Do you follow other riders?

[Carlos840]

I usually ride alone, i just find it easier, i can overtake when i want, filter how i want, i don't have to worry about someone being able to follow me.

Since 90% of my riding is for fun, i don't usually have anywhere to go, i just ride, looking for nice roads, enjoying the moment.

Sometimes, i will see a rider and just follow him, or if it's a group i will take last spot in their formation and follow them.
I don't do it in a creepy way, trying to stay far behind, i do it as obviously as possible. I join the formation, give them a nod if they notice or if we stop at a red light or something, and just ride along.

This has allowed me to find great roads that i would have never found alone, i just end up in completely random places, and i love it.
Sometimes i will do that for a few miles, sometimes for more than a hundred miles. When i am bored i wave and carry on.

Does any body else do that?

 

[Xlrrp]

Stalker!!

Just kidding..... If I see another bike up ahead, I'll catch up and fall in with them only because I feel two bikes are easier to see than one. I do not follow them if they go a different route than my destination.

BTW, I also use cars as "blockers". If I can time it right, I try to be near a car when I see someone up ahead turning left or when going through intersections. Just something I've done for years and so far, it's worked for me.

 

[2nd childhood]

I don't tend to do this and to be honest, I'm not sure how I'd feel if someone did it to me. I reckon it would depend on how they approached me. Interesting, I'll have to ponder this some more....

 

[Carlos840]

I don't tend to do this and to be honest, I'm not sure how I'd feel if someone did it to me. I reckon it would depend on how they approached me. Interesting, I'll have to ponder this some more....

Usually all i do is take the next logical place in the regular staggered formation, if they look at me i will wave/nod, and ride along.

I have joined anything from single riders to larger formations of 5 or 6 bikes.

One thing to keep in mind is that i do that in Belgium, we don't have guns, we don't have biker gangs, we don't have all the biker politics you guys seem to have, (ie the whole cruiser vs sport bike), lastly, we probably are less paranoid than the average American (no disrespect intended we just don't take anything really seriously as a country!).

 

[lawlberg]

If I see a bike up ahead I'll go catch them. If it's a sportbike I'll probably toy with them a bit, if it's a cruiser I'll probably just keep going. On the twisties I'll usually just follow them, critique their riding in my head and then follow them home. (mostly kidding, except for below)

Ran into a guy on an FZ6 the other day, followed him home and talked to him in his driveway for a little while.

 

[FinalImpact]

1st answer is specific to pleasure riding and out in the country:
Most of my sanctioned riding buddies are 25 miles away so solo is often the case. Often times I catch up with other riders and tag along until some form of diversion occurs, i.e. them stopping or different routes.

Commuting in the city I may or may not link up with another rider. It could be more dangerous than being alone as you just don't know them.

Which brings up another topic in itself but I don't want to thread jack so I'll stop. Nutshell; If I don't know you I'm not into lane sharing and HD and Rocketier folks seem to violate this space occasionally.


This cracked me up: lawberg - "Ran into a guy on an FZ6 the other day, followed him home and talked to him in his driveway for a little while." :rof::rof:

 

[bdevries]

So that's what's going on! As a new rider I've been puzzled as to why I've had 2 bikes already this year come speeding up behind me and then "tailgate"(whats the motorcycle term lol?) for a while. Drives me nuts. Both times I've pulled over into a parking lot or something to lose them. The last thing I need is to get rear ended through the twists because some knob is trying to keep up

 

[lawlberg]

So that's what's going on! As a new rider I've been puzzled as to why I've had 2 bikes already this year come speeding up behind me and then "tailgate"(whats the motorcycle term lol?) for a while. Drives me nuts. Both times I've pulled over into a parking lot or something to lose them. The last thing I need is to get rear ended through the twists because some knob is trying to keep up

Relish it - use it as an excuse to show off your sweet skills and sick ride. They're all jealous of you, the cruisers because your bike is faster/better in the curves, the rocketier guys because their wrists are sore and wish they could be on something more comfortable.

Though it's a good point to be more cautious, I haven't had an issue with someone crowding me too much, but I am more likely to tap my brakes before dropping a gear to enter a turn, just to be sure he knows what I'm doing.

 

[bdevries]

Relish it - use it as an excuse to show off your sweet skills and sick ride. They're all jealous of you, the cruisers because your bike is faster/better in the curves, the rocketier guys because their wrists are sore and wish they could be on something more comfortable.

Though it's a good point to be more cautious, I haven't had an issue with someone crowding me too much, but I am more likely to tap my brakes before dropping a gear to enter a turn, just to be sure he knows what I'm doing.

Haha, my sweet skills.. I wish.. two months experience here!Blah

 

[lawlberg]

Haha, my sweet skills.. I wish.. two months experience here!Blah

I hate to say it, but if you've taken the BRC, you're ahead of a lot of the riders on the road.

