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Everyone attending any bike meet must read this and keep these points in mind . There was some dissatisfaction felt by some of us over the riding habits of some participants .
Riding tactics :
Staggered arrangement is best - military jets fly that way for a reason . That way , you can see ahead of you , you ge extra room to manoeuvre and you avoid the turbulent air caused by rider in front .
Always ride in staggered formation ( two bikes diagonally wth 2-3 ft between handlebar tips and , keeping 50ft or more between two bikes )- this gives room for error and possible room for emergency manoeuvres , such as avoiding a patch of oil or debris , a rider in front may stray into your path .
Always ride with even gaps , avoid riding in close groups unless in slow dense traffic . If you must speak to someone else , approach him slowly , keep speed low enough to hear properly , raise you visor .
Safety first :
Big vehicles are notorious for disregarding safety of smaller vehicles , especially bikes . Be ready to shift gears , brake ans swerve for unrelenting buses/trucks hell bent on overtaking even after you honk and flash your headlights . They may go to jail , but you may die or worse be permanently hurt .
Overtaking :
Always overtake leaving sufficient gap laterally between yourself and the vehicle you overtake ( to reduce effect or turbulence and have room for emergency manoeuvres ) , and after overtaking , join back in the left lane with plenty of room ahead of the overtaken vehicle .
As a rule , do not overtake in corners where you can't see well ahead . Do not overtake over rises/crestsas you may not be able to see traffic across the crest . Do not overtake in thick traffic , you may misjudge speed/distance with no room for emergency manoeuvres .
Do not overtake in close groups , but overtake either one at a time or if overtaking as group keep a gap of 50ft or more in order to make room for braking and error of judgement . Following someone closely can result in a crash if the front rider has misjudged the distance or time and brakes abruptly . Also , front rider judges distances and time for himself , not for you , so while he might overtake before opposing traffic reaches , the following rider may directly collide with oncoming traffic .
Do not overtake fellow riders abruptly and closely , keep 3-4 ft gap between the tips of the handlebars/mirrors of the 2 bikes . Flash your light to signal your overtaking manouevre . Overtaking others too closely or too fast may surprise them and cause them to lose control , also the air around moving objects flows turbulently and may cause instability .
This is India , the land of inattentive , careless truck and bus drivers and macho SUV drivers . Use horn liberally to awaken these sleeping giants and warn them of your presence while overtaking these behemoths and flash your headlights .
Stopping :
When stopping , signal your intention to stop by hand signals , and stop slowly , not braking hard . You may need to stop for various reasons other than scheduled stops , such as pee breaks , to attend a phone call , to deal with a possible bike problem such as puncture , to fill fuel , or mechanical breakdown .
Avoid stopping alone , if someone else stops , preferably stop with him .
Before any trip , plot out several stopping points if necessary . Do not take turns at junctions unless the riders behind can see you are taking a turn . else you may turn while the others proceed in wrong direction unaware that you have turned elsewhere .
Tracking :
Track your rider buddies in front and behind by mirror . If your follower does not appear for long intervals , say 2-5min , then slow down or stop and wait for him . If your follower rider(s) do not arrive after 10 min , inform other riders who have gone ahead of possible problem and return back to search for riders left behind .
Object avoidance :
You may be required to swerve suddenly to avoide obstacles such as oil patches , rocks , sand , gravel , potholes other road debris such as glass . Preferably , if possible safely , raise your left or right hand as applicable and point to it so that riders behind you see it in advance and can avoid it with less abrupt manoeuvres .
Riding order :
The first rider is called lead or leader , last rider is called drag or trailer . These two should be the most experienced riders preferably .
Always ride at a speed the slowest bike/rider is comfortable with . Never put the slowest bikes last . Inexperienced riders or slower bikes should be kept in the middle so that those behind can track them and tell them their mistakes later and no one gets left behind .
The 2 riders at the last should have mobile phones ,as any need to stop , they must be able to inform the others else they will get left behind . Anyone who does not have cell phone should be kept in the middle or front . The rider in front is responsible for setting the speed , so stay at a speed suitable for road and traffic conditions .
Do not speak on the phone while riding !
Hand signals :
Use hand signals for stopping , slowing down , to indicate hazards , to show your intention make a turn , to either speed up or slow down as necessary .
Turns :
It is turns that makes bikes exciting , but caution pays dividends in terms of saved skin , blood , pain , hospital bills and ego . In roads you are not familiar with , do not speed into corners as they may hide objects such as stray rocks , sand , gravel , oil , potholes . Even good surfaces may hide irregularities that may destabilize your bike . Corners are notorious for tightening midway thru' a turn , forcing you to make abrupt moves .
Tree shadows may hide potholes and speedbreakers or other objects like rocks .
And : NO STUNTS while riding together, especially when everyone is bunched up close . Shooting videos may look cool , but is dangerous . Even experienced stuntmen may lose control sometimes , and take someone else down with them .
Save the stunts for safer location and eager audience .
I also noticed that people were spilling onto the roads when Soulreaper and others were performing their stunts . People on the roads gives stunters less road to manoeuvre and decreases safety margin . Also there were too many stunters performing at the same time . This increases the chances of a collision and audience can only concentrate on one stunsman at a time !
So : audiences STAY OFF THE ROAD and ONE STUNTMAN AT A TIME !
That is all I can compile for now . If anyone else having more ideas or additions , please add them .
