Pros Reveal Life-saving Insights at Eagle Leather.

Pros Reveal Life-saving Insights at Eagle Leather

October 26, 2012

How do you ride in groups?
Side-by-side, offset or in a train?



She went on to say “I learned [from Chris Johnson] that it is possible to take a bike out of a slide. Jon German added: “[I] learned about rolling off of the throttle instead of quickly shutting it down. Plus I enjoyed the demo on how to correct a breaking skid.”

“[It was] good info.” Gordon Bellevue said. “[It] reinforced my satisfaction with the heated and rain gear that I own. Perhaps if I had attended something like this years ago, I would not have gone through so many inferior sets before I found what works well. “

Offset is Best for Groups
Bret Tkacs says when you ride side-by-side you eliminate every opportunity you have for safely recovering from a problem. "You eliminate your cushion."

Chris Johnson added that with proper offset riding and more space, you feel safer and enjoy riding more.
For example, Tkacs explained, if the guy next to you has a blowout, chances are you are both going down. If the guy behind the one with a blowout slides a bit to try to avoid what's happening in front, he's probably going to take out the guy next to him.

He said it's very easy to fall into a group mentality when you are out with others. We tend to lose sight of our regular riding techniques because we subconsciously think, well if everyone else is doing it, I can too. But the fact is, when you let your thinking slide that way, you put yourself and the people you are riding with in danger.

Offset is the best way to ride in a group. It preserves the rider's cushion, and the ability to react and respond to the issues that we face on the road. But keep in mind, even in an offset formation, you must preserve a safe amount of distance when riding at higher speeds. Even with the mandated "2-second" space, there's not a lot you can actually do in that 2 seconds on a bike. Increase your following distance to 4 or more seconds to give yourself optimum reaction time.

And in the rain, expand that distance even more. Slippery surfaces require more room to stop and maneuver.

The overall experience at the clinic? Bill Johnson said “Great presentation and thank you all for putting it on.” Phoebe Thompson went on to say, “I loved it. It wasn't the first time I had been there [at the Auburn store] nor was it the first time I had purchased items either. The staff is ALWAYS helpful at both stores. The giveaways were really impressive, too! This was the first class I had taken through E.L. and would take more.”

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