1. Carefully plan the ride and ride the plan. Riding in a group involves lots of motorcycle riders. So, it needs to be well organized, including a map of the route with designated fuel and lunch stops, and phone numbers for contacting the group leader and emergency services. Before the ride, there should be a pre-ride meeting to discuss the route conditions, riding formation, hand signals, rider skill levels, speed and other things. And inform every rider that they are expected to follow the ride plan absolutely.
2. Make sure to have an experienced ride leader. The biker who is designated as the leader is responsible for leading the group and keeping every rider as safe as possible on the open road. This requires he or she to set a proper steady pace, know very well about the riding route and stops, keep the formation and so on.
3. Ready to ride. Bikers have to meet at the beginning point with a full tank of gas, an empty bladder, a motorcycle in good condition, full set of riding gear, a first aid kit, cell phone and a positive attitude.
4. Ride your own ride. Although riding in a group needs bikers to observe the ride plan, it is also important for motorcycle riders to stay within their skill level and comfort zone. If you have to drop out of the group to keep your own pace, just tell others that you need to drop back and will rejoin the group. For less experienced riders, they should ride in the front of the group, avoiding to play catch-up with the group.
5. Use established hand signals to communicate while riding. The hand signals that are already used are easy to be remembered by motorcycle riders.
6. Be courteous when passing other motorcycle riders. If passing other vehicles aggressively, road rage will be triggered. Show signal when changing lanes to pass another vehicle and be sure to maintain your pace after passing.
7. Check the bike behind you regularly. Every biker should regularly check his or her rear view mirrors to see if they can see the next bike in the group. If there is no sign of the bikes behind you, slow down for the bikes to catch up or ride back to find out what happened.