skibum69
Well-known member
Funny, I'm in Bath working for Kennebec Marine launching people's floats and ramps etc.
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The Art of the Ride Report
- Thread starter klaviator
- Start date
If you decide to do a ride report please post some pics of Bath for me.
Probably my favorite ride when I lived there was just heading down the peninsula South of Bath. I normally took the little back roads, not 209, and ended up at Fort Popham which I thought was one of the most scenic spots in Maine. I could easily ride down and back in about an hour. There were even some dirt roads. I wonder if they have paved them since then.
Passing thru the Bath area in the 1st week of june, having spent a few days up towards Dexter & Jackman. OTOH Its just over in NH but my favorite ride in the region is up from Gorham to Errol, along the Androscoggin- I usually get thru there in the morning having spent the night in Littleton. Those wide open valleys encourage the throttle 
Really like 201 up to Jackman also
Really like 201 up to Jackman also
I see you are from Maryland. I lived in Bowie for 3 years before moving to Maine.Passing thru the Bath area in the 1st week of june, having spent a few days up towards Dexter & Jackman. OTOH Its just over in NH but my favorite ride in the region is up from Gorham to Errol, along the Androscoggin- I usually get thru there in the morning having spent the night in Littleton. Those wide open valleys encourage the throttle
Really like 201 up to Jackman also
Southwest Baltimore here. If I had a magic wand I'd move to NH or Maine, someplace more or less coastal... I love riding up in the northeast.
When a ride report becomes more than a ride report.
If you read the rules about ride reports, either here or the other site, they are supposed to be about riding, not other stuff. The other site also says a ride report should have a beginning and an end. It's not supposed to be a ongoing blog. Take a look at most of the popular ride reports currently out there and you will see they don't follow the guidelines. Many ride reports go on for years and become a place to "hang out" for both the author and the regular followers. There is one ride report where the original OP no longer participates but it is still going strong because a bunch of people contribute to it and keep it going. It is probably the most active RR on the other site right now.
I haven't seen this happen yet on this forum probably because it is still too small and doesn't have enough people hanging out in Ride Reports. I haven't been on any site other than ADVr that had an active ride reports sub forum.
If you read the rules about ride reports, either here or the other site, they are supposed to be about riding, not other stuff. The other site also says a ride report should have a beginning and an end. It's not supposed to be a ongoing blog. Take a look at most of the popular ride reports currently out there and you will see they don't follow the guidelines. Many ride reports go on for years and become a place to "hang out" for both the author and the regular followers. There is one ride report where the original OP no longer participates but it is still going strong because a bunch of people contribute to it and keep it going. It is probably the most active RR on the other site right now.
I haven't seen this happen yet on this forum probably because it is still too small and doesn't have enough people hanging out in Ride Reports. I haven't been on any site other than ADVr that had an active ride reports sub forum.
Yinzer Moto
Well-known member
As far as the rules in our ride reports here, if something needs to be changed or if something is off putting, please speak up. This is a place where members are encouraged to help shape it. Just post a thread in the suggestions area or send a private message. If some posting happens that you do not agree is appropriate, please flag it. It is the quickest way to get our attention.
What is appropriate in a ride report? this is a motorcycle oriented site, I think the subject matter should be somewhat related to Moto travel but that is up for everyone to decide. If someone takes a week off the bike and does a car/truck tour, during much larger trip, that is probably fine. My seat of the pants opinion is if the moto tour ends and a 4 wheel tour begins (or hiking/horseback/etc) and the new mode of transportation takes up more than 20% of the report, then we are probably straying from the roots of the forum. I personally would not take any action without consulting members or other mods.
I am not sure how to feel about endless reports vs defined ending, I really don’t care either way.
It's ADVr with a rule about never ending ride reports but it isn't enforced so not a big deal. I don't see any issues with the rules here. I think ride reports should be mostly about riding but I don't see an issue with some non riding content. I did see some ride reports moved because of "too much" non riding content on ADVr and that seemed to be enforced unevenly although I never had an issue with my reports.
I'm sure everyone here remembers the show Cheers and the theme song for that show. Here are some of the lyrics:
… Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name
So what does this have to do with ride reports??
People come to forums for different reasons but I thing that for those who are really active it is because they found that place "Where everybody knows your name" That place in the forum is different for different people. For me on ADVr ride reports is one of those places. Ride reports isn't just a place to look at riding stories with pics and videos. It is a place I can interact with people I have gotten to know over the years through reading and interacting on their ride reports and their interacting on mine. I know there are many others who feel the same way. This only happens because ride reports are two way. If everyone just reads the ride reports, maybe leaves a like or two and never posts anything then ride reports will never be very active.
There are two kinds of ride reports that generate a lot of activity. First there are the really epic ride reports, think MetalJockey or Colebatch. The other kind are the ride reports that that are really long and generate a following. Not all of us are capable of doing a really epic ride report but most could do one that keeps going and gets people involved.
This same thing happens in other parts of the forum. For some people that place where "everybody knows your name" may be in one of the garage forums or anywhere else. On ADVr that place for a large percentage of people is JM or CSM. The thread where I see that happening here is the WR250R threadfest which is mostly a chit chat thread with little WR250R content.
The bottom line is that there needs to be some interaction even if it's off topic to get people involved in a forum. The people who come occasionally to get some technical info on a specific bike aren't what will make a forum active and growing.
… Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name
So what does this have to do with ride reports??
