| It strikes me that every time I read a thread like this, I come across phrases such as these:
"... grouped according to their ability". "...always moderate the pace so that people who may be less experienced don't have to play catch up". "'Enthusiastic' riders' having to wait for the slower 'inexperienced' guys", etc. Hmm! Maybe a different - more enlightened - view is needed from the outset? Is speed the only criteria by which motorcyclists are ever judged? If so, why?
I appreciate there is some validity to the above, but my own 'inexperience' amounts to practically thirty years of riding motorcycles. I've ridden/owned more machines than I care to remember, and covered more miles than I care to count. I've used a bike for my day-to-day transport when I didn't have a car, and ridden it come sunshine or snow. (I rode a Jota 1000 every day for eight years through the daily grind of rush-hour commuting and the dubious pleasures of winter - bump-starting the beast every time it stopped - and loaded the same bike with enough camping gear for a two-week 'two-up' trip to wherever I found myself heading). I've owned/ridden turbo-charged bikes, six-cylinder monster-bikes which handled like they were on castors, 1300cc 800lb Electra-Glide Harleys, and tiny little 50cc Puch mopeds with feeble lights and more feeble brakes. I currently run two 888 Ducatis and an RC30.
My 'inexperience' on two-wheels has served me well though. Like Jools, I've no wish to tempt fate, but I can honestly say I've not crashed a bike, been caught 'speeding', or suffered any kind of bodily injury to my person for over twenty five years. NOT ONCE. And I'm as 'enthusiastic' a rider as the next guy.
'Enthusiasm' doesn't mean speed. Please don't label a guy such as me as 'inexperienced' or 'unenthusiastic' simply because I no longer feel the need to prove how macho I am. I left that behind when I reached adulthood. Neither am I 'of lesser ability' simply because I don't (won't) try to keep up with the 'better', 'more able' riders - sic!
My daily work (for 13yrs) has involved TEACHING the rules of the road to the 'inexperienced' & 'enthusiastic' road users out there. Every minute of my working day involves reading the road. I lie awake at night replaying each and every scenario. It's my life, and it's absolutely ingrained.
Group riding, for me, is often akin to watching a real-time video of 'how not to ride safely'. I've seen every rule in the book broken. Sometimes, it's all I can do not to shake my head in despair. Excuse me, therefore, if I don't try to emulate the 'better' riders ahead of me. And if I'm ever left behind on a run, don't fret. I'll expect arrive in my own good time. I always have!
So, maybe this kind of language should be saved for the track. There, you can more accurately group people according to their ability - TO GO FAST! On the road, different judgement criteria are needed. I'm not an inferior rider simply because I'm 'slow'. Sometimes, we 'inexperienced' and 'lesser able' riders are deliberately so. We're just doing what we do best - surviving.
Rant over! Ride safely guys.  |