I want to talk today about our Riders, and how they have developed in their skills and confidence over the past six days. Run For The Wall, and the Midway Route in particular, has a unique way or style of Riding. Most of our Riders have done some form of group and/or formation riding with their local HOG clubs, Patriot Guard Riders, VFW or American Legion Riders, or the ever-present “poker runs.” They often say before day one that “I ride with a group a lot.” or “I am a ride captain with my chapter.” But what most of them haven’t done is ride in a group AND a formation for hours on end, day after day for two weeks. They also probably haven’t used the rigid form of hand communications that RFTW uses. Many have never ridden side-by-side, and certainly not at highway speeds. I was the same when I first started riding with Run For The Wall.
But boy, did I learn how to ride that first year!
First and foremost, everything that we instill in our Riders is for their safety, the safety of those around them, and the safety of the general public. Afterall we are sharing the highways and byways with the rest of America. We have to deal with angry truckers that are just trying to make a living. We have the people that are just in a hurry and don’t want to wait. (Lots of cars will pull directly into the pack, squeezing between the platoons or sometimes entering directly into a platoon.) We have to ride through all but the most severe weather. Why? Because it isn’t easy to find a place to pull over and park 300+ motorcycle. Also, we have time commitments, not only with our destinations, but also with Law Enforcement Agencies that sometimes escort us. If we are too late, they will have to leave us to our own devices to get through some of the major cities. So with all of these considerations, we ride “RFTW Tight.”
We don’t leave too much of a gap between the individual Riders. No, we aren’t crowding each other. Each bike has plenty of space to operate safely. But what we DO require is that each rider maintains his/her place in either the left or right track of the lane. If you aren’t familiar with this idea, think of an automobile on the road. The two left tires are in the left track, while the two right tires are in the right track. That’s pretty simple, right? However, for the riders that aren’t comfortable doing this (maintaining and operating in that 4-5 foot wide space), it can be quite daunting. We maintain our tracks, so that people aren’t switching from left to right, which could cause an accident, or at the least make the other riders around you a little nervous so that they slow down.
What happens when a rider slows down? The person behind that rider has to slow down. Imagine how long of a “footprint” we would have if 100 bikes all had to slow down. We already stretch out over a mile when things are running smoothly. Make that two or three miles, and then you get those angry truckers! Our Road Guards and Platoon Leaders do their best to keep the pack “tight” and this includes the spaces between the platoons. We want to allow enough room for traffic to change lanes as they need too, but not by cutting into the platoons. So we leave a gap of about the length of 1-2 semi tractor-trailers. It isn’t an exact measurement, but almost everyone on the highway can easily spot that opening. But then again, if we leave too much space, then more and more vehicles will try to “cut through.” This is not a safe activity for anyone!
Again, our Road Guards, Platoon Leaders, and the “Tail Gunners” (riders at the back of each platoon that are looking for upcoming traffic) work together to assure safe lane changes, proper distances between platoons, and between the individual riders.
As I said before, this can be pretty daunting to our new Riders. In fact, during the first few days, it is not uncommon to hear the FNGs talk about how harrowing the experience has been, and how uncomfortable they are riding this way.
But by the time we have gotten through day three or four, these same riders are keeping their intervals, maintaining the tracks, passing along the hand signals, and actually starting to enjoy the riding portion of our Mission. The change that comes over them is amazing to see! Each year, in my own case, I come away from the Run with even more skills and confidence, and I know that our FNGs will do the same. And when they get back home, many of them will tell their ride captains, HOG Group Leaders, and other riding organizations just how professional, safe, and efficient riding “RFTW Tight” is. In fact, I sometimes cringe when riding with other groups because I am so used to riding in a regimented and safety-conscious manner.
“RFTW. It changes you, Man!”
And today was such an amazing display of all these new skills, and the precision riding that we have been developing. I rode in the “Chase Truck” today to give my sprained ankle time to heal. (The Medics told me that I would NOT be riding today, but that I HAD to be in the Chase Vehicle. Remember, Safety is our number one priority!) As the Route Photographer, I am frequently catching up with the pack, riding ahead to take pictures, and then catching up again. Several times a day! I am always amazed at the view of 300 motorcycles in a tight formation riding down a lonely stretch of highway. And when they get to a curve, the light glinting off of all that chrome as the riders lean in to it is just spectacular. Well today, I had the opportunity to take a lot of photos of this. Everyone wants to ride in the front of the pack, and I hope that they will get that chance. But I also hope that everyone will take the opportunity to ride in the back of the pack. Not only are the views unbelievable, but THIS is where those skills get sharpened. It’s a little tougher riding back there, but the experience is so worth it!
And that is what we did today. We rode, in tight, precision formations for 300 miles to get to Cookeville, Tennessee. This is our “home away from home” on the Midway Route and we love coming here. But that is tomorrow’s story!
Cheers!
Jim “Hoofer’ McCrain
Midway Route Photographer and SITREP Author.
You can see a few more of today’s photos at this link. Be sure to check back about a month after the Run, as I will be adding hundreds more for each day.
