Been riding for nearly 54-years. I loved cruising with my late wife at night around the country-side on a warm summers night and getting a cuddle as we cruised. But a group ride with people you can trust to a planned destination, well that's another level. Out of the original group there are three of us left, mainly cancer or accidents culled our numbers. I am the only one still riding, the others can't anymore. Since my wife passed from covid I cruse alone. And do I still enjoy going out going nowhere as I ride? You bet! Safe enjoyable riding sir 👍.
I’m a 125 rider and I absolutely love a roads. I was riding with my dad who was on a 650 ninja and he’s cruising along at 70 nice and comfortable, I’m there chin on my tank elbows tucked maxing the bike out (I have a Sinnis hoodlum)
I find group rides a bit tedious to be honest. I do them ocassionally not to upset the applecart, but I much prefer going alone when I can go where I want and stop when I want, for as long as I like. I invariably end up having a coffee with other riders en route anyway. Also I find it safer.
There's also the Gear Fiddler. He's always the last guy ready to ride, thus delaying the whole group because he's still getting his helmet buckled, his gloves on, and...oops, he forgot to put in his ear plugs, so now the helmet has come off again, and that means removing the gloves again... Then he probably also has a carburetored bike that takes another minute or two to start, fiddling with the choke and the throttle until the precise conditions for ignition have been achieved for the exact combination of engine temperature, ambient temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, the brand of petrol he happened to get that morning, and the phase of the moon at that exact moment, and the alignment of the outer planets. Then he has to fuss around to get his bike into first gear because he stopped in second or third and forgot about it durning lunch.
this is the first video ive seen of this channel, love your voice and the calm vibe this video gives me! I love it. Also grouprides are pretty much like you said xD I am the soundtrack rider btw
Thankfully I have a wife who allows me to have 4 bikes but no friends (Johnny no mates). Always riding on his own and enjoying every mile with some bikes very old like me and slow and some that make a lot of noise and one that's as silent as the grave with 190 bhp. So it's a bit like your group ride but on my own without the 125 rider and grumpy bend bloke who I have not met yet but there is always time. Excellent video and very amusing. Well it made me smile 😊
I tend to find with group riding that the one enjoying the ride the most is the one at the front, everyone else is either thinking, hurry the f*** up or worst slow the f*** down, or it turns into a race, I like meeting up at places with people I know for a coffee and a chat but usually get there on my own. But if you enjoy it that's what's important, getting the most out of your time on the bike.
I'm an old tortoise and have yet to find a local group I like to share a ride with. It's really less that most of them like to ride faster than me and more that they're concerned about how they look to others while doing it. If I ever cared about such things, I definitely put it aside 40 years ago.
Im sure there's a group out there for you. Facebook is a good place to look. Maybe I was just lucky finding a whole bunch of likeminded individuals. Ride safe my friend!
I never have and never will. Each to their own preference. I ride alone, stop when I want to, slow when I want to, speed up when I want to. I am very happy to chat to other bikers as and when I meet them but prefer to go my own way thereafter.
Every time i went on a bike protest rally or group ride there were clowns that were downright dangerous I'd rather be on my own or with a small group of very close and trusted friends that I've ridden with for 50 years
I’m the grievously socially challenged one on the scruffy 125 (ish) Varadero bike with a Delkovik desperate not to make a faux pas and not hold everyone up. I love the convoy especially on the twisties but when I get there I realise I have to interact face to face with my co riders who will see right through me in an instant and so I run away!😂. It’s complicated! Nice video. ❤
I'll bear that character in mind for a follow up video :) You should try and overcome your fears, it's a fantastic way to make new friends and get yourself out there!
@@rosemaryus-ct6151I enjoyed a wonderful run out with the gang a couple of weeks back and it was lovely. I now know that its the party nights that I struggle with. The rumble as the convoy moves off from a red light is glorious!😂
@@robinwells8879 uno that rumble thrills the heart; i know it well. it made me a harley girl for life lol. i hope ur social anxiety wanes. there was a time long ago when i too felt like a fraud when others praised me for the good i had in me. it was only because my ego had been slowly but persistently crushed by gaslighters who steadfastly diminished my worth. i hope u too come to understand that u are a unique person of value in ur own right. be of good faith; u are not alone. u are among a people with a common love. friendships are easily made and built surrounding that love.
