Motorcycle Club - Honda Sport Touring Association

RIDE RULES.

1. Must have an emergency contact card filled out and or on file.

2. Must attend rider briefing at start of ride.

3. The ride leader is in charge of the ride and will enforce rules. Sub-groups will have a ride leader and will be in charge of the sub-group and will report to the ride leader.

4. Do not pass the ride leader unless motioned to do so.

5. Ride in a staggered formation, except for curves (no tamdum riding)
On straights, we ride in a staggered formation with at least a 1 to 2 second gap between the person ahead of you. DO NOT CROWD THE RIDER IN FRONT OF YOU!!! If you are all over the back of the person in front of you, you need to go ahead and pass them when it is safe. The staggered formation is only required for straights. When we hit the curves, we ride single file with 2 to 4 seconds between riders. You take whatever line you think is best to get you through the corner without crossing the center line.

6. Do not pass in the same lane. No passing in turns.
If you are behind a slower rider, pass safely on the left. It is preferable that they know you are coming so you look for that rider's acknowledgement or the old �wave you around.�

7. Speeding is done at your own risk!
Sure we all ride a little quick at times. Most of our ride leaders run radar detectors, but nothing's fool-proof. If you get a ticket, that's your gig, deal with it. If you come upon group members that have been stopped, keep riding and find a place to stop farther up the road. LEO's are not going to be thrilled if a lot of other bikes start pulling up.

8. No stunts.
This means no wheelies, stoppies, burnouts, etc!! We do not want to attract undue negative attention. Beyond that, you'll simply be asked to leave the group if you can't keep from acting the fool.

9. Ride your own pace!
I know you've all heard this before. Take it serious!! Picking people and their bikes up out of ditches, following you to the hospital, having to call your house and speak with your wife/child/friend is NOT FUN!!! You will not get left behind. We stop the group at all turns in the route so we can regroup. It is rare for the group to wait more than a minute or two at most even for the slower riders.. The ride leader will not continue until he gets a thumbs up form the last person to arrive.

10. No booze!
Plain and Simple. We do not tolerate drinking until the end of the day when we are off the bikes. May sound kind of strict, but that's the way it is.

11. If one gases up, we all gas up!
This rule bugs some people. However; it will never fail that a few people will wait to get gas because they don't need gas yet. Before you make that call, run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, check with the Ride Leader for distances to the next stop.

12. Passing other traffic.
We expect you to pass other vehicles in a safe manner. This does Not include passing through a corner on the double yellow! If the bike in front of you passes, DO NOT assume it is necessarily safe for you to pass as well!!! Remember, we don't want every car we pass to be pissed at motorcyclist because we are obnoxiously sucking their doors off at 30 mph over the limit, try 10 mph, then dust them. This is Texas, give a little wave and thank them for not running you over.

13. Keep track of the rider behind you.
Never make a turn from one highway to the next without the rider behind you seeing your turn. This is simple and it works. While on the road, you should be checking your mirrors every time you get done with a set of curves to make sure the person behind you has come through without incident. The idea is to make sure no one gets left behind as a result of mechanical issues or a accident. If you turn around to rescue the rider behind you, then the person ahead of you will eventually turn around, and so on, until the whole group comes back. We will do whatever is necessary to get all bikes and riders home.

14. Breaking away from the group.
There will be riders that need to cut the day short for whatever reason. If you are one of these riders, you need to make sure that the ride leader knows you will be leaving and when. This is important because otherwise, it will be assumed that something bad has happened to you and there is no need to worry friends and family needlessly!!!

NEW RIDERS TO THE GROUP.

We're all about bringing new folks along on our rides. There are lots of benefits to group riding and with that comes the responsibility to act in a mature manner. Enjoy yourself, by all means, but we're just getting to know each other, so let's start at the beginning.

Rule #1 is safety, so we're going to ask you to do a few things for us, and for yourself. At your first ride, we'll ask you give us some basic contact information, it will include any pertinent medical information, just in case. Your Ride Leader should provide a card to fill out and he'll keep it. We don't use that information for anything other than what it's designed for, to help your fellow riders help you if they need to.
Most of the HSTA members have been riding in this group or with each other at regional events for a few years now. They already know how each other rides and they know what to expect from others in the group. We prefer to break into 2 groups with 3-6 riders in a group. The first group is for advanced riders with significant experience riding high performance bikes. The second group requires an intermediate level of experience and the pace is a bit slower, but generally up to 10-20mph over the posted limit, though we don't encourage speeding, especially within the city limits. Many of the regular riders actually prefer this pace to the 1st group and you'll find a high level of experience here as well, but not the pace.
We think every "first-time-with-this-group" new rider should ride in second group at least once, that being your first ride. If you feel you'd like to move to the front group on your second ride, by all means, move ahead. However, there is no shame in returning to the second group, or waving faster rides around you. You are encouraged to ride your own best pace, where you feel most comfortable. We leave our egos and the race mentality at the house, we hope you will too and just "ENJOY THE RIDE."

DISCLAIMER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY.

I understand that the Honda Sport Touring Association cannot assume responsibility for any aspect of my safety and that if I participate in any Association event, I do so voluntarily on my own assessment of my ability, the routes, and all facilities, and conditions, assuming all risk; and I release and hold the Honda Sport Touring Association, its officers and members, harmless for any injury or loss to my person or property which may result there for. I also certify that I am in compliance with my state's financial responsibility laws regarding the carrying of proper insurance.