Passing protocol for slower group riders on two lane

I learned a lesson many years ago while riding with a dear (now departed this life) friend in the mountains of western NC. We would be riding on some narrow back road and run up on a slow car, with nowhere to get by. Stop, feet down for a few minutes, then roll again with no obstruction in front of us. Sometimes we would have to stop more than once.

You can also use this without stopping. A few weeks ago 3 of us were SB on FM149 after a long day of riding and caught up to 4 HD's around the churches. When they didn't turn off on 1375 I slowed to about 20mph while watching for approaching traffic from the rear. After a few minutes a vehicle was catching us so we resumed our fun pace and didn't catch the HD's until the fairgrounds. We had a good ride and didn't upset the other guys.

SL350 said:

Some of the congestion, large group or just traffic, is part and parcel of Texas today. It's not just Texas; there are too many vehicles on the roads most everywhere these days but then you get the open roads with no one there but you from time to time and that makes it all worth it.

Lots of us remember driving or riding late at night on empty highways with bright lights on. And some of us remember riding, lights off, under a full moon on empty highways. I invite your attention to TX/LA 110 East of Merryville, on which there's a stretch with no "ground clutter" lights for a goodly way. On many bikes it's not hard to do a bit of re-wiring to "fix" the lights so that they operate as doG intended. On others, it's impossible (or simply not worth the hassle).

Same for state parks, who ever had to have 6 months advance reservations? We just went and signed in. The state's bigness is now limited to far west Texas and the Big Bend region and even those are booked much of the year. Yup, it's sad and I do not envy my G-sons the "lives" they'll be forced to live after I'm gone (not that I have anything to do with it - y'all know what I mean). Knowing what I now know, I would not want to have a "do over" from, say, age 20 these days. I grew up (was "jerked up?") during the absolute best time to do so, the 50s, 60s, and, to some extent, the 70s. IMO, it's all been downhill ever since but there are still places where one can ride, essentially alone in the middle of the night, and reach back in time and touch some of that glory.

I remember turning US 181 into my personal Autobahn on my Kawa triple days. Carved up east Texas pretty good too. The only others on the road were stray cattle.

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Too many people in too small a space these days. I figure I only have a dozen or so years left and think I'll be sorta glad to go when it's time. I sure as heck ain't gonna be sniveling and crying and spending every dime trying to get just one more tortured breath. I'm thinking fastest bike I have and biggest tree I can find, appropriately juxtaposed, but who knows if I'll have the sack for that when the time comes? Of one thing I am sure: there'll be none of that high-buck vegetable-ism with the leeches sucking for every penny I have.

L'Chaim!!

Not to mention The HEAT! Its hotter than a Three Alarm Fire!

I've been passed twice on a motorcycle by another motorcycle in my own lane, and once by a car. I wasn't crazy about it, but the bikes did it in a reasonable manner. The car was a total jerk, and I wonder if he even realized what he was doing.

But if you're okay with lane splitting...

Bines said:

I've been passed twice on a motorcycle by another motorcycle in my own lane, and once by a car. I wasn't crazy about it, but the bikes did it in a reasonable manner. The car was a total jerk, and I wonder if he even realized what he was doing.

But if you're okay with lane splitting...

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Lane splitting while traffic is stopped, or almost stopped is quite different than the same maneuver at 50+.

garfey said:

Of one thing I am sure: there'll be none of that high-buck vegetable-ism with the leeches sucking for every penny I have.

L'Chaim!!

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+1

I get passed all the time. Not seeing it coming is the only thing that sets my teeth on edge. That's only happened once or twice, though. I have gotten caught in the middle of a big bike pack due to traffic light changes and it was not fun. At all. When it comes to passing, we need a long windup and a tailwind.

Basically, "don't be a jerk" seems to be a pretty sound policy whether passing or being passed.

garfey said:

Too many people in too small a space these days. I figure I only have a dozen or so years left and think I'll be sorta glad to go when it's time. I sure as heck ain't gonna be sniveling and crying and spending every dime trying to get just one more tortured breath. I'm thinking fastest bike I have and biggest tree I can find, appropriately juxtaposed, but who knows if I'll have the sack for that when the time comes? Of one thing I am sure: there'll be none of that high-buck vegetable-ism with the leeches sucking for every penny I have.

L'Chaim!!

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I can understand how you feel. For some of us life isn't worth living, much less carrying on. For some reason I came from a quiet read about 45 years ago that suicide does not fit in with my belief system, so I'm cursed to wait and endure the suffering. I might be a bit jealous.

As for passing, I've been on both sides of that yellow line. You and your drunken buddies keep me up all night with your straight pipes and air horns in violation of the facility's posted rules don't whine when you and 51 of your buddies' Harleys get passed on one of the country's most famous "motorcycle roads" by an old fat guy on a TW200. Thanks to the sport biker witness who pled my case to the sport bike crowd resting at the west end overlooks and generated a physical threat (lots of pointing and laughing) to 50+ fashion models (though I very easily could have made an escape through the Smoky Mountain National Park).

