Group Riding, Peer pressure and how your actions affect others PART II

[pkpk]

Even though he wants to, Paul can't say whether or not Hope felt any pressure (I believe I would have).....

Well for the record, if Hope felt any pressure, she did a good job not conveying it and it never even occurred to me that she might felt pressure.  I think she should be proud that she kept 11 males in locked formation behind her 250 for over 100 miles.  I thought it was a great ride and a hoot down in those caves. 

[vince]

Is there peer pressure on rides, you bet there is. I have never been on one that there wasn't some at some point in the ride.

On Hope ride there was peer pressure. She just didn't show it to those that don't know her. But it is there for her or any one that puts a ride together. She was under pressure to make sure we were there on time. That we had a place to buy gas and food. To make sure everyone had a good time and we didn't get lost. Putting this all together was not easy for her. Ridding the bike was the easy part. The event turn out great and I know she liked doing it.

For me is there peer pressure, sure. I don't what others to fall. So I keep the bike behind close by. If he falls back I slow my pace. I didn't even know the word pace until I meet Ray. When I started group ridding we got together by phone calls. So this meant that we knew each other well enough to know what the other could do. But we still had crashes and there was one almost every ride. Sad isn't it.

I don't know what I am really trying to say because it is 1 in the morning here at Mt. McKinley and the sun never goes down. But I can tell you there is a skill to leading a group ride and there is a skill to following on a group ride. I think we just need to limit the number of new rides to just a few so they can learn how to stay in check.

I am still learning that is why I go on ZG rides. Lol.

[Hope2Ride]

Leading the cave ride and girls ride last year there was some pressure yes but it didn't keep me from having fun and enjoying the rides. The cave ride specifically we had a very tight time schedule. The caves were far away and only did tours at certain times and if I had lead a group of riders all the way down there and missed the tour I would've felt really bad. Once we made it to the second cave on time it was a huge relief and more relaxing. Having everyone follow behind me wasn't bad at all. Like PK said everyone who came stayed in formation and no one did anything stupid so I'm very happy with those who came for making it a success.

Leading the girls rides (and other rides) I do sometimes feel pressure but do my best to let it go and just enjoy the ride. At times I feel like who ever is behind me is watching how I ride and judging me and depending who that is, sometimes I care about what they think and sometimes I don't care. I get criticized all the time for being a slower rider and that my bike is "only a 250". As a mother of 3 and a critical care nurse who has had countless patients involved in motorcycle accidents I'm fine with being a "slow" rider. It seems as though everyone else has the problem with it. I started riding in my 30's and have nothing to prove to anyone, I'm just having fun. I'm not a 20 something guy who rides likes he's invicible. I'm a mother of 3 who rides like I have a family to go home to. This is why I don't like group rides anymore. I ride in the back and let everyone go ahead and ride how I feel comfortable without having someone riding on my ass trying to push me to go faster. Sure people have to wait a couple minutes but so what. No ride leader has ever complained to me, not even on ZG rides. I don't care to be in the middle of the pack either. Quite simply I don't trust those around me that I don't know well and if something happened with another rider close to me it can put me in a bad position so I'm content hanging out in the back and I have to say I've observed a LOT of stupid things in just the couple years I've been on my own bike.

From another perspective, when I read the title of these threads about peer pressure one thing to came to mind right away is these young immature guys always having to be faster than any girls. I'm not talking about when riding in formation like the cave ride. A good example is a ride I was on last year. There was a newbie, a younger guy, on a 600. I started out in back like usual and was riding my usual pace. So we get to the twisties and I find myself right behind this guy and wanting to go just a little faster then he is. I followed him for a while but it was clear he was new and not going to speed up and I didn't want him to feel like I was pressuring him at all. So I go ahead and pass him. The first straight away we get to he cracks open the throttle and pulls away ahead of me. Well like I said he wasn't that fast so again in the corners I catch up and again pass him when it's safe. What does he do? You guessed it! First straight road he's gone again. His ego just couldn't allow him to be behind a girl and the last rider in the group so he started riding (surely above his abilities) to avoid that. I wasn't interested in playing games with that idiot so I just stayed back and kept my distance waiting for him to crash. Playing his back and forth game was quite frankly ruining the fun of the ride. I think that's around the time I started doing less group rides and just going solo or with only 1-2 others. He was clearly feeling some pressure and I didn't want to be a part of his douchebag riding style.

I think it's a normal human reaction to feel some pressure when leading others and just being part of a ride. Like Lloyd mentioned no one wants to be the one holding people up or get lost, etc... Of course riding the only 250 and being a slower rider in a group I feel pressure. I don't feel pressure to keep up but I don't want others waiting 10 min at every turn either. But I do try to alleviate some of this. I try to know where I'm going so if you want to leave I can. I keep maps of MN and WI under my seat and have gone riding solo enough now that I feel pretty comfortable I could find my way home if I had to. Also knowing who I'm riding with and how they ride if helps so there are no surprises. And I stopped caring so much about what others think and ride my own ride. It's simple but not always easy. I admit I'm only human and sometimes it bothers me when people who I think are friends complain but I've learned to accept it for what it is and as long as I'm having a good time that's all that matters    I think if people believe they are sooooo much better and such superior riders than me then instead of bitching about me behind my back they should offer advice or constructive criticism. Thus far Lloyd and Vince are the only two who have ever done this and I appreciate the feedback and have learned from them both.

[Elk]

Great approach and attitude.