When doing a 3+ day trip, do you prefer to ride solo, or with a multiple riders?

[Clair]

So, here's a question for ya ... being that I'm new to the ST arena ... if you're doing a 3 day or longer trip, so two nights somewhere ... do you prefer to do those rides solo, or in a group of some size? Group size is really defined as 2 or more bikes for this question. So, you either prefer solo or having company.

[Medicine Bear]

It does depend on who the "group" is. I have very limited group riding experience - some good, some not so good - and the difference in the two was who I was riding with. :scared2:

Fred :03biker:

[racer1735]

I either ride alone, or with one buddy that has taken several trips with me (he rides a Yamaha FJR). But I'm not into having to keep up with 3 or 4 other riders.

[Littlejohn64]

It all depends on the situation. The larger the group, the slower youll travel as a general rule. Ive taken trips solo, with small groups, and with LARGE groups (20 of us from Houston to Memphis)
I had fun on all of them, but definately treated each circumstance different.

[Pred8tor]

I'm a loner - I have never taken a long trip with anyone on a bike. I've done that in a cage, and certain aspects bothered me. The speed, route, length of time between stops, when to eat, etc. are all things to be taken into consideration when going in groups. Solo - I do as I feel like doing.

Having said that, in the last year I've been on a couple of short rides with people from this forum, and that was a lot of fun. I definately would consider a longer ride if riding styles are alike.

[yellow wolf]

i like to ride with folks but i dont get many days off so if i want to hit the twistys i have to leave fri after work,drive all nite,tear up the twistys all day sat,sleep sat nite ,ride twistys till lunch time then head home,getting home at midnite and going to work mon at 7:30 am.
i dont get many takers??? hmmmmmmmmm

[Killtimer]

It does depend on who the "group" is. I have very limited group riding experience - some good, some not so good - and the difference in the two was who I was riding with. :scared2:
Fred :03biker:

I agree. Having someone to talk to at the end of a long day of 2 lane twisties, over a beer and a meal, can be great. Trying to find "AH" #2 after he takes the wrong turn and gets lost can be a trial.

[JReviere]

There are too many variables for a single answer other than "It depends"... If I'm needing to get to a destination, I prefer to go alone... I can hammer on it, ride tank to tank, not having to be concerned about the needs of anyone else. If it's a fun outing, then company is wonderful. I've done it both ways. I've done 1K+ days with two other riders and 1K+ days solo. The joys are different and not mutually exclusive both ways. LJ is right when he says the bigger the bunch, the overall slower you make progress. Three riders is optimum for me, 5 is about maximum. Two is GREAT.

Medicine Bear and I did a short RTE the other day with some "buddy" riding. He led going, I led coming back. Great companionship, most enjoyable time.

I think being of a positive mind about what you are doing is more important than the number of riders. Even in the most wretched of moments, if you are Polly Anna minded enough, you can find something to enjoy and later to recall with a smile.

And Killtimer, you are not alone in being "youth challenged."
JR
STOC 394
03ST1300A
Lake Livingston, TX

[CrashTestDanny]

I'm easy. I can ride with anybody or nobody. I'm not in too much of a hurry to slow down for less experienced riders and I'm willing and able to keep up with almost anybody.

[tricky_micky]

My input

I do not care how many riders are within the group so long as I have my wife on the pillion seat, I will then ride how we or I feel.

I have been on quite a number of group rides from the UK over the water to France and Belgium etc. We always have the thoughts, if you are riding two up, makes no odds, if you are solo and want to go blast, then go for it, it is down to the individual, if you are staying with the group then that is also fine.

The big point of the group, we all meet up at an arranged point, if someone has picked up a 'Ticket' on route, it is down to them and it does not affect any other person

You cant beat haveig the wife on the pillion seat with you as you are both living the experiences.

Mick

[clmixon]

I am very lucky, Al Landry and I both ride at about the same pace and range so I do not mind long trips with him. When you add more riders, the who is range limited, who is butt limited and so on really takes away some of the fun.

We do have a small group here that we both like to ride with, but when we add more, the fun factor and range both go down dramatically. For instance, we added a friend from work to our Stagecoach route this year. He rides a very beautiful V-Rod. Only problem is that V-Rods only go about 100 mile between tanks and at 70 and above the wind blast was wearing him down too much. Great guy, good company but his bike is a poor match for our riding style.