As for what bothers me most on the highway is I usually cruise low traffic sections at 65. Most folks run on the limited access highways at 70. When a school bus passes and pulls in front all the parent chaperones rush to get past me, behind the bus, only to find their entire convoy is now bumper-to-bumper, so they all slam on the brakes. Idiots. Wait your turn behind me until there is room for you in front. I ride a 250cc bike at the most. If you can't see the school bus in front of me you shouldn't be driving, anyway.

Buellboy said:

This morning on my ride through the Forrest I encountered
multiple groups of HD riders on a curvy two lane (FM149).
The smaller groups (10 or less) are easy to pass, the larger
groups (20 or more) seem to be at least 10mph less than
the posted speed limit (55mph) and almost impossible to
pass without breaking "into their group" which appears to
upset them greatly. Anyone have an idea that does not
require a sport bike rider to become "part of their parade"?
These groups do not seem concerned that they are blocking
the normal flow of traffic on these curvy 2 lane roads for miles.

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the last sentence makes it very nearly impossible to pass without getting into the GROUP. good luck.

i've been riding the hill country for years, two three times a month.
the thing i noticed, is that the old farmer and the old lady see a motorcycle in the mirror and the first thing they do is look for a place to pull off the road. i see them pulling into driveways, caliche ranch roads, anywhere they can get off the road, just to let the motorcycles go by, yet there are pissin contests amongst the motorcycle community. (does road hog come to mind?)
imo leos should issue citations for this dangerous, immature behavior that puts people in jeopardy. (that is why leos are out there. (also revenue)).
(i like harleys,hondas,suzukis,kawasakis,yamaha,allstate,cushman,mustang,islo,calaveras, even the new reverse engineered chinese dual sport)

If I'm just out riding and the road is really good I'll pull a uewy and head to other direction for a couple of miles or until I see another train approaching then uewy and continue on my original course.

There was a group headed to the Horny Toad in Gap and I had to do this on 1238
twice to avoid catching them.

Now traveling I would have to resort to other measures.

Buellboy said:

This morning on my ride through the Forrest I encountered
multiple groups of HD riders on a curvy two lane (FM149). Anyone have an idea that does not require a sport bike rider to become "part of their parade"?

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Really simple solution: Ride a quicker sport bike, ignore their ludicrous parade etiquette, and or get a pair.

Just saw an article in the MONTGOMERY newspaper
about some "improvements" to FM149 to clear trees
and add shoulders in some places to prevent the many
deaths the road has experienced lately by motorists
"running off the road" and "hitting trees". The article
discussed the death of my buddy Roy who hit a truck
mirror near the Lake Creek corner on his green Zx14.
They showed the green cross his relatives put behind
the guardrail to commemorate where Roy landed after
his high speed impact with the F250 truck in the corner.
I would like to dedicate this post to Roy hoping some
thing said here will diminish the chances of another
high speed impact in a corner between a biker and a
truck. RIP Roy...

There are some bushy and bumpy curves all through the metroplex. Be careful everywhere.

Buellboy , sorry to hear about your friend Roy May he Ride In Peace - MR

I try to ride cafefully and make clean passes. In most cases it is a speed limit and not a speed minimum, but if they make it hard for me to pass, I have to decide how much risk I am willing to accept for a given situation. It's not the numbers in their group, it is the ones who "wobble" and "fifty-pence" their turns that worry me. I'll give those noobs a wide berth.

I've had full patch riders get offended that I have passed them, but as a "civilian" to the bike clubs, I'm not required to know the "rule" and they are not supposed to hassle me. That said; I have only a few get miffed enough to chase after me. Usually I pass fast enough to turn slowpokes inside-out, so imagine my surprise when someone was game enough to give chase. Oh happy days, I laugh at their folly. I lead them to their doom.

Exactly! The two incidents where "leaders" of the parades tried to turn my pass into a street race somehow didn't go around the next curve at the same pace as I did. In Colorado I was at the next town, seated at the restaurant on the patio and as my food came to the table the parade rumbled into town with a very long tail of cars and trucks that could not pass.

It's not just fellow riders that get caught behind these large groups.

In the Big Bend incident I was on a 60 horsepower Versys, so getting around after they twisted throttles up was not as clean as the other event. The curve following the straight was a nice sweeper so there was space as they braked for it. On the next straight I heard the rumble of open pipes and open throttles approaching from behind, but it was a short enough straight that the next curve impeded them passing me back. I let the quiet twin breathe deeply on the curve and kept her huffing for the next 50 miles or so. Saw that group at breakfast the next day.

Heh-Heh, Ed that is awesome!

18 wheelers. Love the stuff they deliver, but I will pass them all at once and quite deliberately. Don't hang around next to the rolling building.