The Art of the Ride Report

[klaviator]

Ride Reports.  Most of us read them.  Some of us write them. 

What is a ride report?  It is simply telling the story of a ride you went on.  Ride reports have been around for a long time.  Probably the most basic ride report is getting back from a ride and telling someone about the ride. 

Back before the internet ride reports could be found in motorcycle magazines or in books.  They can still be found there.  The internet has given us new ways to do ride reports.  Some people have blogs.  Probably the most common place for ride reports are on social media like Facebook.  By far the best place, IMO, for a ride report is on a forum like this one. 

So why is that?

Magazine articles are limited my space so you have to keep it reasonably short and limit the pictures you post.  Books have more space but still don't have all the features of a forum.  Also, how many of us are good enough writers to get a book published?

Ride reports on Facebook are common but normally consist of a few sentences and then some random pictures.  Then, a few days after it is posted it will basically disappear into oblivion and never be seen again unless you really look for it.

Blogs.  OK it would seem that this would be a good place for a ride report but I have yet to find one that compares to a good ride report on a forum.  Why is that?  The best way to explain that is to talk about all the advantages of a forum.

A forum allows you to use words, pictures and video to tell your story.  Unlike a blog it is an interactive format.  Your readers can ask questions or add to the story.  Unlike a blog it is easier to find an audience.  People who go to the ride reports section of a forum are probably looking for ride reports.

So what is the purpose of this thread?  The purpose is to discuss what it takes to write a ride report.  I'm not going to do this by myself.  I am certainly not the world's foremost expert on writing ride reports.  If you write ride reports then I am looking for your input.  If you don't write ride reports but you read them then feel free to give your inputs on what you like or don't like when you read them. 

Hopefully there will be some information here that everyone can use to improve their ride reports.  I don't know about you but I am not a gifted writer and I am never completely satisfied with how my reports turn out.  I am always looking to improve the way I do my reports and hopefully you are too.

[klaviator]

Why do a ride report?

Many people never do ride reports.  Some just aren't interested.  They just want to ride and not spend time doing reports.  That's perfectly OK.  Don't do something you don't want to do.

Other people would like to tell the story of their rides but don't feel they have the writing ability or skills to do it.  So maybe they take the easy way out and post a few pics on face Book.  The fact is that you don't have to be a talented writer to do a ride report on a forum.  While we do have a few talented writers on this forum, most of us are not.  I certainly ain't. 

One of the advantages of a forum is that you can use other things like pictures and videos to tell your story and make it interesting.  But, it really does help if you do some writing.  So I'm no expert but here's my advice to make it easier to write.

First, don't try to be a great writer.  This isn't classic literature we are writing.  So just write things the way you would say them if talking to a friend.  If you use bad grammer when you speak then use it when you write.  If you can't spel, who cares.  You ain't writing to a bunch of PHD's.

If you want to improve your writing then read some ride reports written by someone who can write.  Read BrianA's ride reports.  His writing is pretty entertaining.

One of the common problems many of us have is that we simply write a basic description of what we did:

"I rode here"   

"I Stopped here"

"I ate here"

"I rode some more"

Does this sound familiar?  So what can you do?  Well you can try to improve your writing but let's face it, some of us will never be really talented writers.

So use the other features offered by forums.  One of my favorite crutches is the emoticon.

Instead of:

"I rode this road"

Use this:

"I rode down this road"

Or better yet just add a few words and use more emoticon.

"I rode down this really awesome twisty road

Better yet, use another of the great features available on a forum and add a picture.

"I rode down this really awesome twisty road



Or you can post a video if you have one.

Pictures and videos will be discussed in future posts.

Like I said I'm not a great writer so if anyone else has any tips on how to improve how we write, I'd love to get your input.

[Chitza]

My advise, especially if you write longer posts, is to do it in a document, then copy/paste to the forum. Much less frustrating. And if you haven't chosen the "stay logged in" option on the log in page, it keeps you from losing your post when your session times out  :'(

[klaviator]

My advise, especially if you write longer posts, is to do it in a document, then copy/paste to the forum. Much less frustrating. And if you haven't chosen the "stay logged in" option on the log in page, it keeps you from losing your post when your session times out  :'(

Even if you do choose the "stay logged in" option, I have had my computer decide to shut down for some reason or just hit the wrong key and wipe out my post.  I tend to try to not make my posts too long.

[klaviator]

Getting back to good writing, I think Chitza's Alaska ride report is a good example of entertaining writing.  She didn't just write about what happened but described what she was thinking and feeling.  While she did post some pictures, it was her writing that made this report: http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=1204.0

[IceCold4x4]

Some good stuff. I'd been videoing most of my rides for a year and just got out of the habit of keeping the camera charged. Nerd to grab a few more go pro batteries as it always seem the funny / crazy stuff only happens after my batteries would die. Also on that note I need to remember to take more pictures. These last few months I haven't been doing them really makes me regret it as I was having some fun editing all the video. And klav and Chitza y'all have some of the best ride reports around. We could definitely all learn from y'all.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Chitza]

I like reading reports from different riders on the same ride. Everyone's perspective is different. It shouldn't be a competition for who wrote the best report on a ride. Just share your experience the way you saw it. Not every reader will connect with every writer/Rider. Give them a choice to connect with the view that fits their style.