Live to ride , ride to live !
Ricci Revhard
Riding tactics :
Staggered arrangement is best - military jets fly that way for a reason . That way , you can see ahead of you , you ge extra room to manoeuvre and you avoid the turbulent air caused by rider in front .
Always ride in staggered formation ( two bikes diagonally wth 2-3 ft between handlebar tips and , keeping 50ft or more between two bikes )- this gives room for error and possible room for emergency manoeuvres , such as avoiding a patch of oil or debris , a rider in front may stray into your path .
Always ride with even gaps , avoid riding in close groups unless in slow dense traffic . If you must speak to someone else , approach him slowly , keep speed low enough to hear properly , raise you visor .
Safety first :
Big vehicles are notorious for disregarding safety of smaller vehicles , especially bikes . Be ready to shift gears , brake ans swerve for unrelenting buses/trucks hell bent on overtaking even after you honk and flash your headlights . They may go to jail , but you may die or worse be permanently hurt .
Overtaking :
Always overtake leaving sufficient gap laterally between yourself and the vehicle you overtake ( to reduce effect or turbulence and have room for emergency manoeuvres ) , and after overtaking , join back in the left lane with plenty of room ahead of the overtaken vehicle .
As a rule , do not overtake in corners where you can't see well ahead . Do not overtake over rises/crestsas you may not be able to see traffic across the crest . Do not overtake in thick traffic , you may misjudge speed/distance with no room for emergency manoeuvres .
Do not overtake in close groups , but overtake either one at a time or if overtaking as group keep a gap of 50ft or more in order to make room for braking and error of judgement . Following someone closely can result in a crash if the front rider has misjudged the distance or time and brakes abruptly . Also , front rider judges distances and time for himself , not for you , so while he might overtake before opposing traffic reaches , the following rider may directly collide with oncoming traffic .
Do not overtake fellow riders abruptly and closely , keep 3-4 ft gap between the tips of the handlebars/mirrors of the 2 bikes . Flash your light to signal your overtaking manouevre . Overtaking others too closely or too fast may surprise them and cause them to lose control , also the air around moving objects flows turbulently and may cause instability .
This is India , the land of inattentive , careless truck and bus drivers and macho SUV drivers . Use horn liberally to awaken these sleeping giants and warn them of your presence while overtaking these behemoths and flash your headlights .
Stopping :
When stopping , signal your intention to stop by hand signals , and stop slowly , not braking hard . You may need to stop for various reasons other than scheduled stops , such as pee breaks , to attend a phone call , to deal with a possible bike problem such as puncture , to fill fuel , or mechanical breakdown .
Avoid stopping alone , if someone else stops , preferably stop with him .
Before any trip , plot out several stopping points if necessary . Do not take turns at junctions unless the riders behind can see you are taking a turn . else you may turn while the others proceed in wrong direction unaware that you have turned elsewhere .
Tracking :
Track your rider buddies in front and behind by mirror . If your follower does not appear for long intervals , say 2-5min , then slow down or stop and wait for him . If your follower rider(s) do not arrive after 10 min , inform other riders who have gone ahead of possible problem and return back to search for riders left behind .
Object avoidance :
You may be required to swerve suddenly to avoide obstacles such as oil patches , rocks , sand , gravel , potholes other road debris such as glass . Preferably , if possible safely , raise your left or right hand as applicable and point to it so that riders behind you see it in advance and can avoid it with less abrupt manoeuvres .
Riding order :
The first rider is called lead or leader , last rider is called drag or trailer . These two should be the most experienced riders preferably .
Always ride at a speed the slowest bike/rider is comfortable with . Never put the slowest bikes last . Inexperienced riders or slower bikes should be kept in the middle so that those behind can track them and tell them their mistakes later and no one gets left behind .
The 2 riders at the last should have mobile phones ,as any need to stop , they must be able to inform the others else they will get left behind . Anyone who does not have cell phone should be kept in the middle or front . The rider in front is responsible for setting the speed , so stay at a speed suitable for road and traffic conditions .
Do not speak on the phone while riding !
Hand signals :
Use hand signals for stopping , slowing down , to indicate hazards , to show your intention make a turn , to either speed up or slow down as necessary .
Turns :
It is turns that makes bikes exciting , but caution pays dividends in terms of saved skin , blood , pain , hospital bills and ego . In roads you are not familiar with , do not speed into corners as they may hide objects such as stray rocks , sand , gravel , oil , potholes . Even good surfaces may hide irregularities that may destabilize your bike . Corners are notorious for tightening midway thru' a turn , forcing you to make abrupt moves .
Tree shadows may hide potholes and speedbreakers or other objects like rocks .
And : NO STUNTS while riding together, especially when everyone is bunched up close . Shooting videos may look cool , but is dangerous . Even experienced stuntmen may lose control sometimes , and take someone else down with them .
Save the stunts for safer location and eager audience .
I also noticed that people were spilling onto the roads when Soulreaper and others were performing their stunts . People on the roads gives stunters less road to manoeuvre and decreases safety margin . Also there were too many stunters performing at the same time . This increases the chances of a collision and audience can only concentrate on one stunsman at a time !
So : audiences STAY OFF THE ROAD and ONE STUNTMAN AT A TIME !
That is all I can compile for now . If anyone else having more ideas or additions , please add them .
Live to ride , ride to live !
Ricci Revhard
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