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How Do You Ride?
- Thread starter BajaRon
- Start date
Jesster72
Member
I answered no preference, but it doesn't vary on my mood - it varies on if we are pulling the trailer for a tour, or we are on a day/weekend trip with no trailer. Pulling the trailer, I limit myself to 75, just because I have that extra behind me. No trailer, I generally match the flow or a bit faster without getting crazy. I'm no speed demon, but I do get spicy every now and then.
For us, living where we do, it is about 500 miles minimum to anywhere we consider interesting for 10-14 day tours, so unfortuanletly, with limited vacation time, we have to ride interstates one or two days to get where we like to be, then take the two lanes.
Ron - are you still active in the fire service? I'm 20+ years into volunteer/POC and still going. Glad to see another FF on here. When we stopped at Harvey's place earlier in the year I learned he was retired LE. Pretty cool. Left him a patch and coin.
For us, living where we do, it is about 500 miles minimum to anywhere we consider interesting for 10-14 day tours, so unfortuanletly, with limited vacation time, we have to ride interstates one or two days to get where we like to be, then take the two lanes.
Ron - are you still active in the fire service? I'm 20+ years into volunteer/POC and still going. Glad to see another FF on here. When we stopped at Harvey's place earlier in the year I learned he was retired LE. Pretty cool. Left him a patch and coin.
BajaRon
Well-known member
I retired in 2003 and promised my wife that when I quit, I would quit. The local volunteer company tried to recruit me. Don't know how they found out I was retired fire. They also knew that I ran our recruit fire academy for 5 years. They had very good intel! Even though they promised I could spend as little time as I liked. I knew I would be all in if I said yes. It's hard to do a LITTLE fire. I hated to do it but I promised.
It was even harder when FEMA contacted me shortly after for a hurricane in Florida. They wanted me to serve in logistics, which is a position I held during my career. Even though I think FEMA is a money pit and a racket. I knew I could make great money and I'd never done a hurricane. One more ticket punched on my bucket list. (Not to many of those on the west coast). I again said no, though I did ask my wife first.
If you get the chance, stop by the shop. We can swap lies... Or, I mean professional experience!
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Jesster72
Member
I retired in 2003 and promised my wife that when I quit, I would quit. The local volunteer company tried to recruit me. Don't know how they found out I was retired fire. They also knew that I ran our recruit fire academy for 5 years. They had very good intel! Even though they promised I could spend as little time as I liked. I knew I would be all in if I said yes. It's hard to do a LITTLE fire. I hated to do it but I promised.
It was even harder when FEMA contacted me shortly after for a hurricane in Florida. They wanted me to serve in logistics, which is a position I held during my career. Even though I think FEMA is a money pit and a racket. I knew I could make great money and I'd never done a hurricane. (Not to many of those on the west coast). I again said no, though I did ask my wife first.
If you get the chance, stop by the shop. We can swap lies... Or, I mean professional experience!
I understand. On the volunteer side, you can get sucked in deep and lose any family time you have. I had to re-think my priorities at one point, and adjust my commitments. I still make what I can, and I teach at the state fire academy, but I learned how to appreciate time in general once I analyzed what I needed to.
A stop at your shop is on the list. We are in deep discussions about our big trip next year. It's either east or west LOL, but either way, I know I want to stop and say hi (and maybe have a little work done too). I appreciate the offer to BS, drives my wife nuts, but she's a good sport.
FrogmanDave
Active member
That is actually some very good information. I guess I had never thought about it that way. I also tend to ride a little faster than the traffic around me. Now I have a great excuse as to why I do
shannonmarie
New member
I try to match traffic.
I prefer smaller roads but sometimes the highways are the only way to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time so I take them. For instance I’m riding from Kentucky to Virginia to visit family. I’ll be on the highway pretty much the whole way.
I prefer smaller roads but sometimes the highways are the only way to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time so I take them. For instance I’m riding from Kentucky to Virginia to visit family. I’ll be on the highway pretty much the whole way.
BajaRon
Well-known member
That is actually some very good information. I guess I had never thought about it that way. I also tend to ride a little faster than the traffic around me. Now I have a great excuse as to why I do
Many ride like they drive. Matching the flow of traffic in a car is fine, people generally see and respect a car. While a Spyder is an improvement over 2 wheels in this case, I still like to keep my problems in front of me on 2 or 3 wheels.
I don't ride beside an 18-wheeler if I can help it. And I never run to the right of them. That can be a very bad place. I don't blame them. They are some of the best drivers on the road. But they have a lot to watch out for and I am easily missed. Their long hours in the saddle can make them less than optimal sometimes.
