The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (mrf.org)

I was at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park last week for the monthly North Carolina Chapter, Project Management Institute (PMI) meeting. I meet colleagues in the bar before the meetings for a little alcoholic lubricant and the bar area is usually quiet and sparsely populated. Not so last Thursday, September 20. The place was full of bikers, many with their spouses and significant others. I was really curious as to who they were and why they were there. I introduced myself to a fellow sitting alone at a table and he explained that he was there for the Meeting of the Minds conference sponsored by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF). I confessed that I had never heard of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. He enthusiastically explained to me that they are an umbrella organization that fights for the rights of motorcyclists across the U.S.

Members of various chapters of A.B.A.T.E. and the Concerned Bikers Association (CBA) and other organizations attended the Meeting of the Minds (MOTM) conference over several days. The fellow I spoke with had a binder full of information that each of the attendees received and the group looked very organized. I was impressed. It's time for me to do some homework and get educated about this group.

Check out this great web site for information about various motorcycle organizations: http://www.rcvsmc.net/index.html

Your Health and Riding

Riding a motorcycle requires a great deal of concentration and physical coordination. Mentally: a smart rider constantly scans the horizon for potential dangers and assesses events immediately. He or she also studies other drivers around himself/herself looking for clues that they might suddenly change their behavior and endanger the rider. In addition to the intense use of the eyes and brain, a rider uses all four limbs constantly: (1) left hand for the clutch and horn; (2) right hand for the front brake; (3) left foot for the gear shifter; and (4) right foot for the rear break. Additionally, there are other controls for which the hands are needed, such as auxiliary head lights, turn signals, and emergency cut off switch. On some bikes, the rider must manually reach down and turn the fuel shutoff switch to go to the reserve tank if the main tank goes empty while riding.

Consequently, a rider should be in a good physical condition and mentally alert.  Of course, the more demanding the ride, the greater the need will be for good conditioning and riding skills, for example, 500+ miles a day, riding in the rain or snow, riding at night, or riding off road over rough surfaces. I've had personal experience with trying to cheat this axiom and I nearly paid for it with my life. Here are four examples.

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Don't Ever Take It for Granted

I got to take a friend for a ride on Friday. It was her first time on a motorcycle since she was 16. She's a lady I very much respect, so I won't try to guess her age; but she told me that riding on a motorcycle is on her Bucket List. She said that riding on a Harley made the whole experience that much sweeter. 

I took us on the new toll road, NC540, down to US64 west. We rode out by Jordan Lake and took a slow ride back to where she works in Research Triangle Park. She was as excited as anyone I've ever taken on one of my bikes. She raved about how beautiful the bike looked and how great it sounded. She reminded me that I too often take it for granted that I get to ride a big, beautiful Harley in the best country on Earth. Her joy was a gift. She was thanking me effusively, but I feel like I got the better of the deal.

If you ride, don't ever take it for granted. Celebrate your opportunity by sharing it with others.

And as always,

Keep the shiny side up!

-The Long Rider 

Tips for Group Riding

I rode with three other guys yesterday to Surf City, NC. It was about 300 miles round trip. I led the group to a Harley-Davidson dealership on Market Street in Wilmington. After that, two of the other riders took turns leading. When we got back, one of the other riders began indulging in the post ride ritual of bitching about how the other guys were riding. I joked with his wife that when you lead a ride, at least one person in the group will be unhappy with something you are doing at any given moment. If you rotate the leadership role, more people get to enjoy the abuse. The key is be safe. If everyone arrives back home uninjured, then as a ride leader you can claim some success, the bitching notwithstanding. :-) My experience yesterday reminded me that group rides are far more enjoyable when everyone follows the basic guidelines for group rides.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers a convenient guide for group riding, MSF Group Riding Quick Tips. In addition to the information they provide in this handy little document, I have a few more tidbits for you.

Ideal Group Size

 I've lead a group of 15 and can tell you it's too large by twice. If you don't have a lot of support in leading and managing the ride, break up into units of 5-7 bikes and assign each a leader. Make sure each leader then designates who will ride at the end of that sub-group. There are many benefits from breaking into units of 5-7. Here are three:

(1) The ride leader attempts to look in his or her rear view mirror every few minutes and account for all of the bikes in the group. It's very difficult to see beyond seven motorcycles. Keeping to no more than seven in the group facilitates this ongoing census. By the way, this is one reason why riding in staggered formation is so important: so the ride leader can see who is in the group. Yesterday, I often had difficulty seeing the last bike in the group because the rider frequently rode directly behind the bike in front of him, a large full-dresser. It was like a full eclipse of a Harley.

(2) If you encounter stop lights or stop signs, it is easier to keep a smaller group intact. Even if you split the smaller group temporarily, it is far easier to reassemble a group of five bikes than it is for 15.

(3) Large groups prevent other vehicles from merging into the lane. For large groups, you typically end up having cages (four wheeled vehicles) merging into your group, splitting it. Using smaller groups minimizes this. 

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The Helmet Issue

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the vast repository of data it's collected. Among that data are statistics regarding injuries and deaths associated with the use, or lack thereof, of helmets while operating a motorcycle. For example, NHTSA recently published one of its Traffic Safety Reports titled Motorcycle helmets saved 1,829 motorcyclists’ lives in 2008. The available data clearly supports what our common sense also tells us: wearing a helmet significantly improves your chance of surviving a motorcycle accident. NHTSA argues that "motorcycle crash statistics show that helmets are about 29 percent effective in preventing crash fatalities. That is, on average, riders wearing a helmet have a 29 percent better chance of surviving a crash than riders without a helmet." [1] However, the issue of mandatory use of a helmet is a more complex matter than simply weighing the probability of sustaining a fatal injury.

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