| Hmmm...group riding seems to be taking a kicking.
As a keen and regular attendee on regional DSC rideouts, and as the regional co-ordinator, my view is that organised rideouts are an intrinsic and valuable part of this club's activities. So by definition, if group riding is indeed a contributory factor if not the the cause of fatal accidents, does that mean that the DSC should stop doing this?
Not in my opinion. Group riding is one of the reasons that I love bikes so much because there's not much that's better than a good run out with your mates.
The people that I ride with have ridden thousands of miles together, sometimes very enthusiastically, and have not had any serious accidents. I'm not saying that we're invincible, far from it, I think that's partly because we know we're not invincible. Maybe luck also has something to do with it, but I would like to think that we ride within our limits and we always moderate the pace so that people who may be less experienced don't have to play catch up.
If group riding is a significant factor in the number of fatalities then (AND I HOPE TO GOD I'M NOT TEMPTING FATE) statistically you would expect more accidents in the DSC which must have hundreds of people riding in groups and covering thousands of miles each weekend?
If group riding was the big factor that people seem to claim through anecdotal evidence, this would contribute to the accident statistics throughout the year, when as we already know, this time of year is the biggest month for accidents.
I think that the concept that there is a biking 'season' has a lot to do with it. At this time of year you can spot the people who've been riding all year and the people who've just dusted off their leathers for 'the season'.
This is the time of year when newbie riders appear, even if they're experienced people's skills have gone rusty over winter, the road conditions are not perfect, the bikes may not have been maintained properly over the winter (I wonder how many people ride before checking that their brake calipers are not going to stick or that they really needed to bleed the brakes)? Couple that with peoples false confidence and trying to ride first time out like the bike mag 'riding gods' tell us is mandatory - knee down on every corner, wheelies, stoppies and it can only have one result - to end in tears.  |