Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

The rate at which this club has been growing during the last year has led to a number of new riders on most rides. These new riders are most welcome. They do, however, ask a number of standard questions about the process of the ride. This article will use the collective experience of the committee members. This is not trying to impose a set of “school” rules, but intends to explain the guidelines that the club has been using. This article is aimed at on-road rides, in off-road conditions a slightly different set of guidelines are used. ==Drivers briefing:== This is actually an incredibly important part of the ride. During the welcoming phase visitors are identified (if not identified earlier). Visitors that are on their first group ride and any other riders that want to ride slowly are encouraged to ride just behind the group leader (right at the front). The front of the group is much slower than at the back, this will be explained later. Next the destination and route are discussed. Should the group be split by something as mundane as a robot, it is important that everybody knows the route. As a general rule the group leader will confirm that the group is intact at each turn off. As a last resort (which only happened once during the last year), the sweeper will be used. The sweeper is another committee member that rides at the back of the group. If the group had completely split up, the sweeper will then lead those at the back to the venue. If the route includes a mountain pass, those that have a need for speed are “let loose” to go have fun in the pass. During the drivers briefing it is pointed out where this group should then wait for the group. Please also listen carefully where the group leader wants you to pass the group before the pass. Remember that we have visitors and new riders at the front and they may react slightly erratically in a mountain pass, so please be very careful when you move to the front of the group to have fun in the pass. ==Formation riding== During the drivers briefing you will be asked to ride in formation and to not overtake anybody. The previous paragraph explained the need for good behaviour inside the group. What is this “formation”? The group leader rides at the front of the group, and decides to ride on the right (or left) of the lane. The new and slower riders follows behind the leader, the first one to the left of the leader, then right, the left, and so on. Thus nobody is directly behind the person ahead of him/her. How far should you be behind the person ahead of you? Your front wheel should never overlap his/her back wheel. If he has to move sideways to avoid something, it could have disastrous consequences. Also try to keep the gap small enough to prevent cars from forcing their way between the bikes. Please pay attention when riding in a big group. Every movement of your bike does influence those around you. Stunning formation, and look at the "bush-people" at the left ==Riding== The actual process of group riding is also a science of its own. The group leader will accelerate slowly, much slower than you would when riding on your own. When the second person sees the leader pull away he will start the process of pulling away, creating a small gap which he can quickly catch up. The third person in turn creates a small gap to the second person, which he can quickly catch up – but then he must still make up the gap to the leader. The fourth person has a slightly longer gap to make up to the leader. By the time you get to the last person …, well you get the idea. This is commonly referred to as the “concertina” effect. During a particular event, I never exceeded 120 km/h at the front, at the back some of the riders rode as fast as 180 km/h for small stretches. Now you understand why those that want to ride slowly should ride at the front. The group leader employs two strategies to minimise the concertina effect. Firstly he accelerates very slowly (to prevent an excessive stretch) and starts to slow down long before any turn offs (to bring the group back together). Should a person somewhere in the mid pack slow down or fall behind and then accelerate hard to catch up, it makes it very uncomfortable for the people behind him/her. This is outside of the control of the committee. “Do unto others, as you want them to do unto you.” The “official” club ride is from the starting point to the venue. This is done at the speed limit. After the breakfast the group often splits up. A few low-flyers go in one direction, the unlucky ones that have to get home for lunch with the in-laws and finally some others decide on a secondary location for an extended ride. Finally, this is merely an informative article, to enlighten new members. This is in no way aimed at introducing “school” rules.