No fear! They were once all where you are, and with just a little bit of time and familiarity, you'll be where they are and you'll be the one the n00bs are afraid to approach. You're already on the bike so I think it's safe to assume you already have the balls!
If you don't like twisty roads, don't buy a motorbike. I led a group ride yesterday and when briefing the route I mentioned 5 of the 70 miles of the ride would be the arrow-straight A1. A ot of faces fell but it was to get between two sets of twisties. No-one mentioned the A1 when we got to the cafe, everyone spoke about the twisty bits.
THe Phantom Racer is a mate of mine. Everyone comments on his skill at reading a road better than any other rider they know. And, of course, he lives in North Yorkshire. He'll always wait for you at the critical junction and it's a point of pride not to hold him up so much that he can actually finish a sandwich while he waits. ;)
You forgot the hijacker the guy who agrees on the route then days before moans about how far it is or condition of road & thens huffs & puffs to try & change agreed route that HE himself agreed to.Doesn't get his own way & then sulks & says he going home etc &a does or changes route to a short run through town to get a feed & tries to take some riders with him splitting the group up.This guy is sly too & will have his sidekick & others nearby to meet up his house first before meeting the main group at petrol station or meet up point so those riders feel obligated to go with him when he sulks when trying to change plan at last minute to suit him. HE also likes riding to same 4-5places & doesn't like going out of his comfort zone & always makes it about him. We had a guy like this & we would stick to original plan he sulk & say I'm going home his mates moan & to apease them do short ride riding through town on his Harley Davidson Look at Me look at me always ending up back at his house. The rest of us call them the Pony 🐎 Club and they all have Harley's scared of twisties & long rides. The rest of the Harley Davidson riders come with us & enjoy ride & going to new places & how much better it is without the pony 🐎 club. This guy is usually arsed out of group rides or just not invited & then he does have something to moan about😁😆😂🤣.
Brilliantly talented video editing. I have subscribed. Can I ask, should you not have referenced the tattoo clad, beardy brigade who vastly overweight extol the virtues and necessity for the American dream on some old iron? Stood in Buxton recentlyI I heard a “Hardly Ableson” leave London and every gear change up the M1. Well I could hear him until my ears started to bleed.
I've done a number of group rides over the years and the only good thing is everyone has back up if they have a problem. In recent years I much prefer to ride on my own and do about 6k miles a year now but don't ride when they grit the roads as it wrecks a bike. Just done 2500k miles in northern Spain on my own and find I can stop when I won't and do whatever speed I like 😂😂
I don't think you should feel awkward about this. As riders, we should never be consuming alcohol as part of a ride. Most rides I've attended where the destination is a pub the vast majority are drinking soft drinks or buying food.
I’m a fresh rider not particularly a fresh face though 😂never ridden in a group cos I don’t know anyone to participate. I’ll maybe get the winter riding out the way this year then see if I can find a group up here in the Durham area 👍
The only group ride I've ever been is the 5 man CBT training for a day XD hahaha if anything, I am the 125 Noisy Rider lmao The number 1 neighborhood alarm clock at 5 in the morning when I go to work
u nailed newbies with much humor but what about the stand up experienced guy who helps a fellow biker, even a complete stranger, just because they feel that special kinship that comes from the love of wheels down and the wind in ur face. u can call him The Hero, because that's who they are to me. feel free to mock The Hapless Rider who, in her gratitude, forgot to take off her helmet before she enthusiastically hugged him for his assistance and gave him quite a knock in the head by accident. yes i apologized.
Riding with 1-3 of your buddies are the best type of riding and ones that makes the most memories
Amen to that!
