NW Rideouts & accidents

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I am as concerned about the crashing rate as much as anyone, to the point of seriously reconsidering organising another. It is all very well saying we are concerned about the accident rate - but so far no one has come with any new reasons for this or specific problems.

The group idea has been mooted and discussed as a potential alternative way of organising things, but to my mind this does not address any specific problem as none has been identified. As has been pointed out, this may actually cause more problems.

We also had ruffy talking about generic and specific risks, which was a bit of a waffly way of saying bikes are dangerous per se (generic risk) but failed to identify any risks associated with a ride out (specific risks). We still await his comments about what he sees these specific risks to be.

So folks it's time to put up or shut up.

What are the risks specific to these North Wales rides? (I have my ideas and believe these to be addressed - but have no wish to pre-empt the discussion)

Two pages since I posted this and so far no one has identified a risk specific to a NW ride out. From this are we to surmise that there are no extra risks on an NW ride out?

[yorkie_chris]

Slightly odd locals.

[Drew Carey]

I don't think there is any more risk on the NW's than any other ride out......love the format......love the peeps (plutonically of course)....the organisation is great and everyone has fun. On NW3 people still smiled even though it chucked it down and it was the peeps that kept it going. On NW3.5 Stretchie smiled more than anyone else that evening......."its just one of those things."

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Two pages since I posted this and so far no one has identified a risk specific to a NW ride out. From this are we to surmise that there are no extra risks on an NW ride out?

i did not think there was any extra risks, compared to any other ride out

apart from the weather, which is nobodys fault......... not even the romans

People do need to come better prepared for rideouts. That I do know. And no matter how many times you badger them folks will always do their own thing.
Guess that's why some of us are bikers.

I used to organise day long rideouts. Never recced the route. Just went, usually on roads I'd not ridden before. We used pre-determined drop-off riders to mark the junctions. To ask marker riders to pre-ride the route(s) would be a logistical nightmare IMO, take away some of the fun, and add considerably to the cost.

We covered at a guess, as a group, over 6000 miles that weekend. Yes you'd like a clean sheet, but one off is not indicative of bad riding or bad organisation. Just bad luck and the odds.

Question... out of all of the crashes on all of the NW rideouts, how many of them were rider errors ( riding way too fast, not observing the road properly )?
If the answer is the majority then you have a problem, otherwise it's just bad luck.
I still class myself a newbie and have had a couple of incidents, but they have all been my fault and not the rideout itself.
Basically I don't believe that there is anything that can be done other than every individual rider remembers to stay within their limits and to be cautious.
Thats all and I hope NW rideouts remain as i've still got to go on one

[yorkie_chris]

Rider error, all of them have been single vehicle. Noone else.

Even if it's some crap on the road, it's still rider error for not seeing it.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Rider error, all of them have been single vehicle. Noone else.

Even if it's some crap on the road, it's still rider error for not seeing it.

Chris is right, even if it is road crap, you need to see it. I know in my case it was rider error. I can rationalise all I like about thinking about the next petrol stop etc but in the end it was down to me NOT looking where I wanted to go and paid the price. (there is a longer version of this on the forum somewhere).

However if all the crashes were rider error (and I am not saying they are) this does not mean it is the fault of the NW rideout or rideouts per se, just that an individual rider made an error.

Originally Posted by slark01

Question... out of all of the crashes on all of the NW rideouts, how many of them were rider errors ( riding way too fast, not observing the road properly )?
If the answer is the majority then you have a problem, otherwise it's just bad luck.

I disagree Slark. The one variable is the riders. You, I'm sure, know yourself that one day you can ride like a God and the next like a numpty. Multiply that by 17 riders and there you have it.

yep my riding on the sunday (dry) was worlds apart from my riding on sat( damp/wet)

Buti know that is down to confidence in my tyres as they are not best suited for the wet.