local memorial ride (terrible!)

I went on a local memorial ride last weekend and is it me or are people confused? I mean it was to remeber some friends and couple of them died in a drinking related event. Now we meet in a bar, all the stops are in bars and as I sit there drinking a dew I wait to get the ride started and they are doing shots allready
I like to drink :beermug: and I like to ride :moped: my scoot, but come on people there is a limit. right?? What is your view on this?? :cheers:

I went on a local memorial ride last weekend and is it me or are people confused? I mean it was to remeber some friends and couple of them died in a drinking related event. Now we meet in a bar, all the stops are in bars and as I sit there drinking a dew I wait to get the ride started and they are doing shots allready
I like to drink :beermug: and I like to ride :moped: my scoot, but come on people there is a limit. right?? What is your view on this?? :cheers:

It's nuts and I'm guilty of it too! In fact I crashed doing it. Go figure. We all seem to ride bar to bar and before ya know it ya had a bunch to drink, never mind shots. In our group I can't hang with the drinkers, it just gets me in trouble. But self disciplain is my problem to work on.

I think you got it right. A lesson was presented, but it seems only you got it. It has to be each to his own though. I would draw the line at any close or formation riding with someone who is impaired. It's one thing to make a poor choice and splatter yourself on the cement and another to take someone else with you who did nothing wrong. So don't let yourself get pressured into doing something that isn't worth it in the long run. You were right to just drink pop.

I went on a local memorial ride last weekend and is it me or are people confused? I mean it was to remeber some friends and couple of them died in a drinking related event. Now we meet in a bar, all the stops are in bars and as I sit there drinking a dew I wait to get the ride started and they are doing shots allready
I like to drink :beermug: and I like to ride :moped: my scoot, but come on people there is a limit. right?? What is your view on this?? :cheers:

In 2003, according to the NHTSA,36% of mororcyclists involved in fatal accidents had a blood alcohol content(BAC) over .01%(only a beer or 2), with 29% over .08 BAC, the legal limit in all states.

Operating a motorcycle requires mental sharpness and the physical ability to process information and send an appropriate response to our muscles in the form of quick action.

Alcohol slows our reaction time, reducing our ability to respond to hazards.

Alcohol in any amount can reduce our judgement and visual capabilities, limiting our ability to shift visual focus from objects in the distance to those directly in front of us.

Alcohol, more than any other single factor, can rob you of your ability to ride safely and think clearly-even after just one drink.(1 beer, 1 shot, or 1 glass of wine.

(I copied the above from the summer of '05 issue of the H-D Enthusiast magazine. It's about time H-D adresses the problem.)

The biking community, alas, seems to be more and more oriented towards drinking and riding. Heck, some people even call their bikes "barhoppers". Sad.

My view is we don't drink ANY alcohol during our rides and we don't ride with people that do. It's like playing Russian Roulette or, if you're a sky-diver, getting impaired, then packing your parachute. Motorcycling is, in and of itself, way enough fun to be enjoyable without booze on the ride.

I think Ya did the right thing, myself. If Ya ride safe, I think there's a much better chance you'll ride long.
Bob

Unfortunately, I can't think of an organized ride that we haven't started and ended at a bar.
My wife and I rode the Flood Run on Saturday and on the first two stops we split a beer. One guy we were riding with didn't have a license because of 3 DWIs, and was drinking, and another friend was pounding double Captain and Cokes all day. I don't really know why most people need to get buzzed to enjoy riding.
:crazy:

I know why JFN, and I have to prelude this rant with a disclaimer that I don't approve of drinking and driving, whether in a cage or on a bike. But:

Personally, I am a very uptight individual. I ride very stiff and almost "scared" when I'm totally sober. Put a beer, or a shot in me, and my lines become smoother, my leans less drastic and my overall control of the bike more comfortable. I talked in another thread about not being comfortable on my Sunday breakfast ride yesterday. I honestly think it was because I had to much coffee and my nerves were on edge.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that drinking makes me a better rider... not at all. I wouldn't dream of getting on a race bike with even a sip under my belt, but on the road I feel smoother in the curves and more relaxed with my motions rather than stiff and uptight if I've had a beer or two. Motorcycle riding is scary business, and for me, a beer calms the jitters.

