The Official Pune Offline Meet(G2G) Thread

[dineshsamtani]

Am IN...

Good...so we have a mumbai representative at the meet...he can brief us on the talks that happen today....

[TenHut]

How exactly did that happened, can anyone explain in short plz?

RSA founders n senior guys are very skilled in the art of riding & follows safety to their best. I know a few of them for quite a long now n never heard such incidents in their group, I guess the guy crashed was some new member. SAD news indeed.

CAUTION : WALL OF TEXT

If one had seen them cornering on Sunday one would have no doubt that they are skilled. I for one was observing them the first time and was baffled at the speeds they carried into corners.

But hang on ! They carried that speed into blind corners and corners which are on street.
Now we have seen how skilled motoGP riders are..but they do crash..
Now we have seen how skilled RSA or some of our xBHPians are...but they WILL crash.
The difference being the guys crashing at lavasa are crashing on a street. They are pitting their skills against an environment which has no clue what driving/riding is.

The mere possesion of skill doesnt bestow one with the right to go fast/rash on the streets. That right is earned only on the track.

Well Lavasa is the only place where am always suspicious n scared of cornering. I have seen the local crowd riding triple seat, cornering & at the same time going on the wrong lane. Even trucks/sumos/taxis overtake from the wrong lane n that too around a blind turn.
LAVASA for one is the most dangerous place to ride around & practice.

In the wee hours of the morning all these above mentioned elements are eliminated to a considerbale extent. That is the reason why riders ruin their sunday mornings and ride to lavasa at 5:30 am. Tbh...with markers and flags at very important corners every single turn can be taken with a ton load of safety...thats why when we go there we insist on having these.
A senior rider ALWAYS leads us and we ride only in one direction...ask anyone who rides with us.The same senior rider also trails us to see if we are crossing our lanes and doing anything dangerous. When there are safety demonstrations theres always a marker who alerts the demo rider to abort and call off his demo run even if a single local moped is sighted.
We have a very stringent documentation and gear check session early in the morning. Our leaders have ridden bikes of members who complained it wasnt riding well. These have then got ample feedback from the leaders. We dont have problems recognising the authority of our leaders. And the leaders arent dickheads to us.
If you ask me..yes...we are the safest and i dont need to wait for anyone to confirm it. We are safe cause we go to greeeatttt lenghts to ensure that we are safe. We dont claim safety cause we just think about it.
MotoMentors was formed for this one reasonn alone. Safety. Some are already being haters thinkign we are advocating speed. But ask any member who has ridden with us and he shall tell you how obsessed and paranoid we are with safety. Tbh its not much for xBHPians in pune as they are at par with safety standards. It essentially is for the newbies who wished for safer environment to learn quicker. newbies like myself had placed this demand to sagar and NV. Keep in mind that sagar or NV or the future guest leaders dont even charge money and expect no publicity in return either. So clearly the only motive they have in mind is SAFETY.
When we talk of practice what exactly are we talking of. Practing speed ? Or practicing body positioning and traction ? If ones practing speed then ones gotta a deathwish wirtten on the number plate. Its those guys who write "catch me if u can" on it.
But why not practice techniques which will only make me a safer rider. Sagar has been going to lavasa since aeons. Has he crashed ? Agreed he is a good rider but it doesnt even matter as he isnt riding at a level which requiers him to be good. Not at lavasa.

I dont think banning lavasa is any sort of solution at all. Citizens of Pune are blessed with lavasa...why not develop an understanding and enjoy it the way it is. Why curse lavasa for faults of our own.

I will never stop going to lavasa as not going to lavasa would mean I would quit biking too. I will strive to get an understanding amongst all the possible riders in Pune. Its an uphill task...but its worth my life.

[darkknight]

couldn't agree more to what rohan is reiterating again & again...

The same kind of lead needs to be taken across various locations of Xbhp & not limited to only a few ones...

even what happened during aamby valley is not to be taken lightly for there is a very thin line between no injuries & fatal injury...

The guy who fell down at Khopoli ghat could very well have gone over the cliff had his speed or angle or velocity would have been marginally different..

other observation is that all riders were 1st time riders in such a huge formation.Though they have admitted being carried off & having learnt their lesson now it is pretty much evident that safety aspect needs to be drilled in with more discipline & at regular intervals...

Mumbai also has so many senior experienced riders who can take the lead as taken by NV,sagar etc...heck we may jst ride to pune for such combined sessions...

[Technocrat]

RSA founders n senior guys are very skilled in the art of riding & follows safety to their best. I know a few of them for quite a long now n never heard such incidents in their group, I guess the guy crashed was some new member. SAD news indeed.

Hmm how many rides have you had with RSA to make that statement?