[klaviator]

I like reading reports from different riders on the same ride. Everyone's perspective is different. It shouldn't be a competition for who wrote the best report on a ride. Just share your experience the way you saw it. Not every reader will connect with every writer/Rider. Give them a choice to connect with the view that fits their style.

Absolutely!  The Alaska trip was a great example of this.  I read everyone's ride report and I enjoyed every one of them.

Another great feature of ride reports in a forum is that more than one person can contribute to it.  I think that everyone doing separate reports made sense on the Alaska trip but sometimes combining talents into one report can work too.  Johnny and I did that last year.  It can be difficult to coordinate so that one writer doesn't get ahead of the other but it worked out for us in this report: http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=1087.0

This report was not exactly an example of great writing but that's OK since the focus of this report was the pics and videos.

[klaviator]

So it's not your ride report.  You can still contribute.  I'm not sure everyone feels the same way as me about this but here's my opinion.  I think a ride report should be interactive and I like having other people contribute.

First, if you were on the ride with me then by all means post some stuff on the report.  What did you think about the ride, that road, lunch, whatever.  If you have some pics, post them up.  Often the only way the author gets his pic in the report is if someone else posts it. 

If you weren't on the ride you can still contribute.  I think most of us who do ride reports appreciate some feedback.  You don't want to hijack a thread by posting too much but I have very seldom had that happen in my reports.  You can just say what you thought of the report or maybe you have some information to add about something or some place in the report.  Maybe you liked a particular picture.  Getting feedback can help us improve our reports and lets us know that people are actually reading them. 

[jrobinson]

OK, let's face the truth.....we are all showoffs. Yeah, our parents taught us not to showoff but we do. We spend $$$$$ to buy the latest and greatest bike, or the one that we've always wanted, or one we thought would give us the enjoyment of riding. Then we spend more $$$$ on bling to showoff more. They we spend hours washing, waxing and polishing to a high shine. ( Well I've heard that some do ) Then we ride to the local bike night and strut around like banty roster.  Yeah, we are showoffs.

So why not show off your rides? It doesn't take much. Just like the first paragraph, some go all out on a ride report. The best photo/video equipment, highly edited pics and videos, then add a well polished essay to top everything off.

But you can throw up a couple sentences and a few blurry pics and have the same results as the first guy. Just like the polished bike gives the same smiles as a dirty one.

I think there are a couple reasons most of us do ride reports.

1. To remember the ride. I've gone back and read my reports. While reading them, my mind goes back to that place or ride. Same with rides I've been on, I like to read those again.
2. To educate the members here. There are a hundred places I've ridden to, only because of someones ride report.  bamarides was built and grew on ride reports. One guy would join, and do a ride report on off-road riding. The next week we had 20 guys buying dual sports and heading for the woods. This has happened many times in the past 8 years.
3. Helps grow the forum and membership. See #2.

So, like Klaviator wrote, it doesn't matter if your ride report is a polished, chromed out CVO Harley or an old beater you drug out of a barn. Showoff a little and tell us where you rode to and what you saw. I bet someone will decide to go there or ask to ride with you next time you go.

[klaviator]

Actually, a ride report may be a much better way to show off than that High $$$$$ ultra fancy latest and greatest bike.  Are you really impressed when someone shows up on a really cool bike.  Does having the $$$$ to buy that bike really make you someone people will be impressed by?  I don't know about you but I'm much more impressed by someone who rides than someone who just happens to own a great bike.

Do ride reports really make a difference?  I know that for me they sure did.  I started reading ride reports back in the 70s when I picked up my first motorcycle magazines.  I remember reading stories about rides in exotic places like California and Colorado and dreaming about doing that myself some day. 

Now I can look back and say I have ridden those places.  I was able to live the dream.  But before you can live the dream it helps to have a dream.  Ride reports help give people something to dream about and aim for.

Ride reports are also a great way to look back and "re-live the dream".  I still look back at ride reports I wrote 10 years ago.

Do ride reports help grow the forum?  I think so.  What better way to show what a great time we have?  If people see the cool stuff we do, they will want to join in too.

[klaviator]

An important part of a ride report, at least for me, is the pictures.  Photography is a very big and complicated topic and I am no professional photographer but I'm going to try to cover what works for me.

In my opinion, 90% for getting a good picture is being in the right place at the right time, pointing the camera in the right direction and knowing when to press the button.  The camera makes a difference but is worthless if you get the stuff in the last sentence wrong.