I would never attempt a serious mileage ride with more than one other bike. OTOH it is great to have someone riding wingman when you are out in the middle of nowhere.

I avoid large group rides like the plague.

I think one way around this is to figure out where your group wants to go and then meet there each time for the social aspect, not try to coordinate riding styles and ranges for too many bikes. The ST RTE events are perfect, ride my own style to the meet, expand and puncture the fecal information pool and then ride away, repeat as needed.

Chris :04biker:

[KEIFIN]

On a one day outing it doesn't matter. On a two day one up one back trip it doesn't matter. But unless riding/pitstop styles are the same anything over two I would rather do solo, and I doubt if I ever do a 5 plus day with anyone again.

[Medicine Bear]

Medicine Bear and I did a short RTE the other day with some "buddy" riding. He led going, I led coming back. Great companionship, most enjoyable time.

+1 for me too. One thing I didn't mention - as lead going I learned a lot, especially the feedback from JR who has a lot more experience than me. :bow1:

Coming back he led and I followed and it was a completely different, though no less educational, than the outbound leg.

Actually, we joined up in a different town than we started in and split off at the same town when we were going home so I guess we got the best of both worlds.

Fred :03biker:

[Rider]

Definitely a solo rider, by and large.
Everybody has their own internal clock that dictates how fast they like to ride, how often they stop, etc.
I tend to ride faster than some. But I also stop more often, primarily because of a back injury. So rather than either have to slow down for others or hold others back because my stops, I like to ride at my own pace by myself so nobody has anything to complain about. :)

[Lucky 13]

I once did a trip to the east coast with a guy who almost completely ruined the ride, with his quest for the perfect lunch, and his reluctance to fill his vfr with anything less than 93 octane. Sometimes when you're out in the middle of nowhere you can't be that picky. I like to ride...at a quick pace. I agree that slowing down for exceptional scenery is a must, but the overall point was to go for a ride. We eventually had a confrontation about the purpose of our trip, when it had taken us 3 days to cover about 600 miles. I continued the trip solo...and loved it. I don't refuse to ride with other people now, but I've learned that each rider should be totally clear ahead of time with what type of ride it will be in order for the ride to be enjoyed by all.

[SpEd]

One of the things I love best about motorcycling is riding with other folks. I commute daily almost and get plenty of solo time in during the school year. I usually take two decent trips a year and the guys I ride with share similar styles of riding. Make no mistake, I love to ride. But the bottom line for me is that I take these trips not necessarily to ride, but to ride with my friends. The size of the group doesn't mean much to me and I have participated in vacation rides with as many as 12 bikes, but i prefer the group to be an even number so I can save money on hotels. LOL

We will always decide in advance either by email, phone or face to face the purpose of the ride. In other words, is the purpose to "ride to" a destination, or just get there and "ride at" the destination.

I don't get the same "high" from riding that I do from being with buddies, especially the buddies who ride.

[Tor]

Solo about 75% of the time. About 20% riding with my wife. Last 5% together with my wife and another couple who both rides (all on cruisers) We usually go on long trips together when all 4 of us ride. My wife and the couple all have about a year or less riding experience, so they always leave me up front.

I have a shall we say different riding style than the three others, and its a simple matter of telling them I will be out of Dodge until we get here, there, and I'll wait for you. This don't happen very often when we all ride together, but if I find roads that just beg for spirited riding, no need to ask twice. And if not, we all adapt.

Still, I find riding alone is the most relaxing.

[newbornst1300]

To this point on the ST.... 80% riding with my wife as passenger.
We/I prefer riding alone or in smaller groups as it is easier to change plans or the pace during the ride. A lot of riders do not like the long distance rides so we usually end up riding alone on those trips. I feel more comfortable riding with other ST riders though and look forward to some of the SToc rides later this year.

[sherob]

I like to ride with others, but I know whom I'm riding with :) I prefer solo myself, my own pace, not to worry about slowing anybody down or pushing anyone. If I ride with others I'll let them lead... don't worry... I'm right behind ya :D

[bs]

:04biker: Used to ride with one or two compatible others and had some great trips back when I was single. My wife loves to ride and had done very little before, and we are having a great time traveling, even for a short trip. The other great thing about solo riding with a significant other, decision making is easy. Just go where she points and stop where she says to stop, life is good, and I get to ride....