Been riding for nearly 54-years. I loved cruising with my late wife at night around the country-side on a warm summers night and getting a cuddle as we cruised. But a group ride with people you can trust to a planned destination, well that's another level. Out of the original group there are three of us left, mainly cancer or accidents culled our numbers. I am the only one still riding, the others can't anymore. Since my wife passed from covid I cruse alone. And do I still enjoy going out going nowhere as I ride? You bet! Safe enjoyable riding sir 👍.
I'm sorry you've seen so many close friends and family ride their last ride but I'm glad you still get to enjoy two wheels! Ride safe my friend!
I’m a 125 rider and I absolutely love a roads. I was riding with my dad who was on a 650 ninja and he’s cruising along at 70 nice and comfortable, I’m there chin on my tank elbows tucked maxing the bike out (I have a Sinnis hoodlum)
Fair play, good on yah! 👍🏻👍🏻
Sounds like fun though 👏
@@chrisb4504 it was a lot of fun
They says it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow!
I find group rides a bit tedious to be honest. I do them ocassionally not to upset the applecart, but I much prefer going alone when I can go where I want and stop when I want, for as long as I like. I invariably end up having a coffee with other riders en route anyway. Also I find it safer.
That's fair enough! I know a lot of riders feel the same. I really enjoy the social aspect of a group ride but they can get a bit hectic! :)
totally agree. the best rides are alone or with one friend
Group rides are always a compromise. Going solo isn't.
Plus 1..
I totally agree.
This is such a lovely video. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As an eternal wanderer on a Ducati, I approve.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video :)
'the rest of the group can outperform them in first gear...' hysterical lol
Thanks for reinforcing why I've always preferred to ride ALONE.
It's certainly not for everyone!
Spot on with your descriptions, and the very reason I don't do group riding.
This made me smile for all the right reasons! Thank you for sharing 🙂👍
Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
You're extremely underrated, such great quality footage, good editing, funny comentry. Keep going man, i see big things for you.
Wow, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)
@@andy_rides good job with the thumbnails too, eye catching
There's also the Gear Fiddler. He's always the last guy ready to ride, thus delaying the whole group because he's still getting his helmet buckled, his gloves on, and...oops, he forgot to put in his ear plugs, so now the helmet has come off again, and that means removing the gloves again... Then he probably also has a carburetored bike that takes another minute or two to start, fiddling with the choke and the throttle until the precise conditions for ignition have been achieved for the exact combination of engine temperature, ambient temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, the brand of petrol he happened to get that morning, and the phase of the moon at that exact moment, and the alignment of the outer planets. Then he has to fuss around to get his bike into first gear because he stopped in second or third and forgot about it durning lunch.
It sounds like you know this character well 😂
Of course, the Gear Fiddler could also be the Ass in Disguise doing it all to troll you 😅
this is the first video ive seen of this channel, love your voice and the calm vibe this video gives me! I love it. Also grouprides are pretty much like you said xD I am the soundtrack rider btw
Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Nothing wrong with being the soundtrack 😊
Thankfully I have a wife who allows me to have 4 bikes but no friends (Johnny no mates). Always riding on his own and enjoying every mile with some bikes very old like me and slow and some that make a lot of noise and one that's as silent as the grave with 190 bhp. So it's a bit like your group ride but on my own without the 125 rider and grumpy bend bloke who I have not met yet but there is always time. Excellent video and very amusing. Well it made me smile 😊
You're a lucky man, sort of. What happens on group rides, stays on group rides 😉
Keep up the AMAZING work, when content is this good off the bat it grabs traction so quick as seen with the 5K views🔥
Thank you, really glad you enjoyed it 😊
I tend to find with group riding that the one enjoying the ride the most is the one at the front, everyone else is either thinking, hurry the f*** up or worst slow the f*** down, or it turns into a race, I like meeting up at places with people I know for a coffee and a chat but usually get there on my own. But if you enjoy it that's what's important, getting the most out of your time on the bike.
I know what you mean! We often ride as a group to the destination and then split on the way back so everybody gets to enjoy a bit of everything 😊
I'm a mix of the 125 riders (although I also have bigger bikes ) Slow riders and Eternal Wanderer 😂
Does it sound like a demented cat? 😂
@@andy_rides No, I don't do group rides 😝
I'm an old tortoise and have yet to find a local group I like to share a ride with. It's really less that most of them like to ride faster than me and more that they're concerned about how they look to others while doing it. If I ever cared about such things, I definitely put it aside 40 years ago.
