A group ride is about all riders looking at the ride in the same way, group of bikers having individual fun without disturbing others or their ride. This happens when all riders know the ride plan, the route plan, the pace of the ride, the fun part in the ride, things to watch out for and most importantly know each other.

A group ride should ideally have a road captain, very important, he/she can be an experienced rider, or someone who has been to the region of the ride, or someone who has done the maximum planning for the ride and knows all the details.

The road captain can lay down the basic rules for the ride, the day wise distance to be covered, rough night halts, the weather condition, the kind of terrain, once all interested riders go over the details, each one will have a fair idea of how the ride is being planned and if that's the kind of ride they would enjoy being part of. It is at this stage that all confusions regarding the ride plan and day wise breakdown should be cleared, discussions about the same on the road are irritating.

Before the ride starts, all bikes should be in a condition to negotiate the terrain of the ride, breakdowns not only delay the ride but are also irritating, some can't be avoided but a basic service and change of old spares should avoid repairs on the road. Each rider should carry basic tools and spares with him.

Depending on the region of the ride and the time of the year, each rider must carry "The trip essentials" for e.g thermals, warm clothing for North, rain gear waterproofing for ride down south etc.

Blood Groups, emergency contact numbers of all riders and their co-riders should be known to all. Sometimes we only have cell numbers of fellow riders which is of no use in an unlikely case of an accident.

Once on the road, either the road captain or an experienced rider should lead the pack, the rider leading should have a fair idea of the route. The pack should ideally be tailed by another experienced biker who has loads of patience and some mechanical knowledge, he comes handy in times of breakdown.

To avoid confusion, none in the group should overtake the lead or stay behind the biker on the tail. The biker tailing should keep the bike's headlight switched on at all times during the ride. This helps the rider leading the pack to take a turn or diversion knowing very well that none of the riders in the group are missing. If the head and tail bikes keep on changing in random order, it gets difficult to keep track of all riders especially in a large group.

Another way of riding in a pack is - to decide after how many kilometers the riders would meet, this system allows all riders to ride separately and the way they want to and meet with the rest of the group at a pre-determined spot. In a day's ride three places can be marked on the map with a certain time frame and each rider can work his way around the schedule taking brief stops where ever he likes, but reaches at the pre-determined spot/ meeting point in the given time frame.

Lot of theories about the safe distance one should have from a fellow biker on the road, it depends on the speed you are travelling, the road condition, traffic and most importantly how well tuned are you with the rider ahead of you. I'll rather use a bikers instinct than a theory here, each rider knows about this space through experience or instinct, but a good 20 feet of distance is ideal.

I don't vote for hand signals to co-riders for overtakes, each rider has his own judgment and others shouldn't influence it, let them negotiate an overtake or a corner using their own judgement and skill. This also ensures that the rider in front does not break his concentration to make a signal. However hand signals should be given to alert the co-rider of a pothole or an obstacle on the road.

On a long ride, distance to be covered in a day should be according to the terrain, weather conditions and the speed of the slowest rider in the group. There is no point in stretching a day's ride to keep up with the paper schedule made before the ride. Covering 700 Kms in a day, waking up late the next and only covering 300 doesn't make sense, dividing 500 Kms over two days is a better option. Start early and finish the ride at sunset, riding in a pack in the night is again a confusing affair, practise it only if the situation demands.

For knowledge about the road conditions, traffic and places to stay always ask the locals, if the locals take 2 hours on a particular stretch, you'll take more unless you're in a rally. Judgment of time on strange roads should be calculated using local experience.

Never force a rider who is tired or sleepy to ride on, a 15-20 minute rest, a hot cup of tea or cold soda sprayed on the face should make him feel better. Even after that if he's not up to it, let him rest and call it a day.

Night halts should be chosen carefully, places with enough parking space for the bikes, safety of vehicles and luggage. A place with ample rooms for all riders especially one bathroom for 2-3 people or a open space to accommodate all :o) If staying in a strange city, inquire about the exit route to the highway in advance as there might not be many locals to guide you early in the morning. Also tank up fuel before the night halt.

Keep atleast one rest day for every 4-5 days of riding, fatigue levels increase by each passing day, no one's is as fresh as they were when the ride started, a day away from the bike and the road helps one unwind, relax and raring to go the next day.

In India, best time to ride is early morning, best and swift ride plan for a group ride is to start early and finish the day's ride before dark, keeping a tab on fellow riders in the dark is confusing, finding a place to stay and eat in certain regions of India after dark is again a problem.

A group ride is best enjoyed when all riders know very well about the ride plan and the pace of the ride.

Avoid joining group rides just for the sake of safety and security, instead ride alone, in worst case scenario, u'll have nobody to help you, in case of a breakdown, but that experience will teach you more about travel and biking, it is any day better than riding with complete strangers without knowing why we as a group are on the road.

A ride is not about sitting on the motorcycle and riding it to different places, if we say riding is about freedom, breaking free, then riding is about the mind and not the body.

 A well planned group ride can give you a lifetime of memories through common jokes, incidents and moments of crisis, on the other hand a badly planned group ride will be irritating and one will never get motivated to go for next ride in a group.

So What, How and Why these are very essential questions, one must ask before planning a Group Ride.