| Author | Message | ||
     Marcodesade |
Hey. I'm in Riverside, and I'd like to put together a small group of people to ride maybe once or twice a month. I'm somewhere between beginner and intermediate (would like to do a track day but haven't yet), and my ideal group would be mostly around the same skill/experience level. It'd be nice to have someone a little better, as my ultimate goal is to challenge myself a little, but I'm not all that interested in getting WAY behind the pack and having to continually catch up. Anyone interested? I'm thinking about doing Ortega Highway around 4/11/09. | ||
| Sleez |
hook up with SCAB! i was there near the beginning. check with al at American Sport Bike, they have regular rides/meetings etc. the events page hasn't been updated recently, but contact al. i love ortega, used to live in elsinore and worked at el toro, greatest commute ever, i knew that road like the back of my hand! | ||
| Marcodesade |
Yeah, I did talk to one of them before one of their rides, but wasn't able to get free that weekend. Al, if you read this, how many members typically show up for a ride? And how challenging are the routes & speeds? | ||
| Painkiller |
Marco, You ever want to hook up by big bear/arrowhead let me know. I am generally free most weekends might even be able to slip away during the week...  -Joe | ||
| White |
I'm in Victorville, it's about 30min from Riverside. | ||
| Al_lighton |
SCAB rides have a pretty wide cross section of riders. We collect folks at any turns, and we encourage all riders to ride at their own pace. So you wouldn't need to worry about "keeping up". And there are plenty of fast riders at the front of the pack too. The following is the ride protocols mail that I send out every now and again to the group. SCAB Ride Safety This will be sent out every now and again, because there are always new members being added to the list. If you haven’t read it, please read the whole thing. It is important that everyone approaches these rides with the same safety goals in mind. It is also important that everyone assumes all risk of participation in these rides, because there is no SCAB group charter and budget that pays for liability insurance. Tell your family, let them read this. None of us want to be sued because you screw up on one of these rides and hurt yourself. If you AND YOUR FAMILY aren’t comfortable with the information herein, then ride alone or sell your bike. First, a well known piece of web literature known as “The Pace” is a reasonable guideline for how these rides should be approached, and it is a good read for all street riders regardless. Spend a few minutes reading it here: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/flashback/122_09 11_the_pace_nick_ienatsch/index.html SCAB “members” are not SQUIDS, and SCAB rides are NOT a race, and NO ONE should be racing anyone else on these rides. Save that for the track. Similarly, check your ego’s at the garage when you leave. Being in front or behind someone on one of these rides MEANS NOTHING, and we don’t want ANYONE that thinks they have something to prove on these rides. One wreck can at minimum ruin EVERYONE’S day, and probably has even more longer lasting implications for the parties involved. We have some very good riders in our midst. Trying to keep up or pass one that is faster than you on the street is the single fastest way to find yourself in an ambulance. RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE!! Route Changes We will normally not make a turn off of the route that we’re on unless we’ve collected everyone together at that corner so that no one gets lost. Most of the SCAB rides have been 15 people or less, so this generally is the best way to do it. As a result, there is never any reason for someone to go faster than they are comfortable with, because the group will be waiting at the next turn. If we get a larger group, we may elect to use the rider breadcrumb method. We will announce that if it is the case, otherwise, assume we are using the normal method above. We’ve never really needed to use the breadcrumb method for SCAB rides. In the “breadcrumb” method, not everyone waits at every turn location. Rather, you can not make the turn until you KNOW FOR CERTAIN that the person behind you has seen you make the turn. If the group is stretched out, and you’re at the back of the front pack, YOU must wait at that corner until the next person comes, even if the pack leaves without you. If you are that next person, you should acknowledge the person in front so that they know you saw them, and then YOU in turn must wait until the NEXT person comes. This method is useful on routes with lots of turns, or with very large groups. HOWEVER, it is not preferable to the first method where everyone waits, because if there is a breakdown or accident, it tends to create chaos in every getting the group back together. So if this method is used, after several turns, the front pack should wait for everyone again (first method). But with either method, you don’t need to worry about getting left behind or lost, so you do not need to ride faster than you are comfortable with. DO NOT GO FASTER than can go with a 99.9% certainty of not crashing, period. Passing other Vehicles There certainly are passes on the double yellows on SCAB rides. But NO ONE NEEDS to do it if they don’t want to, because we will be waiting at the next stop. And there is NEVER any reason to do it in a stupid place, regardless. There will be a straight, or a passing lane, eventually. If some of the group has gotten well in front of the rest of the pack because of a car in-between, it DOESN’T MATTER. You should NEVER follow another rider into the oncoming traffic lane, regardless of the line color, unless you KNOW that you have a landing spot in front of the car. If you do make a pass, be courteous of the folks wanting to pass behind you and move to the right side of the lane after you’ve completed your pass to guarantee a landing spot for the person behind you. Passing others in the Group The order of the group leaving any stop is generally random. There will be slower folks in the front, and faster guys in the rear. This will work itself out as the miles click by, but it needs to be done safely. There are a few rules for passing others in the group: 1) NEVER on the right, always on the left. The only exception is some minor formation adjustments while going down long freeway stretches. On a two lane twisty road, NEVER ON THE RIGHT. 