I used to ride shitfaced all the time. If I could crawl to the bike, I could ride it. I don't do it anymore. After a bud came by and picked my bike up off of my sorry blacked out ass when I dropped it in my parking lot trying to park it, I gave up drinking and riding as a serious hobby, but I'll still have a beer or two for nerve control.

It's bad, I don't deny it, but honestly, I can't ride military formation *without* a beer in me, because my nerves just won't handle it. Riding side by side two feet apart at 50 MPH on windy twisty mountain roads is something that my straight uptight personality just can't comprehend. After a beer or two, it seems natural.

Like I said, I'm not claiming alcohol makes me a better rider, but it does relax me enough to get over my natural inclination to think that there is something just wrong about being stuck out on a stick of metal with nothing to protect me from that car heading at me at a 100 MPH closing speed (both of us doing 50 mph each in opposite directions) on a narrow strip of asphalt.

We were out for about 10 hours on Sat. and I think I had 5 beers. At 235 pounds I'm not to worried about 1 beer every 2 hours but man, some of the other guys I was worried about. We stopped at 4 bars and 1 of the guys had at least 2 doubles at each bar. He got his bike and license 2 years ago so he was the least experienced in the group.
His wife is actually the most experienced rider and never batted an eye about how much he was drinking so I just gave him a wide berth on the road.

Sorry to say, but the bar to bar thing seems to be part of the biker culture. I get it, but I don't get it at the same time. I don't ride if I've had more than one beer. I sure wouldn't after several shots. But it seems to be the macho thing, and no one seems to try and stop it. We tend to do the DQ to DQ ride, but man the pounds can add up in a summer. But I won't ride with a group of drinkers, let me know where the destination is, and I'll meet them there. Ride hard, smart, and live for the next ride.

Bluesjammer :guitar2:

Unfortunately, I can't think of an organized ride that we haven't started and ended at a bar.
My wife and I rode the Flood Run on Saturday and on the first two stops we split a beer. One guy we were riding with didn't have a license because of 3 DWIs, and was drinking, and another friend was pounding double Captain and Cokes all day. I don't really know why most people need to get buzzed to enjoy riding.
:crazy:

It's getting to be an epidemic. My office manager's brother just started biking a year ago, on a brand new Dyna. Just laid it down a few weeks ago. Didn't get hurt, but messed up the bike pretty good. He was leaving his 6th barroom and didn't make the turn from the parking lot to the road. He said it wasn't from the drinking.

It's a shame that, as you said, most organized rides center around bars. I don't get it either, although I sure ain't lily-white. I drank and rode for about the first 10 years of riding, but the last 25 have been with no booze. We did stop for boiled crawfish once and I had an O'Doul's. They don't taste too bad.

Sorry to say, but the bar to bar thing seems to be part of the biker culture. I get it, but I don't get it at the same time. I don't ride if I've had more than one beer. I sure wouldn't after several shots. But it seems to be the macho thing, and no one seems to try and stop it. We tend to do the DQ to DQ ride, but man the pounds can add up in a summer. But I won't ride with a group of drinkers, let me know where the destination is, and I'll meet them there. Ride hard, smart, and live for the next ride.

Bluesjammer :guitar2:

I agree.
Bob

Hogsteeth, I doubt if any one could stop for mudbugs without the brew, be it near or full load to wash them down and cool the buds! Five pounds equal 5 brews in my book. I think it's time to stop for a few hours and sight see the cajun landscape after and before getting back on the road if it ain't "near" though! I can stop for a refreshment after a couple hours but it'll be a couple more hours before the next one!

"Hogsteeth, I doubt if any one could stop for mudbugs without the brew"

I hear that. Do ya haul your bike around in your RV?
Bob

Naw, Spouse hauls it in trailer behind Jeep. Need second vehicle to run around in. My tow truck is a fuel guzzler and can't tolorate the Wally World parking lots. Besides the separation is comfortable, I listen to my music and she does same!
Joe

"Besides the separation is comfortable, I listen to my music and she does same!"