 

[JayyVee]

Had this happen 2 weeks ago at the end of a semi-mtn ride in N GA. My best bud and I (on his FZ1) were at a stop-light, headed back to 'civilization' when a Squid (Sorry.. short sleeves, sneakers - yah..) on a SS pulls behind us at a light, revs a few times, light changes, he then takes an alternate path and 'passes' us mid-turn (making a Left) and hauls butt on to his next turn.. My bud and I talked about this on our Scala's at the next light - we'd passed him at a store earlier back in the hills (I missed it) and he musta taken the same hilly backroad we had (136), caught up to us, and wanted us to 'relish' in his ability to catch up..

Meh

 

[bdevries]

I hate to say it, but if you've taken the BRC, you're ahead of a lot of the riders on the road.

Well that's good news for me!(I took the Canadian equivalent)
I guess a big part of my reason for not wanting to ride with people behind me is that I'm not completely smooth on the throttle yet and don't wanna slow down in front of someone without a brake light on accident.

From what i've read here, it's partially the FZ's fault. My throttle feels tight and difficult to turn, but it doesn't feel jammed up or corroded or anything.. Anyways, I'll leave that for another thread.

 

[FIZZER6]

I don't have time to "pleasure ride". All of my riding is commuting to and from work or errands or going to visit a friend or family member. When I am riding for pleasure (ie: heading up to the mountains) I usually have a route planned and don't deviate.

However I have followed other bikes on the highway if we are both going the same way for those reasons; safer with 2 or more than just one bike.

 

[SweaterDude]

Well that's good news for me!(I took the Canadian equivalent)
I guess a big part of my reason for not wanting to ride with people behind me is that I'm not completely smooth on the throttle yet and don't wanna slow down in front of someone without a brake light on accident.

From what i've read here, it's partially the FZ's fault. My throttle feels tight and difficult to turn, but it doesn't feel jammed up or corroded or anything.. Anyways, I'll leave that for another thread.

touchy or choppy would be the words i would use to describe the FZ's throttle. honestly i feel that it is pretty loose and that it needs tightening, even after taking the slack out. really its just makes you that much better. even though we did have one member on here who apparently was some sort of professional racer or something who just couldnt bear having a slightly choppy throttle or some nonsense like that....

 

[AngelFZ]

Lately my riding is commuting mostly!!!
In this case I ride alone and if I find another rider I'll join formation for as long as the rider(s) is(are) heading to my same destination.

If I'm not commuting, most likely I'm riding with my girlfriend and possibly a couple of friends. In any case I'm always the last one in the formation. We rarely have had any case when somebody joins us or we join another group for more than a couple of minutes.


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[PosterFZ6]

I usually ride alone, i just find it easier, i can overtake when i want, filter how i want, i don't have to worry about someone being able to follow me.

Since 90% of my riding is for fun, i don't usually have anywhere to go, i just ride, looking for nice roads, enjoying the moment.

Sometimes, i will see a rider and just follow him, or if it's a group i will take last spot in their formation and follow them.
I don't do it in a creepy way, trying to stay far behind, i do it as obviously as possible. I join the formation, give them a nod if they notice or if we stop at a red light or something, and just ride along.

This has allowed me to find great roads that i would have never found alone, i just end up in completely random places, and i love it.
Sometimes i will do that for a few miles, sometimes for more than a hundred miles. When i am bored i wave and carry on.

Does any body else do that?

Nice idea. I am a bit apprehensive about doing that here in US. People here a little more paranoid than in Europe.

Having lived here in US for more than a decade that mentality has rubbed off on me as well. If somebody would start following me somewhere out in the remote areas in the mountains I would get kind of paranoid.

 

[phranK2k11]

I'll follow long enough to get a feel for how they're riding. If it seems to be responsibly spirited I'll follow longer and likely will exchange contact info. If they are 100+ in straights and creep around corners, I'll break off on my own again.


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[bdevries]

and it happened again today. Some dude on a SS flew up behind me only to slow down right in my blind spot. The only way I could see him was turning my head. If he had done that while I was watching some young lady walk down the sidewalk and then I veered to miss a pothole, we both would have been screwed. So... I slowed down to 50 in a 60kmh zone and encouraged him to show off by blowing past me.

 

[2nd childhood]

I absolutely HATE it when drivers come up on me and then match my speed while in my blind spot, no matter what I'm driving/riding and no matter when they're piloting. Some folks have no clue....

 

[Andar]

I absolutely HATE it when drivers come up on me and then match my speed while in my blind spot, no matter what I'm driving/riding and no matter when they're piloting. Some folks have no clue....

So if I just pull up in staggered position and can see your face shield in your mirrors is that okay?
I've only done this once so far as I'm a new rider and I don't want to accidentally piss someone off.