I don't ride in my lane at the rear of a car or truck either, not if I can help it. I like to ride at or ahead of the driver if I can't move into open space.
And it helps to remember that if you can't see the driver in their mirror, they can't see you. And even if they can, it doesn't mean that they DO!
There are no guarantees. But I think this increases my chances of having a safe journey.
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grumpyoldretiredcop
New member
I try to avoid interstates but if I have no choice, I voted "with the general flow of traffic". However, if the "general flow" is going more than 5 over, they can just pass me. My wife and I rode to meet our daughter and her riding buddies and came back part way with them. 85 MPH was way fast enough for me with a passenger and full load of luggage.
TheMariner
Active member
Likewise behind a boat trailer. Those things are amongst the most under-maintained things on the planet & I've watched more than one shed a wheel at speed.
bikerbillone
Well-known member
I do like to sniff the flowers occasionally, but if I find I'm impeding the flow of traffic, I just pull over.
ARtraveler
R.I.P. Dwayne
That is exactly what we did when riding. Scenic country roads, with no traffic, I liked 40's. Cars coming, pull over and signal them to go by. :yes:
Busy roads, ride with traffic or become a statistic. :bowdown:
JayBros
Well-known member
IMO, the question could easily have been, "What is your freeway road strategy?" I would change the No Preference option to "No preference except to stay alive." Like many responders, I prefer not to ride the interstates, but there are times when I must make miles in limited time and have no other choice. On the annual tour my bride very willingly supports, my objective is to plan zero interstate miles, and the first three options are used to achieve the fourth and always apply. Where I live, the WSW portion of I-85 through Charlotte has a posted speed limit of 60, but if you aren't doing 80 you are going to have everything from multiple 80K pound semis in convoy to jackasses on cell phones crawling up your backside. OTOH, when I'm out on the far side of beyond in our beautiful country on state and county roads, the scenery governs my speed, generally anywhere from +5 over to moseying along and stopping whenever and wherever I please.
broderp
New member
I honestly forgot how I voted, but taking a second look at the results and questions in light of recent posts, I have to wonder why so many ride to keep up with the flow of traffic. YES, I know if the traffic is flying at 80 mph and your going the speed limit at 65 you are at risk of being rear ended etc.. The interstate where I ride has a speed limit of 70mph. Traffic seems to 'flow' around the 75-80 mph mark but is usually sparse enough that I can comfortably go 70 and not feel any pressure to speed. I "ride my ride" and not what others dictate how I should.
I wonder how each persons traffic density, time of day and aggressiveness of drivers in their area impacted their answers. I also wonder how much age and experience impacted the results as well.
Sorry, my current job has me thinking about results, spreadsheets, pivot tables etc. as I look for root causes and answers to help develop new processes - all I see in the poll results are tons of questions. :gaah:
:cheers:
I wonder how each persons traffic density, time of day and aggressiveness of drivers in their area impacted their answers. I also wonder how much age and experience impacted the results as well.
Sorry, my current job has me thinking about results, spreadsheets, pivot tables etc. as I look for root causes and answers to help develop new processes - all I see in the poll results are tons of questions. :gaah:
:cheers:
broderp
New member
Out of curiosity, why do you (or anyone) feel the need to actively pick a number (5 in this case) over the speed limit as opposed to just picking the speed limit and setting the cruise control? Not pointing fingers, just curious. I do the same thing to some extent, but want to hear the reason others do.
:cheers:
Yabbadabbadoo
Member
Somehow the speed limits always feel too slow for natural speed capability of the road. Of course they're set that way for safety and I guess for public policy that makes sense. But the natural speed that "feels right" is always higher, at least for me it is. Remember when they set the highway speed limits nationwide to 55? It just wasn't right.
BajaRon
Well-known member
Any study that you look at will site traffic flow as the main factor in roadway safety. Now, as some have mentioned, if there isn't any traffic it doesn't really matter as there isn't any flow factor to deal with. As traffic increases, so does risk and flow becomes ever more important.
My feeling is that picking an arbitrary (5 mph) over posted speed limit gives the rider some safety factor in regards to getting a speeding ticket. But it generally ignores the flow of traffic component. As in some venues, 5 mph over is going to make you the slowest person on the road.
While in the fire department, we got to see some high speed video from a few of these traffic studies. Traffic moving slower than the general flow of traffic were obvious and acted as blockage. You could see flow coming up behind, having to slow down causing a larger chain reaction to the rear and eventually flowing around the restriction. It resembled the flow in a river with floating debris. Now if you're a semi or car, that's one thing. The smaller the vehicle, the greater the opportunity for a mishap.
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