Choosing Your Riding Partners

This week I'd like to address a sensitive and complex subject: how to choose the best people with whom to ride. After many years of group rides, I have concluded that it is wise to choose deliberately the people you ride with. Your life and enjoyment often depend on it.

Each of us rides a little--or a lot--differently and we have varying interests and temperaments. Thus, each of us might prefer different people with whom to ride. However, how we go about deciding on our riding partners ought to be based on a common set of criteria. Here are four fundamental areas to consider in choosing your riding partners, in priority order:

• Safety & Good Practices
• Cooperation/Coordination
• Reliability
• Compatibility

Safety & Good Practices

Your first consideration should be safety.  It's hard to imagine how you could enjoy a ride in which someone is injured or killed. As soon as one biker joins another in a ride, a whole new set of safety considerations arises:

• At what speed are the two riders comfortable, in straight-aways, curves, rain, etc.? You should agree on a speed for different conditions and stick to it.
• Are the bikes all well maintained? Bad brakes, tires, lights, etc. can create hazards for all riders in the group.
• Are there any new or relatively unskilled riders in the group? How will they be accommodated?
• Are the riders wearing reasonably safe gear? Shorts and flip-flops are a no-go for me, for example. (I happen to think you have to be an idiot to ride in shorts and flip flops.)
• Who will lead the pre-ride discussion and who knows the route? Has the route been evaluated before the ride for conditions such as pot holes and loose gravel?
• Is there a plan to dealing with those times when the group may be split up by traffic lights?

Examples of safety issues I've seen include (1) an inexperienced rider trying to keep up with the group and going off the road on a curve he couldn't handle, ending up with some road rash and an inoperable bike,  (2) an inexperienced rider moving too slowly on an interstate--well under the speed limit--during a very busy traffic period, thus risking a rear-end collision for the riders behind him, (3) an unskilled rider on an interstate after dark where he felt very uncomfortable and compensated by riding dangerously slow, and (4) riders not using the staggered formation, thus impairing the vision of riders behind them.

Cooperation/Coordination

An enjoyable ride with one or more riders requires cooperation and coordination. Here are some common cooperation and coordination issues:

• Who will lead? Who will ride tailgunner (also called "sweep")?  Are these the right people for the job? I was once on a ride led by a novice because it was "his ride." We had a wreck involving two bikes on that trip, his and the bike behind him. His mishandling of an extremely oily road surface led to him going down. The fellow behind him went down to avoid running over him. 
• If it begins to rain lightly, will you stop or continue? What about heavy rain? Lightning? Where do we stop? (I happen to think stopping along an interstate and standing under a bridge is dangerous--unless you step far away from the roadway. However. while you may be safe, your bike is at severe risk for a rear-end collision. In my opinion, it's better to try to get off at the nearest exit and seek shelter there. Use your four-ways if the rain is heavy.)
• If you're in a group, stay in a group. I've been in group rides where I thought it had been decided who was leading only to find one of my group members riding next to me in the passing lane. That's really irritating and unsafe. It can also lead to road rage with the cagers who are trying to pass.

Reliability

You show up for a day trip and the other rider(s) don't show. Has that ever happened to you? It's happened to me. How about a week-long ride where the other guy backs out three days before you're supposed to leave? You've already scheduled your vacation from work. Now what do you do? (Find a more reliable riding partner!)

Does the ride leader pay attention to the other riders and stop the group when the need arises to assist a rider who may be having a problem? Has the ride leader studied the route and actually knows how to get to where you're supposed to be going? Is he or she good at reading a map and interpreting directions from locals? I'm not comfortable with ride leaders who wing it or rely too much on a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.

Compatibility

You also want to ride with someone who you enjoy having a meal with, playing cards with, sharing a hotel room with. Here are some important compatibility factors:

• How often do you to stop for gas and bathroom breaks?
• What restaurants do you eat at; in which hotels do you stay?
• When do you stop for photos, interesting views, signs, and other "local attractions"?
• How fast do you ride and under what conditions?
• How many hours and miles a day are you willing to ride (also a safety issue)?
• Budget: do you have a comparable amount of money to spend or a comparable budget for the trip?

I have been fortunate to find two gentlemen with whom I enjoy cross-country rides. We respect each others' skills and preferences and we get along really well, even when we're tired and cranky after a long day or ride. Be sure to get the most out of your long rides by choosing the right people to ride with.

Keep the shiny side up!

-The Long Rider