Would you leave a riding buddy?

Got a situation. I put up a thread in the "Travellers Seeking Travellers" forum of the HUBB asking if anyone wanted to join me on a trip to Morocco. Clearly stated that my dates were set but route in fact, everything else, was wide open. Got a guy take me up. He suggested the route and I agreed.

Met up in Southern Spain; me on a four and a half year old 800GS, him on a twenty four year old Moto Morini 350. First days pootle into Morocco went fine. Second afternoon, he broke down. We waited an afternoon for it to be fixed. Spent the next day in the nearest city trying to source parts. Next afternoon he broke down again. I took a day trip to see if his bike could get fixed. It couldn't so I rode on two days ahead to meet my wife who was flying in for a short break. I left him with some decent local people.

This gave him five days to catch up. The bike was fixed on Saturday although he didn't ride to catch me up, suggesting we rendezvous on Wednesday on the way back, arriving by different routes. He never made it; broke down again. I'm now back in Spain and he's not responding to my texts.

I'm kind of feeling bad that I didn't go back for him and if it doesn't feel right then it probably isn't right. Then again, there's nothing I could do but stand and look at his broken bike, I'm no wrencher.

Man got to ride his own ride.


I will help if I can, but there is a limit on what you can do to help.

I see nothing wrong.

If he understood your timeline was set and he couldn't keep up, oh well.

If he had crashed and was laying in a hospital or unable to ride I would stay, but mechanical failure due to lack of prep or poor maintenance would not become my problem.

Your title said "riding buddy". If it was my riding buddy I'd know if he was like A) the fellow to the north of me who can and does ride 24 and 34 year old bikes wherever he wants and gets there and back, or B) the fellow to the west who has a malfunction (if not an actual breakdown) going around the block then fixes it with Gorilla tape because it's better than duct tape.

Even if I went on a trip with B, I'd have to stick with him to the best of my ability, but that doesn't mean I'd babysit while waiting for parts.

You seem to have been not with a buddy, but a new acquaintance. You didn't leave him in particular danger.

If anyone should feel awkward about the situation (as you've presented it) it's not you.

Thanks guys. We've just made contact again. He's now home but had to leave his bike behind in Morocco.

Probably just as well.

Perhaps I don't understand your tag line....

...aren't there just seven continents?

You earthlings think soooo 3-dimensional...

I think you did ok, what else could you have done? One should ride a dependable bike on a trip, any trip.

Had he told you ahead of time that he would be riding a 24 year old Moto Morini 350 you would have asked "Hu?" :huh

Yes, but the way I'm looking at it, there are 19 "parts". According to the UN, there are 20 "peoples" of the world, one of which is European, leaving nineteen outside of Europe:

Americas: North, Central and South
Africa: North, South, East, West and Central
Asia; North, South, South East and Central, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian and Middle Eastern
Eurasian
Australian and Polynesian

That gives me my target. 39 counties of England, 42 countries of Europe and 19 (parts of) continents of the Earth.

It's fair enough. Unless he was put in physical danger by you abandoning him (injury, hostile environment) or you left without telling him (so he might have spent ages looking for you thinking something had happened to you), it's fair game in my book.

As you say, your hanging around would have achieved nothing apart from delaying your own trip. Don't feel bad.

He should have told you he was riding an old Italian m/c first of all.

I go off roading in jeeps a lot, and our group is all guys with fairly well set-up vehicles, all of them reliable. When a new guy comes out that's fine, but their junk better hold together. If they break we'll get you out, but that's it. Next time that person is not invited unless they have made noticeable changes to their rig, and seem ready to go.

I've personally told friends they can't come, and feel like an ass doing it. But, when you spend your whole weekend fixing someone else's junk you end up ruining yours. We went out once last spring, and I went with a few friends friday and saturday, then met up with the actual guys I ride with on sunday. I spent all of friday and saturday running parts back and forth, because my truck is the only one that was holding together. Sunday I told those guys not to come out, and I went off with the group I normally ride with. Felt bad, but that's how it is sometimes.

When I first started riding with those guys my CJ was a 'chronic breaker' with dumb stuff always going wrong. It didn't take long before I quit going out, built a Ford Ranger right, and went back to riding with them.

You've heard the opinions, I'll add mine. I was the guy that was slowing the rest of the group down. Never ridden with them before, only knew a couple of guys. They rode WAY over my head. FAST. Faster than I felt good about. They did keep waiting for me at corners, but I eventually bailed to let them ride their ride. I rode mine back home.

You did the right thing.

Your thread title is misleading. You did not leave him, it sounds like you both made the decision to split up. It sounds like he could then not keep his committment to rejoin you.

I would not leave someone broken down on the side of the road or out in the wilderness, especially in a foreign land. OTH, If I was clearly screwing up the ride itinerary, as soon as I got to a safe harbor were I could handle things myself, I would send the others ahead.

Was he expecting you to wait when he broke down the for the 3rd time? Did you offer what assistance you could?

I'm not sure what he was expecting. It seems cool now as he's back home although his bike is still there; nothing I could have done about that. I asked (by text) if he needed help and got no reply. What started me being concerned.

Well, my riding buddy had a problem on our big trip last year. He suggested I go ahead. No way! It was a modest problem and even if it turned out terminal, I was going to try and help. That is why we ride together through remote places. This year, our big trip was shorted because I had a problem. Oh well...we had great fun, though, and can look forward to completing that trip next year. My buddy stuck with me and it worked out.

I ride solo a lot. It's a different mindset. You'll accept any kind of help you can drum up...

I go along with most of the crowd. If there was a real danger to him, then you stay until that's sorted. Otherwise, he sorts himself out.

+1

I don't think you did anything wrong. It's not like you left the guy with a broken leg in the Alaskan wilderness, surrounded by bears, with a blizzard coming in, and no radio.

And when they stop responding to phone calls/texts, it's time to ride on.

I would have ditched after the first BD