I can relate. I love my OL, but we each enjoy solitude...together.
Bob

My observation in 50+ years of riding is that most rides seldom have a destination, and consist mainly of general wandering about. Maybe that's why bars end up being stopping points. Discount dept.stores, building supply centers, fast food joints, etc. don't seem to fit into the picture. :bottle: :2cents:

Iron-eater, I more than understand your feelings on this...I have done way too many memorial rides for dead brothers that got killed because they rode drunk....It is sad.
I am a recovered alcoholic...My goal in life was to drink the equivalent of Lake Huron in whiskey...and I damned near did it, before I took a flying leap at a tree with my new Monte at 90 + mph....That woke me up, where dropping my bike or forgetting to put my feet down didn't. In fact those special moments only gave me something to brag about in the next bar...friggin' stupid, right?
Now I ride in the Christian Motorcyclists Association...don't get me wrong here...I am still as much a hard core as I ever was...just found a better purpose for myself in life, and I in no way am I trying to influence others to join...
One thing we do for memorial rides, instead of a poker run from bar to bar...which we still do a lot of because we go on a lot of rides and events with the clubs and secular biking crowd, is called a steeple chase. We start from a church and ride from church to church, pick up your playing piece just like a poker run and end up at a church...along the way there are eats and refreshments , coffee, water, pop...and a chance for the riders to reflect on the person who the memorial is for...I know some won't be comfortable there, but it is a bit more sensible than getting trashed and becoming the next memorial ride. Besides we don't do a sermon or preach during these chases.
I have seen brothers and sisters stop the bull shit that accompanies most drinking and actually get teary eyed as they remembered their friend and later thank us for staging a ride that truely honored their brother or sister.
We do funeral escorts and even have a tricked out sidecar that holds a casket so we can escort the fallen rider to his final resting place in the true fashion we believe he would want to go in...I can not believe that anyone that has died from a drunken driving accident would want us to do the same damned thing that got them killed...that is no way to honor your comrade.
There are more options than there are reasons to go bar to bar...believe me, I know.
I spent 28 years of my 36 years of alcoholic maddness in and out of rehabs trying to learn how not to get drunk...it came down for me to just quit drinking altogether...I am not recommending that here...I am only relating that I know a bit about it, and what can become of it....I hope you'll continue to be smart when riding and leave the booze for later. There's always a time and place that's right for it....

Hey Dude

We have a group of bikers here in Port Charltotte, Fl called Mean & Clean. The group was originally started up in Saugus, Ma. It's been around for over 20 years. We meet on Tuesday nights. It a group of guys, ( guys only ) who like to ride in the wind free from drugs and alcohol. It you are interested in finding out more. contact me.

Neil Figueredo
3308 Depew AVe
Port Charlotte, Fl
941-380-8886

Hey Dude

We have a group of bikers here in Port Charltotte, Fl called Mean & Clean. The group was originally started up in Saugus, Ma. It's been around for over 20 years. We meet on Tuesday nights. It a group of guys, ( guys only ) who like to ride in the wind free from drugs and alcohol. It you are interested in finding out more. contact me.

Neil Figueredo
3308 Depew AVe
Port Charlotte, Fl
941-380-8886

iam one of those originals from the saugus group , kept my ass alive back then i was with them for long time, had to earn your wings to ride , had a hell of bunch of great guys there ,

I like to ride on different occasions (benefits, memorials, etc) but it does seem like the only places most rides go to are out at the bars. Some of the places I have ridden to though have been nice out in the country and a lot of people will normally just have 1-2 drinks but others go off the deep end a little and I do worry someone will get hurt one day or killed.

I use my own self control and drink water at some stops so matter of self discipline and what yo ucan personally handle but others don't know their limits or don't worry about limits and that's scary to ride around. Most of the group of people I have ridden with tend to give each other space on the road and I generally like to ride in open space and not side by side as too many variables to that and none of them very good.

I am pretty much a lone rider usually at back of the pack or a lot of open space but feels much safer that way and (knock on wood) still livin and breathin without any serious raod rash so works for me. Others have to choose their own paths and what they can handle.

Sportycat