Motorcycle Pin Riders

With a new riding season approaching for most parts of the country I wanted to give group riders something to think about. When I used to hunt - many years ago - at the base camp we had a pin board. On this pin board was a map of the area and also a map of the hunting property. New persons also had a photo posted on the boards in case this new person got lost we all knew what they looked like. As hunters came and went they were required to check in, get a numbered pin and place that pin on the board in the area marked "Camp", but you could use motel.hotel or where ever your all staying.

When you left camp you put your pin on the map to denote which area or way you would be heading. Your pin was your pin and nobody messed with it, not your wife, not your friends, not your kids but you and only you could move the pin, it was your life line. This system worked well as not everyone wanted to hunt the same times, maybe they wanted/needed to sleep in, or maybe they wanted to check out the area roads or towns, maybe a run to the store, whatever. When you came back, just as you came back in camp the very, very first thing you did was pull your pin and place it back in the camp ring spot on the board.

The whole purpose, if you said you were going for a ride and would be back in two hours and you weren't then we would all head out looking for you. This same idea can be applied to motorcycle riders, street or off road. In rural areas cell phones don't always work and you can be miles from anything, or you might be in such a bad way you can't even use the phone. A good idea might even be to wear a tag with your name and where you are staying in case notification is needed after a spill so authorities would know where to make contact and alert your friends. This gives piece of mind knowing help is on the way be it you ran out of gas, broke down or worse.
It's food for thought for larger groups of riders all staying in one location but going on rides at different intervals. Rides are meant to be fun and sometimes jokes and pranks get pulled but the Pin board is always off limits to such things.

I do remember one fellow hunter who came back to camp alone, took his truck and went to town and got back near dark. A search party was being organized when he returned and there were a bunch of pissed off and worried hunters standing there when he arrived. All because he forget to pull his Pin off the board from hunting area and placing in the to town area.