Yes the founders & initial members are indeed brilliant riders, but there have been many RSA rides where people have crashed badly.

Not a fault of RSA but the kind of riders it attracts.

Btw there have been xBhp rides too where people have crashed. So lets keep groups out of it xBhp, RSA & the likes have too many members(all types) to pass a blanket statement which is overtly positive or negative.

[TenHut]

heck we may jst ride to pune for such combined sessions...

I would pay money to realise this above dream of urs and mine. That last g2g made a lasting impression on my mind and am raring to ride with Mumbai guys..
Tbh I see good times ahead of us. This incident should usher us into a new era of safety and we could be at par with our western brethren.
Let us do all that we can to uphold the image of our riding fraternity and convince other civil cage rollers or riders out there that we arent organ donors.

Btw there have been xBhp rides too where people have crashed. So lets keep groups out of it xBhp, RSA & the likes have too many members(all types) to pass a blanket statement which is overtly positive or negative.

I concur.This will steer us into the right direction and lead to a constructive approach at solving the problem at hand as no one would be offended.

[is_dx]

Is full safety gear mandatory for being a part of g2gs here ? I wear a good cross helmet but no jackets , knee pads , sliders , etc... Can I still participate ?

[inder.cool]

@ Rohan: All the points mentioned by you are very appropriate and can be implemented..but then that's just the theory part of it. When it comes to practical implementation of it .. no one does that, each and everyone have their own way.

To an extent we can only tell others abt the safety standards, rest its upto them to follow/abide by it. Let alone our pune xbhp gang..but there are a millions of riders who all go to lavasa every weekend/weekdays..how will u teach/tell all of them..? Moreover if u plan to have sessions to all the biking groups in pune..that wud consititue to not more than the 50% of the riders population going there.

P.S: I am not discouraging anyone from riding to lavasa, but i am just talking in favour of the safety of the group as whole. Also i feel/request that motomentors to stop their activities at lavasa, as its not a safe place for learning purpose. Rest is perfectly upto their decision.

[rohitlc]

Is full safety gear mandatory for being a part of g2gs here ? I wear a good cross helmet but no jackets , knee pads , sliders , etc... Can I still participate ?

u can come to MEETS which take place in pune. but no g2g. buy gear asap. we are not asking for Astars n all just buy knee,elbow guards,good gloves.and a decent jacket will do.

guards knee+elbow - 750/-
gloves - 850/-

[nav75]

u can come to MEETS which take place in pune. but no g2g. buy gear asap. we are not asking for Astars n all just buy knee,elbow guards,good gloves.and a decent jacket will do.

guards knee+elbow - 750/-
gloves - 850/-

How is riding to meets different than riding in g2g's? Asking because if safety during g2g is cared why not so during meets? After all during meet one rides in city = lot more traffic than g2g's, which are mostly out of city.
Also how about making sure members ride safely not just on an isolated stretch of road but also in day to day life, as that's where most of their time is spend riding and hence more chances of crashing?

Also, what about protecting one's ankle? In a fall, chances of it getting hurt is as much as knee or any other part. So a good shoe that can protect ankle should also be considered.

[TenHut]

@ Rohan: All the points mentioned by you are very appropriate and can be implemented..but then that's just the theory part of it. When it comes to practical implementation of it ..

I was not theory making. I was talking of the points that were already executed practically from day one. No theory..no Bullshit talk..actual implementation.

To an extent we can only tell others abt the safety standards, rest its upto them to follow/abide by it. Let alone our pune xbhp gang..but there are a millions of riders who all go to lavasa every weekend/weekdays..how will u teach/tell all of them..? Moreover if u plan to have sessions to all the biking groups in pune..that wud consititue to not more than the 50% of the riders population going there.

U r not getting my point or i aint gettung urs.
No one teaches anyone...we just work jointly...
plus the idea of creating a brotherhood and an understanding amongst the riders of pune is not to teach or tell them anything. Its to share the same concerns which even they have..bring like minded ppl together..and not just survive but also thrive in the scenario.

Also i feel/request that motomentors to stop their activities at lavasa, as its not a safe place for learning purpose. Rest is perfectly upto their decision.

after makin gear compulsory at xBHP rides show me one instance where we threw the rule out the window for the sake of convinience. New Riders were sent back home snce they didnt have gear. I dont see that implementation is being a pain in ass for us riders. Coming up with awareness is the culprit. One has to believe that it is risky to take the consequences seriously and understand the gravity of the situation. implementation is simple with us as we aint a dictatorship and one single soul cant go against the collective opinion of multitudes of riders. If he does he falls out of xBHP rides.

