Los Angeles DGR

[Gone in 60]

Gone, you're an ornament to the CB1100 universe.

Wow, Cormanus, that is a very lofty statement. Thank you, sir! Sorta reminds me of the time a lady in Portland called me a Pretty Bowling Ball.

I was just proud to represent the CB1100 on the ride, and got quite a kick when the guy checking me in for the ride was fawning over my bike.

She did get quite a few admiring looks. The ride is always a cool scene with very fun people. I started chatting with a guy who brought his Enfield Interceptor, saying "Hey, I have one of those too", and adding the obligatory "So, has anything on it gone wrong?" I got a very reassuring reply that in 13k miles it's been reliable, and further conversation with him and his friend, who brought a '76 Lambretta scooter, revealed that we're all friends with another group of guys who ride vintage bicycles. Small world. 

I hate to dis on my own local ride so much, but once it hit nearly 300 riders, simply posting the ride route online and saying "good luck, ride safe, we'll block the first couple of intersections for you" is a recipe for unsafe riding and a lot of angry drivers. The L.A. ride had 15 escort riders, most of whom were on BMW RTP bikes. I chatted up some of them, as they had some interesting farkles on their bikes that I'd like to try on our fleet of blood bikes, like comfy seat covers, etc. These guys did a fantastic job keeping 472 riders together and safe. They'd block intersections ahead of us, and once most of the escorts had dropped to the back as the riders passed, a lead escort would stop the group, allowing stragglers to catch back up to the pack, while the escorts caught back up to the front of the group and we'd resume. With that kind of control, there was no need to post a ride route, as we were in a protected group, and the iconic areas of West L.A. that we passed through became surprises for the riders. I loved it.

It was much safer and less frustrating than being in a clump of maybe 30 uncontrolled riders, trusting that the guy up front knows where he's going, and being broken into smaller groups as we'd hit intersections, with some deciding to charge through a red light whlie others hung back... After hearing me quibble over all of this, the L.A. ride host told me "You gotta do the L.A. ride, you'll have a better time", and he was right. Made for a longer ride up and back to get there, but hey, just more enjoyable riding!