New and Returning riders rideout meet up/general chit-chat

[5hort5]

How was the ride for length?


A very good length for the day, slightly shorter than planned but I felt that was good with the cold weather and the fact a number of people had further to travel home. Perfect length tbh.

How did the marker system work for you?


Very well I thought, although I did pull out a bit sharpish after everyone had gone by once and scared a car a bit, no probs for me but really, to be considerate, I should have let them go past first and then taken them a little way down the road. A learning point for me.

How did you feel about riding in a group?


Very enjoyable and it is so much better than riding on your own. A great day and a great experience. I thought that it felt like a group of ducklings (5 pointy SV's) following a mother duck (VFR) at points though, which made me chuckle. This was between moments of dreaming of cheese burgers.

Did you feel pressured to keep up and why? (no names, no pack drill)


No not at all, I did let a few people past me as I knew they were faster, they always waited till I pulled in close to the left and/or slowed a touch to go by (not sure if this is the convention or not though). Really pleased with Gary being the TEC, he was great as I spent most of the ride just in front of him. I must admit I was scared (well not scared but cautious) of a number of things:

I ride towns with flat roads to get to work not steep hills with bends – this took getting used to so I took the corners slowly as I didn't know any of them and always aired on the side of caution

Ice! - Knowing the temperature I was even more cautious of the valley bits and the smaller roads that may or may not have had salt on. This did play on my mind.

With all that though I did feel I wanted to keep up and on the straights was happy to open up the throttle a touch.

Gary behind made all the difference and was really glad he was there although I did worry a touch he maybe bored with having to follow me slowly through what most would consider great bends.

Anything you did / didn't like?


Likes:

The PEOPLE – without doubt a great bunch and really pleased to meet you all. It's great to have a hobby, a passion for something but even better to share it with others.

The route – Great route and close to me so was really pleased to spot it on the forum and come along. Knew my GPS would come in handy for something lol

The planning – Well planned by people who know what they are doing, very very happy with that.

The food – mmmmmmmmmmmm Cheese Burger!

My Bike – possibly a bit strange to put here but it worked very well and flawlessly, didn't step out once and done what I wanted it to do – V happy with that lol

Dislikes:

Dislikes is a strong would, suggestions is better

I rode through some stunning country on a stunningly crisp sunny day, if I had been on my own I would have stopped at least 5 time to take pictures. I reckon one stop on top of the hills and I would have had some great pics of the bikes and riders so I would say plan to stop on one or maybe two really good view spots next time for some pics and a smoke.

All feedback welcome


When is the next one in the area, I will love to come along again please

[Luckypants]

Thanks for the feedback guys, nice to see so many positive comments.

To answer some general queries:-

• If you are not if you should mark a junction or not, then MARK IT. Better safe than sorry. If you are number two behind the leader, it is your responsibility to mark a junction / slip road / etc, especially if it is an unscheduled stop for any reason. You must wait for the TEC and either pul out in front of them if it is safe to do so or pull out behind and catch the group up. TEC should ride slower until you rejoin the group.
• If you can see the TEC in your mirrors and they are signalling for the turn, then marking is not necessary. This only works in small groups like we had on Sunday. Larger groups will need all turns marking - see above.
• If you find yourself riding on your own or in a mini-group of 2 or 3 and feel you might have got lost then pull over to wait for rest of group / TEC to catch up. Get your phone out to check for messages from ride leader / TEC as to what has happened. Don't panic we will find you all.
• Ride within yourself. Everyone did on Sunday and that's good. Ride safely with extra awareness of those around you and the effect you have on them.

Now the above points were made before the ride, but now you've all had the experience I hope you can see how these 'rules' make sense in practice.

For myself I think there are two things I need to learn.

1. More stops for photos / warm ups etc. When leading a ride I tend to just enjoy the ride, not allowing for others wanting to take photos, get a coffee etc.
2. Ride at gentler pace. I do tend to 'enjoy' a good bit of road, which can lead the group getting strung out.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Ride at gentler pace. I do tend to 'enjoy' a good bit of road, which can lead the group getting strung out.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing after all you should be able to enjoy those good stretches of road if you wish. If you got too far ahead of us, you always waited at the next junction. Plus if you hadn't been having a few spirited moments, then I wouldn't have felt like pushing on a bit myself ... and because I was doing that, I got much more enjoyment out of it rather than just "pottering" around the bends. I certainly wasn't full tilt, but it was enough for me to enjoy it immensely

I think if the groups large enough and the organisation/structure is in place there`s no reason why some people can`t go off and ride that bit faster... after all its everyone`s day out.

So long as there`s a few left in the "slower group" and we`re confident that somebody will be marking the next junction then go have fun

hi everyone,

just found this site and joined tonight and thought i'd ask if your doing anymore of these rideouts though can I come along please?

cant be till after easter though coz im away

[Luckypants]

gixersixerk2 you have PM.

Yeah, course you can, welcome aboard mate, whereabouts in Merseyside ?