2) Where ever possible, the pass should be done as if the bike being passed is a car. That is, in the next lane over. But if the person on the bike being passes has moved to the right and waved you by, then passing in lane ON THE LEFT is fine. 3) When behind someone that you want to get by, you should try to show them a wheel, on the left if possible, and in a straight if possible. On a twisty road, eyes are mostly to the front and not in the rearview mirrors. There is a good chance that the person doesn’t know you are there. Showing a wheel, getting close enough that the person hears your engine or sees a larger object in their rearview, should make them aware. Most of the time, they will wave you by. If not, then pass them as in 2 above. But you should at least have made your presence known first. 4) When a car has obstructed the group, ONLY the bike immediately behind the car should pass the car. You should never pass from further back in the back. You run the risk of that person pulling in front of you as you approach him. If the pass isn’t occurring as fast as YOU would like, then follow the rules in 3 above to become the person immediately behind the car. But don’t pass from further back, it is dangerous. 5) Most of the above was written as if you are the PASSER. If you are the PASSEE, then pay attention to those rules and wave that person by. There is no loss of honor or ego in being passed, because YOU CHECKED IT AT THE GARAGE when you left, and you have nothing to prove on these rides, remember? Don’t let a frustrated faster person get tempted to break these rules because you wouldn’t move over. Use your mirrors where possible. Leaving the group If you are going to be parting ways from the groups on some leg of the ride, it is important to make the group aware of this. If you turn off and we don’t know that you were planning on it, we will wait a very long time for you to never show up. And we will likely start searching for your downed bike on the route. So make a few folks aware of your plan, and don’t make an impromptu decision to leave the route. You might actually have people follow you. Wait til the next stop point to make your intentions known. Alcohol and Drugs You’re a grown up. You’ve been educated about the dangers of alcohol and drugs when driving any motor vehicle and it’s even more dangerous on a bike. If you want to have a beer at lunch, that’s your choice. But don’t have 3 or you’re a danger to the whole group. Use your head. And know that there isn’t a single person out there that is a BETTER rider because they had a drink, regardless of what they might think. Bottom Line: We do this for FUN. This is RECREATION. Not ONE of you is going to get an AMA rider contract because of how fast you went on a SCAB ride. A minor wreck with minimal damage can ruin one or more persons day. A major wreck or one with injury will ruin EVERY SINGLE ONE of the rider’s days. Ride with that in mind at all times and we’ll continue having fun on these. I’m not aware of a single major injury ever being sustained on a SCAB ride. But I was at the BRAG Torquefest ride where one Bueller died right in front of me, and I’ve been on a local squid ride where people were getting carted off the road right and left in ambulances ALL DAY LONG. That stuff will RUIN motorcycling for many a person. Let’s not go there. That is the nature of SCAB rides. Until recently, we'd had very few crashes on rides. We've had one on the past three rides. No serious injuries, although two rides ago, a rider did get taken off the hill in an ambulance (shoulder injury, no broken bones). Hopefull we've had our three and we can get back to no more crashes. Al | ||
| Mr_incognito |
Holy crap, is that a list of rules?! Glad that works for you guys but I could never ride in a group with that many rules...Im used to riding with a small group of guys in KC though, and its like total anarchy LOL. | ||
| Marcodesade |
Al: Thanks so much for the information. Can you sign me up for whatever emails you send out? Thanks! Joe: Awesome. I had also been thinking about a nice ride up to Big Bear once the weather evens out a little (not too long now!). Let's plan on something real soon. Weekends are also best for me, though I have every other Friday off. White: Ditto, though I don't really know much about the good rides in your direction. Let me know (PM is fine) when and where you plan to ride, and I'll try to make it. | ||
| Hwyranger |
I'm in Fontana, although I work every Fri, Sat, Sun, and every other Thurs. I'm always up for a ride. Or to meet up with a group for a break if I happen to be working. Tom | ||
| Marcodesade |
Tom, I believe I may have spoken with a friend of yours --- a Black CHP officer on a BMW who was working a 5K run I did recently at ARMC. He was telling me about a coworker with an R. I don't remember his name, but he was real nice. Pity our schedules don't match up, but I'll be taking some vacation time this summer, and maybe we can put something together. | ||
| Painkiller |
Marco, White and me are about the same distance from big bear. We could get together and set up a meeting point and plan a trip. I've ridden up there three times since I moved down here and had a good time each trip. They have some really good resturants there and nice scenery so bring a camera. | ||
| Hwyranger |
Marco, You talked to my buddy Robinson. He is also a sportbike rider. He rides with a sportbike club in the high desert |