Im sure there's a group out there for you. Facebook is a good place to look. Maybe I was just lucky finding a whole bunch of likeminded individuals. Ride safe my friend!
I never have and never will. Each to their own preference. I ride alone, stop when I want to, slow when I want to, speed up when I want to. I am very happy to chat to other bikers as and when I meet them but prefer to go my own way thereafter.
Sometimes a solo ride is the only way to go! Ride safe 😀
I just passed my driving test 2 days ago (Benelli Leoncino 500), but I aspire to be the tortoise on a rocket 😂
Congratulations on passing your test may the roads bring you many safe miles and enjoyment 👍
these should be backstory options in a motorcycling rpg
Every time i went on a bike protest rally or group ride there were clowns that were downright dangerous I'd rather be on my own or with a small group of very close and trusted friends that I've ridden with for 50 years
Some of the larger rides can be a bit lacking in organisation and descend into a chaos! A smaller well organised group is far more enjoyable.
You were right, mate. Eternal Wanderer. I literally start to feel ill if it’s been too long off the bike.
I managed to fit you in somewhere!!
@@andy_rides Well done! You are a keen observer of riders. It shows.
Eternal Wanderer here. The journey never ends.
Keep on keepin' on! Enjoy those roads :)
I need to know more about that last one
I’m the grievously socially challenged one on the scruffy 125 (ish) Varadero bike with a Delkovik desperate not to make a faux pas and not hold everyone up.
I love the convoy especially on the twisties but when I get there I realise I have to interact face to face with my co riders who will see right through me in an instant and so I run away!😂. It’s complicated! Nice video. ❤
I'll bear that character in mind for a follow up video :) You should try and overcome your fears, it's a fantastic way to make new friends and get yourself out there!
awww chin up robin; we are all worthy in the eyes of god
@@rosemaryus-ct6151I enjoyed a wonderful run out with the gang a couple of weeks back and it was lovely. I now know that its the party nights that I struggle with. The rumble as the convoy moves off from a red light is glorious!😂
@@robinwells8879 uno that rumble thrills the heart; i know it well. it made me a harley girl for life lol. i hope ur social anxiety wanes. there was a time long ago when i too felt like a fraud when others praised me for the good i had in me. it was only because my ego had been slowly but persistently crushed by gaslighters who steadfastly diminished my worth. i hope u too come to understand that u are a unique person of value in ur own right. be of good faith; u are not alone. u are among a people with a common love. friendships are easily made and built surrounding that love.
No fear! They were once all where you are, and with just a little bit of time and familiarity, you'll be where they are and you'll be the one the n00bs are afraid to approach. You're already on the bike so I think it's safe to assume you already have the balls!
If you don't like twisty roads, don't buy a motorbike. I led a group ride yesterday and when briefing the route I mentioned 5 of the 70 miles of the ride would be the arrow-straight A1. A ot of faces fell but it was to get between two sets of twisties. No-one mentioned the A1 when we got to the cafe, everyone spoke about the twisty bits.
It’s certainly all about the twisties 👌🏻
@@andy_rides Tyres should be triangled off, not squared off!
😂 absolutely
Can't really decide if I'm the turtoise W/O a rocket, or the wanderer??? Lovely mate, many thanks.
Nothing wrong with either! Thanks for watching 👍🏻
THe Phantom Racer is a mate of mine. Everyone comments on his skill at reading a road better than any other rider they know. And, of course, he lives in North Yorkshire. He'll always wait for you at the critical junction and it's a point of pride not to hold him up so much that he can actually finish a sandwich while he waits. ;)
Perfect roads up there for becoming the phantom :)
You forgot the hijacker the guy who agrees on the route then days before moans about how far it is or condition of road & thens huffs & puffs to try & change agreed route that HE himself agreed to.Doesn't get his own way & then sulks & says he going home etc &a does or changes route to a short run through town to get a feed & tries to take some riders with him splitting the group up.This guy is sly too & will have his sidekick & others nearby to meet up his house first before meeting the main group at petrol station or meet up point so those riders feel obligated to go with him when he sulks when trying to change plan at last minute to suit him.
