TOPIC:

Really a shame there isnt anyone in eastern canada for the eastern leg. Im talking primarily the maritimes (ns, nb, pei) and newfieland. I saw T_Dub was in NFLD but there is no one between us and ontario haha. No frenchers ride KZ's? or is it Z de K haha. im not hating! Quebec has some of the best beer haha 8.5%

if the flag is traveling east of ontario I wouldnt mind seeing an updated map!I checked the eastern leg and its all ontario. so really it should be called the central leg haha

Well, I just had lunch with Brian Wringer (bwringer on GSR) and told him what we are doing. I asked and he accepted to be our guide on the day les holt and I get the flags. For those of you who do not know him, a bit of history. He runs the yearly GSR Brown County Rally. He knows southern Indiana like the back of his hand. He is unbelievable smooth and fast, even on a lowly GS850. He also owns a KLR650 if the group requires him to ride a Kawasaki. He is, overall, just one heck of a guy.
So, anyone in group 2, specifically (but not exclusively) RAMTOUGH_63, ANDY9802gt, les holt, and KZ_Rage, want to enjoy a day of absolutely awesome twisties, be sure to attend.

Sounds great to me, I'll bring up the rear. Love to watch those road course guys but I'm not one!
Any idea when this might be coming? I'm supposed to go to another facility for 2 week but when is kinda up to me.

Les

I'll answer the last question first: there has only been one handoff in one week, and that is only the first Eastern group. We are the second Eastern group. So I suspect it will be a while.

Now, about riding group style in the twisties. We require that every rider ride at a pace they are comfortable with. This is known as The Pace. If you get behind, we don't care. We stop at both stop signs and turns and wait for everyone to catch up. If we grow concerned, the group will backtrack until we find you.
We had one rider that rode at what we called "Stop and Smell the Roses" pace. We did not care. For larger groups we break up into groups that ride at roughly the same pace, but our group is too small. If required, I will lead the slower group, although I personally prefer to keep Brian in sight because I can pace myself to his speed. We will also be stopping for photo opportunities, such as covered bridges and quaint spots, which allows everyone to regroup and share lies, I mean experiences. It is a good time, I assure you.
The last requirement is that every rider is ATGATT. If you show up and you are not, we will respectfully ask you to not proceed any further. Well, we will actually tell you to go home. We do not compromise on this requirement. At all.

ATGATT?
I'm really not all that bad, just overly cautious in unknown territory if you know what I mean. One little slip can do more than take out the ride. Had a guy get killed few yrs ago around here, just simply missed a corner on a road he knew because he was paying attention to the other riders more than the road.

Les

les holt wrote: ATGATT?
I'm really not all that bad, just overly cautious in unknown territory if you know what I mean. One little slip can do more than take out the ride. Had a guy get killed few yrs ago around here, just simply missed a corner on a road he knew because he was paying attention to the other riders more than the road.

Les

That is the beauty of group riding. You can follow the person in front of you and know that your speed and lines are acceptable for the conditions. Not sure about that particular accident, but if you group ride correctly you always look where you want to go, not where you are. I can find some material if you wish and point you to it. The way we ride no one would ever consider losing sight of the road.
We also pay attention to the riding style of a new rider. If we feel he is exceeding his skills (we can tell) we discuss it with him and ask him to ride within his limits. It's not about going balls to the walls, it is about having fun on some of the most fantastic roads around.

ATGATT is All The Gear All The Time>
Boots
Riding pants (not jeans)
Riding jacket (not a street jacket)
Riding gloves (not driving gloves)
Full face or flip up helmet
ATGATT affords the most protection while participating in a very dangerous sport, every cage on the road is out to get us.
Standard gear for a motorcyclist, not a biker,whose gear may be tennis shoes, jeans, blue jean jacket and no helmet.

IN GSR we have had quite a few accidents, several with skilled riders, most with folk who exceeded their skill level. I personally have witnessed two. Both riders were exceeding their skill levels and I saw it way before it happened. I told myself, this is not going to be good, and both times I helped pull the bike off them.

I would like to add that if folks don't want to ride any twisties that is fine also. This is a group thing, and I will go with whatever everyone wants. It is just that the area we will be in has some of the finest roads in Indiana and I thought folk would welcome the opportunity to have a bit of fun. It was only a suggestion.
Thanks

I will have momma on the back with me not that we dont like twisties. I am up for a ride through the countryside for sure.

That's kool. I am certain that we can find some gentle roads where we can see some interesting things like covered bridges, quaint villages, that sort of stuff without getting into anything radical.
Thanks for responding.

I love carving it up but with an 8" over arm it's a little hard to do.

andy9802gt wrote: I love carving it up but with an 8" over arm it's a little hard to do.

O.K., you lost me. What is an 8" over arm?