established rules to keep an orderly procession and while some rules may be a little more flexible than others, turning head on into traffic because you're a douche isn't one of them. 

Fantasy Bike

http://www.robotech.com/infopedia/mecha/viewmecha.php?id=65

When I was a kid Robotech was the greatest cartoon in the world. Seriously. Unlike more common fare like Transformers or He-Man, Robotech was a serial that followed Rick Hunter and humanity's first experiences with alien technology, space battles and giant transformable robots piloted by people. Each episode built on the previous episodes, each season a foundation for the next. People died, mistakes were made by leaders, romance, jealousy, treachery, you name it. Robotech was a new level of story for a ten year old kid.

And it was awesome. F-14's that turned into giant robots protecting the Earth from alien invaders? How friggin cool is that?

First there was Macross, then The Masters and then The New Generation. I can't recall specifically when they were introduced (The Masters or New Generation), but in the third Robotech War the heroes spent much of their time wearing mecha armor doubling as motorcycles in lieu of fighter jets. The Cyclone series mecha. They drove on the ground, dirt roads, pavement or over open grasslands. No longer relegated to the darkness of space or fleeting through the clouds, this new mecha brought Robotech much closer to home for a 11-12 year old kid. Where I couldn't imagine myself Top Gunning it across the clouds, I could definitely see myself on the open road, flicking a button and instantly covered with armor with a really big friggin gun.

And then some genius went and made a replica of the Cyclone motorcycle mecha.

Robotech Cyclone Mecha Replica

A motorcycle that turned into armor that flew you around and beat the shit out of aliens? Fuck yeah! I wanted one, wanted one bad. Unfortunately, science hadn't caught up to cartoons yet. One could argue that science still hasn't caught up to cartoons, but that's another discussion for another day.

There is a scene from one of the early episodes in the Third Robotech War where the heroes come across a shipping container of these mecha somewhere in the desert and I can recall the shock I felt when they only took the one for the kid that didn't already have a Cyclone mecha. They left a container full of mecha to rot in the wasteland of North America. Where was my container of badassery?

The Cyclone may have contributed to my desire for a sportbike over other options when I finally decided to purchase a bike for the first time. And to this day I look for the switch on my clip-ons for a button that will transform my SV into wearable armor ready to take on an alien army.

But, my SV has no such switch.

In reality, the reason I bought a motorcycle was because my bicycle wasn't going fast enough and I craved speed. Now I'm older, wiser and fatter. I don't crave speed (as much) anymore, but I still crave a Robotech Cyclone. Not a replica, although that would still be cool, but a full-fledged grenade lugging gun toting wearable armor. I'm still waiting on that NASA!

The point is, we all have some bike somewhere that, if reality could be altered, we'd love to have in our stable. It might be a speederbike from Return of the Jedi, bike from Akira or any of a gazillion other science fiction outlets, like Judge Dredd.

What's your fantasy bike? Not something you wish you could afford but rather, what fictional motorcycle do you dream about?

Toy Run 2014

This year's annual Children's Hospital toy run was today. Luckily, for early December it wasn't too cold, about 40 when I woke up at 7am and then close to 60 as the day wore on.

We met for breakfast and then rode over as a group to the staging are where we sat around for a few hours. I think someone said there were 2700 bikes represented, but then someone else said that was just the final wave. So figure, at least 2500 bikes showed and dropped off toys for sick children.

After dropping off our toys and before leaving, a woman came over and thanked us. I asked if she had a child in the hospital to which she replied, No. But, she said. I did a few years ago and you motorcycle riders helped out tremendously.

For the record, I brought a die cast metal Jeep for a boy and the Frozen DVD for a girl.

Damir on an Italian Steed

Cookies! Or at least, a Cookie Monster

Bikes! Bikes as far as the eye can see!

Vroom! Vroom!

I'm Not Doing That

I'm not going to lie, my balls are not this big.

Mid October Ride

I went riding. Nothing special, just a quick jaunt up Peak-to-Peak and back while the weather was good again. I'd made the same run last week, but this week the weather was more forgiving. Mid-80s in Denver with mid-70s in Estes Park and, unlike last week, there was little to no wind.

I recorded the ride on my GoPro on the way up to Estes Park and then moved the camera to record the ride behind me. It's that video that I uploaded to Youtube. Unfortunately, I got caught up behind a few cars and even another motorcycle that was going extremely slow and had to tone it down a handful of times.

To be fair, I tried adding music to the video just so you didn't have to listen to the engine's noise being picked up by the terrible mic in the GoPro, but I couldn't figure out how to add more than one song, especially since these videos are longer than a song's length.

So, my advice is to simply turn down the volume and enjoy.


This first video is from the intersection of Highway 7 and Highway 72, heading south. This is part two. Apparently, GoPro won't record one long video, but instead cuts off after about 20 minutes. Which turned out to be fine, actually.

Peak-to-Peak

Yeah. Sure.

Yesterday as reportedly the warmest day of the week. With highs in the mid-80s I thought it was a good time to get some miles on my wheels and took the SV out for a ride.

The original plan was to head south to Woodland Park and then out to Buena Vista, returning on 285 through Fairplay and the home. It would have been an all day ride, but for the most part, very long, very straight and very boring. So, at the last minute I decided to head up Peak-to-Peak highway from Golden, CO to Estes Park and back.

Being a Monday the traffic was light, but still much heavier than I was expecting, especially after the fall viewing season was pretty much over, but I persevered - sometimes at speeds matching the speedlimit. What really annoyed me, though, was the fact that I went on the ride unprepared for the cooler temperatures up in the high country. Since I wasn't really going over any passes I didn't wear anything more than a light t-shirt underneath my motorcycle jacket and my mesh gloves. Therefore I was a bit chilly during many parts of the ride, helped in no small part by the gusting winds that at a couple of points threatened to send me careening off the road.

Colors of Fall

I refilled the bike is Estes Park and debated taking another route home, but I knew from experience the other way would have much higher volumes of traffic and construction.

Overall, the ride was pleasant. One of the things I like about riding by myself was the ability to stop where I want to stop and set my own pace, as fast or slow as I choose to go, without having to try and keep up or slow down to stay with others. For example, on a ride like this, the normal group I ride with would have stopped four or five times each way. Instead I stopped in Golden, where I turned on my GPS tracker and then again in Estes Park where I gassed up and had a small bite to eat. I did made a couple of stops on the way home, though. One for the picture with the sign and once to, uh, relieve myself. According to my GPS tracker, I was recording for 4 hours and moving for three hours and fifty-eight minutes, if that give you any indication.

I almost brought the GoPro with me, but I worried traffic would be as bad as it was and that any video I recorded would show nothing but the tail lights of whatever cage was in front of me, so I didn't bring it. Sure, there were a couple of times when I regretted not having it recording, but all in all, I think I made the right decision.

In the end, I put in a little over 220 miles. So, it was a good day. Minus all the back pain. Damn, I'm getting old.

Green Start / Red Finish (for the most part)