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13/10/2020 Winter is arguably the best time to go on a road trip, be it by a car or on a two-wheeler. If you have been postponing your road trips due to the pandemic, now is the time to get on with your plans and hit the road! Don't want to go the entire distance alone? Here is how you can plan a group trip with your buddies.
Study the weather patterns
The most crucial thing about planning a winter group ride is to find out how the weather is behaving and how it is expected to behave in the days to come. The last thing you want on the trip is inclement weather that forces you to return back home. Take a close look at the gaps that you are going to get in the season and plan your trip accordingly. There will be cancellations and replanning especially if you include a lot of members in the ride. So, make sure to keep the group size as small as possible so that all of you can align office leaves and prior commitments easily.
Explain everyone what to expect
Keep your liabilities as low as possible. You don't need anybody in your group who isn't perfectly fit to go on a winter ride because on top of the normal physical demands of driving long distances everything becomes a lot more challenging when the temperature drops. If you have somebody in the group who is an asthmatic or has joint pain problems make sure to explain that the cold temperature will throw additional challenges at them and if they are prepared to tackle it then include them in the ride otherwise, respectfully decline. Apart from these health problems, explain the need for good vision to the rest of the group as well because when the mercury drops fog and haze are common problems that are quite likely to affect visibility, more so if you are heading for the hills. Finally, make it very clear that every rider must have the right riding safety gears such as motorcycle helmets, jackets, boots and gloves.
Set small daily goals for the group
Unlike riding in spring or summer you cannot maintain an average speed of more than 50 kilometers per hour because of the haze and fog covering the roads, which will affect your overall progress during the day. Instead of pressurizing your group into riding faster and thereby endangering their safety, make sure to set small goals for the entire group and push on only if you have sunlight remaining for a little more time on the road. However, that also means that you will have to reschedule the place of stay, which isn't a good idea! Keep things simple and make sure to end the ride by 6:00 p.m., and settle down in the comfort of the hotel room by 7:00 p.m. This will allow you to start the next day's journey early and cover a consistent amount of distance single day.
Dealing with sudden weather change
No matter how much you plan, there is only so much you can do to defeat the will of the weather gods! If you find yourself in an unexpected inclement weather condition, make sure to stop the ride and put your group into the safety of a hotel room or a restaurant for the time being until the bad weather has passed over. You can resume the journey once the situation returns to normal. This is extremely important not just to keep your group safe and healthy but also to prevent accidents when it starts to rain or snow all of a sudden and people start running for cover!
Staying motivated
Riding in winter is quite challenging and therefore the group needs to be motivated at regular intervals. A smart way of ensuring that your group stays motivated till the end of the ride is to keep them entertained by stopping at interesting places for food or snacks and have a small photo session, or any other group activity for that matter, which will increase engagement among riders and also keep them interested about the journey ahead. A great motivator is to give them a glimpse of what is coming up next and why they should be motivated to reach their upcoming goals.