So, having said that let me say a little bit about camera's.  Probably 80-90% of the pictures I have posted in the last few years have been taken with my Olympus TG830 camera.  This is a waterproof, dust proof and shock resistant camera that I bought at Wally World for around 200 bucks a few years ago.  These things make a big difference because they make it easier to have that camera in the right place and right time.  I normally carry it on a strap hanging around my neck so it's always ready to go.  I can turn it on and take a pic in just a few seconds, even when I'm riding.  I know most people today use their phones for pictures but it just won't be as handy as a sports camera like my Olympus.

I also have a Sony Sony DSC-HX300.  It has a 50X zoom and a very good lens but is not a real high end camera like a DSLR.  I think I got it for around $350 about 2 and a half years ago.  It take better pictures than my Olympus but is not nearly as convenient to use.  I don't even bring it along on some rides, especially dual sport rides.

[klaviator]

So how do you take good pictures for ride reports?  I take different types of pictures.  Some pictures are like art and can stand all by themselves.  I also take some pictures just to help tell my story.  Of course some pictures can do both. 

Some examples of pictures as art.  I stopped or modified my ride purely to try to get an interesting picture.



I planned my ride around being in a good spot to get some sunset pics to get this one:



Then there are informational pictures that I took purely to help tell my story:



Then there are those pictures for, as Johnny said, "just to show off."  The next picture is an example of this but I didn't actually take it myself. 



Sometimes I take pics just as a message aimed one or more of the readers.  For example there is a guy on ADV who often reads my ride reports so I took this next pic.  Anyone want to guess what his user name on ADV is?



And of course everyone likes to see their pic in a ride report and I like to remember who I was riding with so I take pics that aren't really art and probably aren't that interesting to many of the readers.  They are interesting to me and the people in the pic and maybe those readers who know them so I post pics like this:



Then there are those pics that look really cool but also help tell the story.  I really like this next pic and it also helps show what the riding was like:



Action pics are a real great addition to any ride report and can really help tell the story.  On top of that they can often stand all by themselves as a cool picture.



OK, all this may seem really basic but it's something to think about while you are out riding.  If you plan on writing a ride report then think about what you can take a picture of to help tell your story.  It's too late to think about it after the ride.

I'll go into more details in later posts.  I'm sure there are other photographers in this forum with some useful info to add as well.

[springer]

 Me on my H-D Springer holding a Nikon D-70s with a Nikon 16-80mm f2.8 AFS VR lens while I was working at Thunder Roads.



Also went though several of the smaller point & shoot digital cameras. (bunches of them actually)

Been a photography fella since 1976 when I took a High School photography class. That led me to be the yearbook staff photographer my Junior and Senior year.
Sold some stuff during the 80's and 90's to the local and regional magazines that were based here...back when there was magazines and such to sell to.
Also in the 90's, I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from U.A.B.

Now I just use my cellphone for the forums I am on.  :D It is a Samsung Galaxy s5 and does a half way decent job for the internet stuff.
Plus I always have it on me. That is an important thing.

Always have it on you.   

A friend of mine from way back in the day was a guy called Spider Martin. He had his roots in Fairfield Alabama and back in the late 70's-mid 80's had a studio/darkroom set-up in the basement of the Fairfield city hall. He made his money shooting for magazines and such but kept his toes in what gave him his break in to photography...newspapers.
He kept a point and shoot in his car, his truck, in his house, and at his studio. If something happened around him, he wanted a picture.

I sure miss that crazy nut-bag.  :(

If your interested, here is what Wikipedia has to say about him;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_Martin

[klaviator]

My next topic is this:  Are you trying to do a RIDE report or a STOP report?



Think about that for a minute.  What kind of pictures do you take?

Are they all taken when you stop for gas, food or maybe an occasional viewpoint?  Does your ride report actually cover the RIDING you did?

The dirt guys usually get this right.  Their ride reports are generally about the ride.  They post a lot of videos.  When they post pics they often show bikes on their side, in a mudhole or climbing some steep hill.  Then they talk about how tough a hill was or how they crashed or other stuff riding related.

It is actually much harder to cover the riding part of a street ride.  It can be done!

First of all you can write about the riding.  This is harder for some than others.  Video is another way to do it especially on a really exciting stretch of road.  And then of course there are the pictures you take.  This is where a real camera comes in handy.  I can take pictures while riding.  Can you do that with your phone?

I took this while riding. 



and this:



If you are not comfortable taking pics while riding maybe you can give the camera to your passenger.



Or you can stop a get a pic to show what the road you were riding was like.



Or better yet, if there is more than one person on the ride stop and take some action pics.



Even this will give the viewers some idea of what the riding was like:



I'm not saying you shouldn't take pics of the other people on the ride, the cool places you stopped or even the food you ate.  Just try to keep in mind that it is a RIDE report and if the riding part of it was fun then try to cover that as well.