I recently joined, and went on a "mission" to a fallen soldiers funeral with a group called "Patriot Guard Riders". There was about a hundred of us there. It was a moving experience to say the least. They have local groups all around the country. Take a look.... http://www.patriotguard.org/

Sounds deep. What's it like rolling out with that many other riders?

This was my first time riding in a large group. It was kinda weird riding in a staggerd formation with so many others. Also, I think I received my maximum allowed Harley exhaust exposure for the year!
It was pretty loud too. I would start the Hornet, and literally have to look at the tach to SEE if it was running. I guess I shouldn't have put in my baffle.
As always, I was the only 599 there, 8) (and the only non-cruiser/Goldwing type there), and the least shiny bike there too- ......shiny, shiny, shiny, shiny, ASPHALT, shiny, shiny, shiny,shiny, .......etc.
All in all, a good experience, a good cause, and great people. I'll definitely go again if called.
Has anyone else here been in a large group ride?

Did a ride in July with a local club sponsored by my dealership. I think we numbered about 20, IIRC. Good group of folks, generally. Most are cruiser riders, but only one Harley, then one on a BMW K12 and a couple of sport tourers. I definitely didn't fit in looks-wise. Only one other guy was wearing a full-face helmet!

The staggered formation thing is definitely different. I can see why some people feel really intimidated when a good-size group of bikers goes by. The route was great and I'll do it again, by myself. Don't know that I'd want to ride with more than four or five others, though, after that.

I have been on several big group rides.
The most outrageous was in 2003. I bought a Harley Sportster
and went on the San Francisco Hells Angels Poker Run. ALL kinds
of bikes showed up. After folks paid their fees, there was a lot of down
time and boredom. Some folks with sport bikes started going up and
down the street doing wheelies, etc. and the crowd loved it. Once the
run started (there were 250 to 300 bikes), you had to stay with the pack
as there was no map as to where the card draws were. We were doing
40 to 50 MPH through downtown San Francisco, rode down the
Embarcadero, then through the Fisherman's Wharf area. Since you had
to stay with the group / leaders, you had to keep up with them - thus,
ignoring red traffic lights, pedestrians, etc..
My heart rate was sky high!!
At every poker stop (each one was a bar....I know, quite a shock),
one San Francisco police car would drive by and just remind us they
still existed. The run ended at a large bar in an industrial area of
Hunters Point. I did not stay long as it was hot and the food/beverage
lines were huge.

It was one of those things I was glad I did once in my life and have no
desire to do again. I heard there were 2 crashes that day and no one
was seriously hurt. I was shocked more people had not gone down.

Kevin Hobbs

Ugh, Kevin! That's terrible. I would have ditched that ASAP.

I've been on a lot of larger rides - poker runs, toy runs, and the like - but I've never had that sort of problem. We ran a few red lights on a couple of those rides but those were arranged with the cops, and we had people "corking" the road so we could ride through safely. When executed properly such rides can be safe and fun.

I was in my first large group ride this sunday for Toys for Tots here in Knoxville TN. There was a little over 1600 bikes the run, ofcourse 97% of them Harleys. Good Times...

I did the Texas Honor Ride (http://www.texashonorride.org/) from Houston to San Antonio yesterday. Probably a little over 400 bikes, mainly Gold Wings and cruisers. My 599 seat won't be back from Spencer's (http://www.greatdaytoride.com/) until Monday so I rode the ST (and might have been on it even if my 599 was ready). Other than the big bikes (and trikes) there was one other ST, an older CB1000, one CBR F4i, a couple of Magnas, and even one brave soul who rode a Rebel the whole way. No 599s or 919s.