Bikers ride out stopping traffic

[TheBALDpuma]

I was walking through a North Yorkshire village yesterday and a long chain of bikers came through, the first one coming out of the t-junction and sitting in the road stopping traffic until the whole group of maybe 30 or so riders had gone through.

Is this something that riders do!? To me it was just arrogant and dangerous if you encounter a driver who just wants to continue on his right of way rather than being stopped by a group of fat old men who think they're Hells Angels.

[Smoggy XJR]

I've seen it done for a bikers funeral but not for a ride-out,

[Weso]

If they were on Harleys the guy stopping the traffic would be a 'road captain' or something equally cringey.
Bunch of throbbers imho.
That's why I always ride on my own, that and I don't like people much.
Wes

[andburg]

a common tactic with big group rides so the group doesn't get lost or broken up

1 to lead
1 to ride at the back
others to block

without the blockers you could end up with a lot of spread, need top keep the front and rear in radio contact really.
Last thing you want on a group ride is somebody losing touch of those ahead and making some dodgy moves or coming off trying to catch back up.

[dundarach]

Seen it a few times, seems like a good idea to me.

[TheBALDpuma]

andburg said:

a common tactic with big group rides so the group doesn't get lost or broken up

1 to lead
1 to ride at the back
others to block

without the blockers you could end up with a lot of spread, need top keep the front and rear in radio contact really.
Last thing you want on a group ride is somebody losing touch of those ahead and making some dodgy moves or coming off trying to catch back up.

By a similar extension then it's okay and sensible to do it on large car outings too?

[RizzoTheRat]

andburg said:

a common tactic with big group rides so the group doesn't get lost or broken up

1 to lead
1 to ride at the back
others to block

without the blockers you could end up with a lot of spread, need top keep the front and rear in radio contact really.
Last thing you want on a group ride is somebody losing touch of those ahead and making some dodgy moves or coming off trying to catch back up.

I've never seen that, it's quite common to leave markers at junctions though, first bike leads, second bike stops before the junction to mark the turning for those following, and slots back in again ahead of the back marker. Works well but should be pulling up in a place that's visible to the following bikes but not obstructing traffic.

I have seen big charity rides (eg the Reading Toy run with 2000+ bikes) where a couple of police bikes at the front stop the traffic, and then moves ahead to the next junction while a non police marshal remains in the position until the whole lot have gone through.

Any group of bikes stopping traffic themselves for thier own group run are a bunch of tts rather than a group of a bikers IMO,

[KurtFlew]

Seen Harley riders doing this at a big 4 way junction in Liverpool. Basically stopped everyone else and went through on red.

Must have forgotten they're in Merseyside and not San Diego.

[SlimJim16v]

Selfish, entitled s

[andburg]

TheBALDpuma said:

By a similar extension then it's okay and sensible to do it on large car outings too?

not saying i agree with it, but yes logic says if you wanted to take 30 cars along a route only 5 of them knew you'd be best operating a similar principle.

I'd be peeved if i was on a main road and was waiting for 30 cars to come out but its even harder to keep 30 cars together, they cant stagger and ride off centre so would take up twice as much road as bikes.

[RizzoTheRat]

Getting split up and spaced out a bit it the best part of a group ride. The lead bike needs to go slow enough people can keep up, so you either all end up in a boring procession behind them, or you all get spread out a bit over several junctions and have a bit of a more interesting ride catching up. On group rides of 30 or so bikes I've spent several minutes stopped as a marker, meaning when you set off again you have a few miles fun before catching up with the pack. In decent group the leader only needs to keep one or two bikes in sight behind them so you can actually maintain a decent pace, although the leader does sometimes need to wait for another bike to catch them.

[Northernboy]

andburg said:

a common tactic with big group rides so the group doesn't get lost or broken up

1 to lead
1 to ride at the back
others to block

without the blockers you could end up with a lot of spread, need top keep the front and rear in radio contact really.
Last thing you want on a group ride is somebody losing touch of those ahead and making some dodgy moves or coming off trying to catch back up.

It’s a pity they aren’t on motorbikes so that they could safely overtake the cars when they get split up, rather than acting like cocks.

[Krikkit]

SlimJim16v said:

Selfish, entitled s

This.

Give everyone the route, agree that everyone rides for themselves and meet up at various checkpoints, e.g. pub at lunch.

[Prof Prolapse]

I've seen it once or twice at "Thunder in the Glen" in Aviemore.

I found myself held up and really didn't appreciate it to be honest.

[Northernboy]

I think I'd just ride around the bike holding things up if I saw this. Carefully, of course, I don't want to cause an accident, but on the other hand I don't want to be held up behind a queue of Harleys or the like either.

[black-k1]

It's a very selfish approach, especially as the group is generally going slow enough to then be in the way of the traffic that was stopped at the junction where they pulled out. For something like a funeral or a charity run (needs information to say that's whats happening) then it may be acceptable but not for a "social" ride out.

[KTMsm]

RizzoTheRat said:

Any group of bikes stopping traffic themselves for thier own group run are a bunch of tts rather than a group of a bikers IMO,

Agreed

I was horrified to see my back marker do it on an island when I was leading a newbie green lane run - but he is autistic so at least has some excuse

When I lead a run I stop after a junction to wait for stragglers and we limit runs to 10 to minimise disruption

[blade7]

Seen something similar during cycle races, except it was some throbber in a bib stopping traffic.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

For a proper cycle race, funereal or big organised charity run then fair enough but for a general social ride it's a bit unreasonable! Makes those involved look bad really.

[jock mcsporran]

This is stupid. Give everyone the route and wait at the junction till you see the guy behind you.
This is the sort of rubbish that reminds me why I don’t really ride in groups of more than a few of us. I can take a guess at the type of bike they were riding.