People come to forums for different reasons but I thing that for those who are really active it is because they found that place "Where everybody knows your name" That place in the forum is different for different people. For me on ADVr ride reports is one of those places. Ride reports isn't just a place to look at riding stories with pics and videos. It is a place I can interact with people I have gotten to know over the years through reading and interacting on their ride reports and their interacting on mine. I know there are many others who feel the same way. This only happens because ride reports are two way. If everyone just reads the ride reports, maybe leaves a like or two and never posts anything then ride reports will never be very active.
There are two kinds of ride reports that generate a lot of activity. First there are the really epic ride reports, think MetalJockey or Colebatch. The other kind are the ride reports that that are really long and generate a following. Not all of us are capable of doing a really epic ride report but most could do one that keeps going and gets people involved.
This same thing happens in other parts of the forum. For some people that place where "everybody knows your name" may be in one of the garage forums or anywhere else. On ADVr that place for a large percentage of people is JM or CSM. The thread where I see that happening here is the WR250R threadfest which is mostly a chit chat thread with little WR250R content.
The bottom line is that there needs to be some interaction even if it's off topic to get people involved in a forum. The people who come occasionally to get some technical info on a specific bike aren't what will make a forum active and growing.
Simmons1
Well-known member
I haven't really been on any rides I have decided were worthy of a ride report in the last couple years with cutting trips out because of Covid.
I do have Gold Wing ride coming up with Linda to ride a couple more states on route 66 and I am currently planning to ride the Wyoming BDR with a bunch of people starting in late August. I'll probably crank out a report for one or both of those. I usually create those on our local Forum Two Wheeled Texans but should be able to easily recreate the content here.
I do have Gold Wing ride coming up with Linda to ride a couple more states on route 66 and I am currently planning to ride the Wyoming BDR with a bunch of people starting in late August. I'll probably crank out a report for one or both of those. I usually create those on our local Forum Two Wheeled Texans but should be able to easily recreate the content here.
skibum69
Well-known member
I'm hoping to do a little ride on the weekend that might be worthy of a little RR mostly because of what the destination is. We'll see if it pans out.
I agree that the banter is what makes it, I never have an issue with any of my threads anywhere getting hijacked as long as it's discussion that keeps people engaged and entertained.
On ADV I am certainly well known in certain circles as well as the MOA forum and our local ADV forum ridetherock.com.
I agree that the banter is what makes it, I never have an issue with any of my threads anywhere getting hijacked as long as it's discussion that keeps people engaged and entertained.
On ADV I am certainly well known in certain circles as well as the MOA forum and our local ADV forum ridetherock.com.
I know you have seen the ride report I just started because you posted in it. For those who haven't seen it yet I have started a new ride report titled: "Our rides today". My goal with that ride report is to get a bunch of people to participate and get some conversation going. I'm also hoping it will get some participation from people who haven't tried writing a ride report before.
Chickenstrip
Well-known member
Good idea for a thread!
I haven't done ride reports, though I have shot 360 videos of several rides (well, parts of the rides - no one wants to watch more than a few minutes of video, and I don't want to spend time editing more). My Insta360 allows me to push one button to start/stop recording, and I can do this while riding.
One of the things that impressed me most in my early days over bike forums was a report over at ADVr written by some guys who had ridden from South Africa up through western Africa. The challenge of the ride, the photos, the accompanying story ... all just because some folks wanted to share their experiences. I was impressed by their generous spirit.
I get inspired by those who generate and share their rides. I don't see myself creating one,yet, but I'm sure happy to read yours.
I haven't done ride reports, though I have shot 360 videos of several rides (well, parts of the rides - no one wants to watch more than a few minutes of video, and I don't want to spend time editing more). My Insta360 allows me to push one button to start/stop recording, and I can do this while riding.
One of the things that impressed me most in my early days over bike forums was a report over at ADVr written by some guys who had ridden from South Africa up through western Africa. The challenge of the ride, the photos, the accompanying story ... all just because some folks wanted to share their experiences. I was impressed by their generous spirit.
I get inspired by those who generate and share their rides. I don't see myself creating one,yet, but I'm sure happy to read yours.
Give it a try on the new thread I just started. Next time you go for a ride take a pic or two and share something about the ride that you found interesting or enjoyed. Don't feel that you need to have something epic. Most of the riding that most of us do is not epic so we can relate to the riding that you do. The idea is to get some discussion going about riding.Good idea for a thread!
I haven't done ride reports, though I have shot 360 videos of several rides (well, parts of the rides - no one wants to watch more than a few minutes of video, and I don't want to spend time editing more). My Insta360 allows me to push one button to start/stop recording, and I can do this while riding.
One of the things that impressed me most in my early days over bike forums was a report over at ADVr written by some guys who had ridden from South Africa up through western Africa. The challenge of the ride, the photos, the accompanying story ... all just because some folks wanted to share their experiences. I was impressed by their generous spirit.
I get inspired by those who generate and share their rides. I don't see myself creating one,yet, but I'm sure happy to read yours.
You may have read one of MetalJockey's ride reports. He set the standard for Epic ride reports. Everyone should read this one: https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/angola-its-not-like-they-said.269251/
skibum69
Well-known member
Yeah that Angola RR was excellent! I like RTWPaul's RR's too as he always has excellent photos and tells it like it is.
I haven't read RTWPaul's reports but I was following his thread where he is planning a 48 state ride on his Trail Cub. I need to check out the status of that because it's been a month or so since I last checked it. I might try to meet up with him somewhere on his trip if the timing works out.
skibum69
Well-known member
He's off to Europe for a bit before he does his scooter ride. Paul is good people, he spent a week at my house a few years ago. Go back and find some of his RR's, they're great.
skibum69
Well-known member
He's been mostly living off of his bike for a number of years now. He hides out in Pheonix when he has to be parsed. He's only been around the world 3 times or so on bikes.