| WHATCHATHINKIN'' |
Shira Kamil
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.....Recently I was having dinner with a close friend and the conversation turned to riding groups and their dispositions. His opinion was that there is a definite hierarchy, whether established or just sort of random. No matter the size of the herd, there will always be the select few who are looked upon for leadership. They may not volunteer or even want this position, but nonetheless, it falls on their shoulders.
.....Over the years I have been involved with some riding groups and have observed very many more. I absolutely understand this theory. There are several styles of riding groups; the crash of large, organized and established clubs, the mustering of smaller, less formal groups and the murmuration of haphazard ‘let’s go for a ride’ friends.Without a doubt, the larger the group, the more structured the decisions seem to become. There are elections, officers, dues and actual meetings to discuss the activities, future and past. As the size of the group diminishes, so does the orderliness.
.....Let’s put it in native American terms; there is a tribe of riders who, every weekend, look for a place to ride their motorcycles. Over time, this tribe has developed a string of destinations with which they are happy to follow. These destinations may have been found by one or two members of the tribe and, with these findings, they have become the information gatherers of the tribe. They may not be the same person/people who actually make the choice on the destination; that would fall to the elders of the tribe, who are actually willing to make a final decision.
.....I’m sure that you’ve been a part of this at some point in your riding career; the conversation goes something like this:
Rider A ‘Where are we going this weekend?’
Rider B ‘I don’t know, where do you want to go?’
Rider A ‘Let’s go south.’
Rider B ‘Nah, we went south last week, let’s go west.’
Rider A ‘There’s nothing good to the west, let’s go north.’
Rider B ‘What’s north? All the good roads are south.’
Rider C ‘We’re going to Point X Café via my route - follow me.’
Riders A + B ‘Cool, never been there, let’s go, I’m hungry.’
.....Being part of Backroads, and having put on rallies for the past 10 years, I am fully aware of the need for a pecking order. From the very first rally in the Finger Lakes, where we had 10 people foolishly follow our lead, there seems to have been a ritual established. About a month before the rally, we’ll start to get emails and calls to see where the meeting spot is for the ‘group ride’ to the destination. Sometimes we have one, sometimes we don’t. It really depends on how far the final destination is and what our schedule is. In the beginning, we did our best to accommodate. However, over the year, friendships have been made and subgroups have been formed. Thusly, our role as ‘elders and leaders’ has taken a step down in this stage of the riding. Like-minded riders and compatriots make their own plans and get there on their own, having found an information gatherer/diviner to lead.
.....When there is a group ride offered, we adamently suggest folks break into smaller quivers of riders. Invariably, as soon as Brian and I put sidestands up, we have 10 or so bikes behind us and, in about 10 minutes, have lost half of them. We all end up in the same place at the end of the day; no harm, no foul.
.....If you happen to be part of a rhumba of riders who has no apparent leader, why not step up to the plate and assume the role. There’s no need for absolute dictatorship, just a gentle nudging and some good ideas for places to go and things to see. We have a rafter of GPS routes available for download from our website, which makes your job that much easier.And with our Moto-Inn listings, you can choose from any number of motorcycle-friendly eateries and lodgings who will be glad to see you pull in.
.....We all know that just tooling around on your bike is a great day, but sometimes having a particular spot to look forward to for a bite to eat or just to stretch your legs and enjoy the scenery makes it that much better. Be the tribe elder, make that decision. As Ty Webb said in Caddyshack, ‘Be the ball.’
.....For those who question my use of ‘group’ names, let me take a word from Brian and edumacate you. It’s a rhumba of rattlesnakes, a rafter of turkeys, a crash of rhinos, a mustering of storks and a murmuration of starlings. If you’d like to see the rest of these more than interesting names, point your webshooter to www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.
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