Last Man Standing is a running exercise that we used to do in ROTC morning PT sessions. I hated it. The concept is that the last man or woman, as the case may be, sprints to the front of the line of runners. This is not so bad for the first mile or so, but after that the sprinting gets to you. It also really keeps the stragglers from hiding out in the back of the formation.
What does that have to do with motorcycles? The answer to that is the way that we ran last Sunday’s Miracle for Matthew ride.
Sunday was hands-down the best riding weather of the year so far. Not too hot, especially in the cooler areas of the Poconos, not cold or wet or raining. The ride began at Dragon’s Lair next to Giant Floor Covering in Wilkes-Barre. This ride was in a parade style. You may remember that there are several types of runs that people can plan for a benefit or other ride. The parade runs have every one line up and basically follow the leader.
This was the method that we ran on Sunday. What was different from some of the larger parade runs was that there were no official blockers. By official, I mean that there would be representatives from one of the local police or fire departments that stand to stop traffic at intersections. Sometimes you may even have quasi-official people who may volunteer or be designated to stop traffic along the route.
Here is where the last man standing concept comes in: Each motorcycle rider would take a turn at an area designated by the leader. This ride saw about 25 motorcycles in attendance. While this may not seem to be a good turnout for the benefit funds, it is a very nice amount of riders for a beautiful parade run.
As we were leaving from the starting point, a leader was sought who was more familiar with the area through which the route would go. Our own Mountain Top resident Mark “Doc” Bohn stepped up to the plate and took charge of leading this wayward group through the Poconos and back to Screwballz bar on the Sans Souci highway in Hanover Twp. So what, you may ask, is there to being out there in front of the pack? There is actually more to it than you might think.
First, you need to have a pretty good mental model of the route itself and where you want everyone to go. Second, you need to be able to set a pace that everyone can keep up with and at the same time not get bored with the ride. While Doc did not design the course, he did have some experience with the area and the roads that had been designated for the ride. Third, in this kind of run with no official blockers, you have to be able to put people at the intersections so that the rest of the parade can follow you through to the other side.
This is quite true with this route, which makes it very well-designed. My personal opinion on this run was that it was very well-designed. It had wonderful long stretches of road that included many twisting turns and challenging roadways. Additionally, it did not have an overabundance of intersections that needed blocking. As I mentioned earlier, it was also extremely beautiful countryside to journey through. All of these factors made the ride enjoyable for all of the riders.
The manner in which people are placed at the intersections is rather simple. At the beginning of the run, everyone is asked if they have had experience in blocking. They are also asked if they object or feel that they are not able to the job. If so, it is noted, and they are told to just keep going through with the leader and let the next person in line do the job. After everyone is through the intersection, a last rider signals to the blockers to join the pack and continue, now at the back of the line. Everyone moves up a spot or two. Hence, the last-man-standing reference.
It’s kind of neat in that you may start out in the front of the queue and come in last to the destination. For the most part, this went very smoothly, and all motorists who were asked to stop until the parade passed through were very cooperative. One other good thing about a smaller crowd is that the motorists don’t have to wait for 200 bikes to parade through, which can take some time out of your trip.
If you have never had the chance to be a blocker, take it the next time you are needed. You never know when you might have to be the last man standing.
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