Serious Thoughts about the Central Route

Rich Boy wrote: I think the forum is a great thing. I also think everyone needs to submit an after action report to the respective Route Coordinator and maybe to the BOD as well. Try and be specific as to what did and did not work and also offer constructive, workable suggestions/solutions. Just my $.02 Nick "Rich Boy" Hentges

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzctZXy-Hps watch this video ..it has a second counter  I see spacing less than 1 second    11 rows pass in 8 seconds and again 11 rows in 7 seconds  Interesting the LEOs are 5 seconds apart . 

Peabody wrote: Might be siily questions. Is the RFTW for the riders or to bring attention to the cause or both? Do supporters on overpasses and on the side of the road really matter if riders are so focused on 'keeping it so tight' they can't take it in? How would riding staggererd 3 sec. apart take away anything? As just a supporter I think more spacing would be giving riders time to actually see faces along the way and be a little more relaxed at the same time plus it would give us more time to take in thier faces and bikes. Some might say it's not a sightseeing ride but I beg to differ. Wouldn't it be better to add 30 min. to ride time and have riders arrive more relaxed and with hearts fuller? Just an outsiders view.

Edited by PapaSmurf - Jun-03-2012 at 6:06am

My personal preference is to ride two up or side by side as most here are calling it. I've been riding this way with RFTW since 2002 and I'm comfortable with it. I believe that the two up formation is the safest method for us to travel and safety improves with 100% participation. If some choose to ride staggered when the pack has been directed to ride two up then a certain level of chaos develops. The chaos detracts from a riders ability to focus attention where it needs to be and creates conditions that are less safe. I gain a huge level of confidence and security knowing that I'm riding with a group that is intensely focused on what they are doing. The two up formation leaves no option but to be intensely focused. It also provides the maximum separation that we can obtain from inter-mixing with cages and other outside influences.
The only group riding I participate in anymore is RFTW. Other organizations with less stringent formations feels like I'm riding in a pack of Mosquitos. I'm not comfortable with that at all.
Of course this is just my opinion and my preference. There should always be open discussions to look for improvements but I personally don't want to see drastic changes.

Peabody -- thanks so much for your support.  From a riders perspective -- as we approach an overpass the excitement really grows when we see people there to great, welcome us and provide support.  Most appreciated and often overwhelming.

This is where the riding challenge comes in.  Folks who look up instead of focusing on task at hand can speed up, slow down or loose lane position.  That causes others around them to react.  (Often experience first day out on the run, something we all learn from fast). 

One of the tips shared by folks who made the ride before is to look out, enjoy and waive with left hand.  Acknowledging and showing appreciation.  As we get closer to overpass, don't look up, but rather maintain concentration to riding -- bikes in front (paying attention to distance but look 2 or 3 bikes forward to keep situational awareness)  This reduces variance and helps prevent some of the rubber band effect that causes folks to have to speed up (to catch up) and sometimes brake to adjust to what the pack is doing.

A win-win!

This was my FNG ride on the Central Route.  I do not believe the issue is sbs or staggered formations. The issue is the following distance and discipline.  Some of us can ride 1-2 bike distance from the bike in front of us and others cannot.  Now the people that can are not the issue.  The issue is the ones that can't ride at these distances because they can't keep the concentration and throttle control necessary or who just won't ride this way, no matter what anyone says to them. 

It is these riders who make it more unsafe and unnecessarily difficult for all of the riders around them.  I observed some riders who were consistently 2-3 bike lengths out of position and others who were 4 or more.  These riders would then accelerate back into position- usually when a road guard was approaching or  because they just realized how far they were straggling.  This created a chain reaction for all those behind them that would then be required to catch up.  Most often this would result in a sudden deceleration from 65-80 mph to 35-40 and sometimes even slower. 

This occurred in both riding formations.  Now my limited observations on this trip were that after the first 2 or 3 riders behind the Platoon Leaders the platoons were almost always in a staggered formation anyway because of the riders who were almost always out of position.  This being the case, we would not increase the footprint of the pack significantly by always riding staggered on the highway. 

Now I believe that someone should better police the riders who were causing the problems. There were 4-5 of them in my platoon and that is probably consistent throughout all of the platoons.   I  spoke to several riders about my concerns that they either keep the proper interval or ride at the rear of the platoon because they were jeopardizing the safety of the riders around them.  I also spoke with my platoon leader and tail gunner about my concerns.  There did not appear to be much concern about this other than to acknowledge verbally that some people could not ride that way.  Someone needs to be responsible for Identifying these riders and placing them at the end of the platoon, behind the pack, or in their own platoon.  IMO, this would increase the safety and contribute to less rubber banding within the platoons.

There has been a lot said about the Mission.  I agree the mission is paramount.  However, IMO,  how we ride-especially if it is unsafe- is not the mission.  What difference does it make?  The mission statement does not say anything about how we ride.  If safety of the riders is really important for safety sake and not just to verbally satisfy some insurance liability issue, then someone should take a look at the comments on this forum, from each person who has posted, and determine what is really important to RFTW participants. 

Maybe we could take a page from military convoys and allow more spacing between platoons to allow for other vehicles to move on and off the highway more safely.  Also riding in the number one lane would eliminate some of the necessity for other vehicles entering or leaving the highway to merge with the pack.


Thank you to everyone who made this run possible for all of us. 




 


Edited by redwing - Jun-04-2012 at 2:02am

Just my own thoughts and they are just mine I'm sure. I don't think it's how we ride it's who rides. Two up tight is a great way to ride I love it when I'm with others who know how to ride. The problem to me is that just because you can sit on a motorcycle does not mean you can ride one, anymore than because you can get behind the wheel of a car means you can drive. The RFTW gets riders of all abilities from beginners to old school, that being the case they do a GREAT job doing what they do. Riding in the pack you never know for sure who might be in front or next to you and what their skill leval is hinch the tension. I wish I knew the answer to all the questions but I don't. I know we are told to ride our own ride but sometimes thats hard to do in a group this large. Just hope all are safe at home and those that are still on the road be safe.

The Run this year was both healing and rewarding for myself and Sage owl.  We joined in Goodland and road in the pack to D.C. We have just returned to Colorado Springs Last Night all is well. Thank you to the command group and the Support Crews both the Staging and Fueling Crews.  The run was very well commanded I compare this year to the 05 run when JR was the route Coordinator.  It is always good to see an NCO in charge.  It was sad to have the riders hurt, and I pray form them and all of us each day.

 

It was refreshing to see all the flags and support from all the towns along the way.  The locals were great and very supportive in all aspects, a big thank you to all. 

 

The only thing I would change in this year’s run would be to tell everyone that we need to talk and support each other more  Open your ears and your hearts and bewailing to help each other and if one rider need help share with him ways to help , also be willing to ride ahead of behind as you need.  This is a volunteer mission and we all need to remember that. 

 

Semper fi and hope to see you all next Year

 Nighthawk, spot on is correct way to ride a pack. There are some other issues too for another time. Great ride, great comrades and brothers/S, and Arlington and Washington topped it all off. Good riding, cold beer, hot women, fast bikes. Skully