The Educator's Corner
By Viktor Danelius, Chapter Educator

3 Types of "Group" Riding

If any of you missed the July Chapter "H" meeting you surely missed the announcement that I have taken the Chapter Educator rains from Mark Luketic. To put my own twist on things I'm going to call my monthly newsletter section "The Educator's Corner". Hopefully, through our various communication channels, the newsletter, the web and live at our chapter meetings, I'll pass on useful information that is also interesting.

I know motorcycle safety is not nearly as exciting as discussing the newest chrome accessories for our Gold Wings, but necessary none the less. This past weekend a few chapter members took the Road Captain Course taught by John Simonick. Thank you John and Bonnie for opening your home and taking the time to teach this valuable material. The group, Charles Fleming, Mark Luketic, Len Ellis, Gene Williams, and I really had a good time going over the material and discussing all the points. We even went for a ride and rotated between all the riding positions. It was an informative and fun day!

Because of this course and the valuable information shared I'm going to use the newsletter and the chapter meetings to share bits of this information with you each month. I hope you find it useful. I'll try to start with the more general topic first and then move into some specifics down the road.

This month I'm going to discuss the 3 types of "group" riding. I'm guessing many of you are thinking there's only one type of group riding. Well, you'd be wrong; there are 3 that are defined by GWRRA. The 3 types of "group" riding are:

1. Mass Riding
Mass riding is nothing more than a bunch of motorcyclist rolling down the road in a common direction. There is no organization or planning involved. Everyone is truly doing their own thing. I've personally never seen any of our chapter members doing this type of riding. Generally we have at least some organization to our rides. I'm in no way indicating this is a bad method of riding, I'm just defining it here.

2. Leisure Riding
Leisure riding is more organized and planned than Mass riding but is still flexible and is based on a "loose" set of guidelines. This may actually be a good type of riding for longer rides where the rigor of Team riding just becomes too stressful for many hours in the saddle. With this type of riding things like destination, breaks and communication should still be discussed. It's likely you'll ride with more space between bikes and you might even find a reason to pass. This method of riding allows people to be more casual and ride their own ride. That said, this type of riding is not a reason to throw safety out the window.

3. Team Riding
Team riding is certainly more structured than the other two types of riding. This method of riding emphasizes more structured planning and ride conduct, having "Rules of the Road" and actively working together to make the ride safer and more enjoyable. Groups riding as a Team benefit from increased visibility and safety as well as a sense of pride and friendship. In this type of group each person is responsible for following the guidelines set forth prior to the group taking off and riding their own bike. The Lead and Drag riders have responsibility to watch the group and help them arrive at the destination safely.

These are just quick overviews of the 3 types of riding. I'll be coving Team riding topics in more detail over the next few months.

Note that above I used the terms "ride your own ride" and "riding their own bike". Our Road Captain class discussed these terms at length because they are used often. I feel it's important to elaborate on these phrases. In group riding people often assume these words mean "although you are in a group you can ride any way you wish". Well, sort of. Remember, your safety and that of the group is paramount. Yes, you should ride your own "bike" in a safe and comfortable manner. However, in Team riding you should follow the guidelines set forth to ensure the entire group is singing, or riding, to the same sheet of music.

I must emphasize here that we all ride because we enjoy it. We ride together because we enjoy the camaraderie. There is no reason anyone in this chapter should feel alienated because they don't like riding in groups. Everyone is welcome to come meet for the chapter rides and after discussing a destination and route feel free to take off ahead or behind the "group".

Take care and safe riding!

Viktor "Odie" Danelius