[Clair]

Interesting and informative. Thanks!

My experience is more limited than many of you, but for the most part I'm flexible, willing to go solo or group. My wife enjoys riding with me, but not really doing trips. So long trips it's just me on the bike.

I agree that groups make it fun and if it's just one or two other bikers it's cool. More than that, it's probably best to indicate where you'll meet at some point in the day and everyone just ride their ride to get there. Group comraderie at the end, as it were.

Now that I have some ST experience and miles I can see another factor that can be a negative for groups ... bike MPG and range. I've done several great group rides on my Vulcan and loved it, with other cruiser bikers. However, for the most part we all had a similar range ... 130-150 miles or so. Not a real issue since potty breaks worked well for that range. However, given the ST's mpg and range ... it can be annoying if you want to ride 250-300 miles before stopping and other bikes (like my beloved vulcan) need to pit stop every 130 or so.

One thing I do take into consideration is location of the ride. Out here in the west it can get very lonely on the roads very quickly ... with miles and miles of nothingness all around. Choose your last gas stop poorly, break down, get a flat ... you can easily be in a world of hurt out here. Thus, having at least one other riding partner provides a bit of protection along with the company, ya know?

[Horst]

Good topic !!


Well, judging by the responses, they will never mistake us for GOLD WINGERS ! ... ha ! :)

I like solo rides, or a few good friends who know how to ride ... otherwise my brother is a great riding partner. Strangers for a 3-day ride ... only if they're from this board :D

:biker:

[nurseBob]

I like to ride with others, but I know whom I'm riding with :) I prefer solo myself, my own pace, not to worry about slowing anybody down or pushing anyone. If I ride with others I'll let them lead... don't worry... I'm right behind ya :D
A pretty good description of my preference/style too. In a group I'm happy to be the sweeper.:D

[ligito]

"But I'm not into having to keep up with 3 or 4 other riders."

Keep up? You're supposed to keep up?

I want to know where we will go, so I can ride within my own limitations and meet them at the destination, if they don't want to wait.

We generally have a rider wait at crossroads, so we can let anyone behind us know where we went. If a group doesn't want to use common consideration, don't ride with them. If you're not trying to keep an eye out for each other, you're not a group, you're just a bunch of riders going the same direction.

At WESTOC, we discussed the route before we left but the route was not maintained and 2 of us got left behind.

Another good reason to ride solo, or with one other rider that you've ridden thousands of miles with, over the years.

And keep your HRCA membership paid up, so you have help, if something happens. Just hope you're within cell phone range.

[st_rider]

I agree totally. Going/coming to events, I'm generally alone. When I get there, I try to hook up with someone I have ridden with before.

[John Anthony]

Maggie's ST is outfitted virtually identical to mine (both with Russell seats, Heli risers, McCruise) and we've got a least one long trip coming up this spring, so that should be fun. We've done one-day rides with a total of 4 riders, all pretty compatible, so that was fun too.

John

[racer1735]

"But I'm not into having to keep up with 3 or 4 other riders."
Poor use of The King's English...by 'keep up' I meant to say 'keep track of..'

[Jollymon24]

I have only done distance solo.....

I should give two up a try...:)

[krishl]

I love to ride by myself, but I also have a small group of folks I like to ride on trips with. Last summer I did an 11-day ride to Colorado and back with these guys (4 of us in Unaweap Canyon):

http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~cdhall/img/Unaweap4some.jpg

Then, a couple of months later, I did a solo trip to South Lake Tahoe, and came back home by way of Arches N.M.:
http://static.flickr.com/30/98289562_66e47f93e0_d.jpg

Both were fantabulous. I don't particularly care for larger groups, though. One day, after a club breakfast in Roanoke VA, a group of 9 or 15 bikes headed up Mill Mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The three of us who just happened to be in the rear, turned left when we got to the parkway, mainly because everyone else turned right.

I also thoroughly enjoy taking motorcycle trips with my wife. Our longest trips have been 2-3 nighters, though. Looking forward to conning her into going on a 10cc (10 days coast-to-coast).

[Bytes_U]

Solo, but preferably with the wife as a passenger. I have no interest in group riding but group destinations are cool.

[jackpine savage]

I have only traveled with one bike, but both of the times I did over 3 days I had a passenger, either my son or my wife. I thoroughly enjoyed both trips but would be willing to try it with one or two other bikes.
David