Motomentors and xBHPian ( whats the difference ?) i believe has already put their rides to lavasa on hold. But not for good...only untill a memorandum of understanding is reached with other riders..Again...for learning purpose...lavasa is a good place...if u r learning to speed up then u r right. But we sit on our stationary bikes for a good 2 hours too and discuss our issues and weaknesses. Perfectly fine !

I see the glass half full.

[TenHut]

How is riding to meets different than riding in g2g's? Asking because if safety during g2g is cared why not so during meets? After all during meet one rides in city = lot more traffic than g2g's, which are mostly out of city.

to ride to our in city meets some memebers are only stretching their arm and they reachthe venue..some stay and sleep at roopali :P
Given the traffic it is assumed one is not speeding in the city. people are coming over directly from office and stuff.
Now take inter city rides. Highways and cream roads like NH4. Its a different ball game alltogether and these are essentially group rides.
And mind u..even for city meets although its not a must for practicle reasons like office etc 98% of the members are geared. its just that it aint mandatory.

Also, what about protecting one's ankle? In a fall, chances of it getting hurt is as much as knee or any other part. So a good shoe that can protect ankle should also be considered.

We are just toying with the minimum requirements which are not expensive and easy to come by. Basically the rules are aimed to enable as many riders as possible to join in for xBHP rides while being considerably safe. Even the students who are usually short on cash can join xBHP rides. I have seen ppl even lending gears if they have extra at home. Other than that...if u get kevalr armour and full suit..nothing better than that. Can we make that a must ? dunno..dont think it will work.

[shrinathrao]

After reading what rohan wrote and what other senior members i feel having a discipline and respect for other fellow commuters or riders on the road should be prime and speed should be secondary for all of us who ride and keeping this in mind we can educate lots of other idiots also who think the road belongs to their dads.

rohit nice suggestion for RVM.

[nav75]

to ride to our in city meets some memebers are only stretching their arm and they reachthe venue..some stay and sleep at roopali :P
Given the traffic it is assumed one is not speeding in the city. people are coming over directly from office and stuff.
Now take inter city rides. Highways and cream roads like NH4. Its a different ball game alltogether and these are essentially group rides.
And mind u..even for city meets although its not a must for practicle reasons like office etc 98% of the members are geared. its just that it aint mandatory.

Sorry but I don't agree to this. If one is promoting safe riding, it has to be in all environments. Be it riding to college, riding to office, riding to in city meets or riding outside city limits for fun.

We are just toying with the minimum requirements which are not expensive and easy to come by. Basically the rules are aimed to enable as many riders as possible to join in for xBHP rides while being considerably safe. Even the students who are usually short on cash can join xBHP rides. I have seen ppl even lending gears if they have extra at home. Other than that...if u get kevalr armour and full suit..nothing better than that. Can we make that a must ? dunno..dont think it will work.

In camp at a store that sells army stuff, one can buy a not so good looking but effective in protection (vfm, I say) shoes for as low as 500 bucks.

[rohitlc]

How is riding to meets different than riding in g2g's? Asking because if safety during g2g is cared why not so during meets? After all during meet one rides in city = lot more traffic than g2g's, which are mostly out of city.
Also how about making sure members ride safely not just on an isolated stretch of road but also in day to day life, as that's where most of their time is spend riding and hence more chances of crashing?

Also, what about protecting one's ankle? In a fall, chances of it getting hurt is as much as knee or any other part. So a good shoe that can protect ankle should also be considered.

shoes are also mandetory i forgot that..my bad.
at meets ppl DO wear safty gear its just that Guards are not mandetory.and every one of us in city rides way slowly than in lavasa.i personally think one can ride in city without Knee and elbow guards. some time it so happens that ppl come directly from office and carrying guard there is inconvinient so we have not made them mandetory.join us some time u will come to know...

[trustvishwas]

How is riding to meets different than riding in g2g's? Asking because if safety during g2g is cared why not so during meets? After all during meet one rides in city = lot more traffic than g2g's, which are mostly out of city.

Your point is absolutely valid. It is recommended that every rider should wear all safety gear while coming to meet. However, it is not mandatory and riders are turned away from meets simply because, some may have come directly from their office or from some other places where they couldn't carry their gear. Out of city rides are different because the speeds are much higher than city average speed of 20kmph. So riders are turned back if they are not wearing full gear and not carrying complete documents of bikes.

Also how about making sure members ride safely not just on an isolated stretch of road but also in day to day life, as that's where most of their time is spend riding and hence more chances of crashing?

This point is well taken care of by theory/demo/practice sessions of motomentors. Motomentors does not teach how to speed. In fact, last sunday session was about effective use of brakes in different scenarios viz. riding over oil, braking in wet, braking while going downhill. These sessions help in becoming an overall better rider.