HE also likes riding to same 4-5places & doesn't like going out of his comfort zone & always makes it about him.
We had a guy like this & we would stick to original plan he sulk & say I'm going home his mates moan & to apease them do short ride riding through town on his Harley Davidson Look at Me look at me always ending up back at his house.
The rest of us call them the Pony 🐎 Club and they all have Harley's scared of twisties & long rides.
The rest of the Harley Davidson riders come with us & enjoy ride & going to new places & how much better it is without the pony 🐎 club.
This guy is usually arsed out of group rides or just not invited & then he does have something to moan about😁😆😂🤣.
I think this guy is somewhat covered by the twisty road critic but in slightly less detail :)
@@andy_rides Yeah that's him howl bag makes it all about HIM & then wonders why no one invited him on more runs.
Brilliantly talented video editing. I have subscribed. Can I ask, should you not have referenced the tattoo clad, beardy brigade who vastly overweight extol the virtues and necessity for the American dream on some old iron? Stood in Buxton recentlyI I heard a “Hardly Ableson” leave London and every gear change up the M1. Well I could hear him until my ears started to bleed.
Thanks for subscribing, I'll try and put that character somewhere in a future video 😀
I've done a number of group rides over the years and the only good thing is everyone has back up if they have a problem.
In recent years I much prefer to ride on my own and do about 6k miles a year now but don't ride when they grit the roads as it wrecks a bike.
Just done 2500k miles in northern Spain on my own and find I can stop when I won't and do whatever speed I like 😂😂
Totally understand that, sometimes going out and doing your own thing on your own terms is just what's needed. Ride safe!
@andy_rides and you mate 👍
I’m sat here watching this with my Ducati corse mug in hand lol
^ Brand Ambassador right there 😂
So true buddy 😂 i try not to be on those wacky races all the ones I've been on end up in tears 😢
I’m fortunate enough to be a member/organiser for a group and for the most part it’s always civil 🏍️
Most ride end up at a local pubs (round robin ride). I'm tea total and then feel awkward when i don't want to go in.
I don't think you should feel awkward about this. As riders, we should never be consuming alcohol as part of a ride. Most rides I've attended where the destination is a pub the vast majority are drinking soft drinks or buying food.
Ha very good, will done mate 😊
Thank you! Cheers!
I’m a fresh rider not particularly a fresh face though 😂never ridden in a group cos I don’t know anyone to participate. I’ll maybe get the winter riding out the way this year then see if I can find a group up here in the Durham area 👍
Local facebook groups are a good place to look for local riders and meets. But absolutely do it at your own pace. Ride safe my friend!
So poetic!
Thank you!
You need to replace the classical guitar soundtrack with Steppenwolf for every video.
The only group ride I've ever been is the 5 man CBT training for a day XD hahaha
if anything, I am the 125 Noisy Rider lmao The number 1 neighborhood alarm clock at 5 in the morning when I go to work
I bet your neighbours love you 😂
very poetic
Thank you!
u nailed newbies with much humor but what about the stand up experienced guy who helps a fellow biker, even a complete stranger, just because they feel that special kinship that comes from the love of wheels down and the wind in ur face. u can call him The Hero, because that's who they are to me. feel free to mock The Hapless Rider who, in her gratitude, forgot to take off her helmet before she enthusiastically hugged him for his assistance and gave him quite a knock in the head by accident. yes i apologized.
I am considering a similar character for part 2 👍🏻
The eternal wanderer is def me, I got tatalled out back in june, I need a new bike now 😢
Really sorry to hear that, I hope you are ok and back on the road soon!
well me finks I'm a eternal wanderer. 🤔
And may the roads bring you eternal happiness 🏍️🏍️👍🏻
Wow
You are a poet, you just don't know it.
Nothing says "no friends" like a group ride.