Riding in groups

Saturday morning was a stonker wasn’t it? A group of us ranging from neighbours, brothers, mates and girlfriends got up and headed down to the coast for a spot of bacon and eggs.

We had a real diverse selection or bikes actually with a GSX1400, XJR1300, Triumph Speedmaster, MT01, A Yamaha R1 and my Triumph Speed Triple.

One thing we all had in common is that we are all fairly experienced riders, and on the way down with the belly rumbling I got thinking about the tactics and logistics that are employed when riding in a group.

To many car drivers it may look as though we are randomly swerving in the road and aggressively pressuring them out of the way but to the trained eye a work of art is in progress. When the guy in front overtakes a car and then pulls into the kerb to make space for you to slot in, and then you reposition so the lead bike is by the centre line and you’re off to the left etc etc you kind of get a feeling of real team work.

I haven’t ridden in a group for some time and had forgotten that it takes some a reasonable amount work to get everything running smoothly, not leaving people behind, riding at a pace that everyone is comfortable with but still fast enough that it’s still exciting.

In the end we had been out for 4 hours, eaten 2 pounds of fat, put the world to rights and had some fun of the one wheeled nature.

What tips do you have for group riding? Any experiences to share?

Roll on the great british summer

By Andy Stevens