It's been mentioned more than once there are only a few people that can actually lead.
I know more can but don't feel the need to flaunt it.
Have fun with the thread but give honest answer on poll.

I love to lead. Keeps the dust out of my face!

Both. Gordons is my home so I usually lead there and I mostly follow at Glamis.

I have no problem leading but I prefer to follow when my buddy leads. Its so much more fun when I dont need to worry about whats on the otherside.

I lead and follow. If my 2yr old is in the buggy I tend to wanna follow more as I dont want to slam in some witches eye with him in the car. If no kid is in the car then I tend to lead.

I can't remember not leading.

Usually end up leading.

love to be upfront but, also follow along at any pace set. Gettting better at leading with each run. No complaints in my group.

Only follow. Buggy has a witches eye magnet on the front bumper......

I like to lead but following can be good with the right leader Otherwise I mite as well have the wife in the car and be on a 'wife' ride

I enjoy leading, a little more challenging and lots of surprises! I can name quite a few I like to follow though.

i enjoy being last . in the back of the pack i can play around and still keep an eye on everyone. if someone crashes i am there before the sand gets done flying. i can also take my time and look around and enjoy the view if its a fast area or i can go fast. if the ride is going slow and boring then i can take wider turns and have fun that way. ohh and not too many people like riding behind me with my 10 paddle haulers lol.

I do both well.

Personally, I like both...I feel leading is an "art", and some days my canvas is not something you'd really want to look at.. (translation...those are the days I hit every witches eye, drop off, whoop, and whatever else between here and there). But when you get in the groove, it's a great feeling.

I usually lead in my Oregon dunes. Been there for decades and I know every bump. When visiting the other dunes I usually follow cause there is always someone who knows it better than me.

On a Quad I'm a great leader, in my buggy I like to follow. The past 3 years I have rode the buggy more and the leader of our buggies is older and dose a better job. I pay attention and I will be leading the buggies one day. I do remember one day it was raining and raining hard at mother G. The old man pulled over and had me lead. He knew I had GPS and would get us to camp a lot faster, LOL... Older and Wiser....

I love to lead. More than 1 time I have been told that I pick a very smooth line.

^^^^ I follow this guy

We camp at Gordons. Our camp is a mix of buggies and quads and even a motorcyle or two. I follow when we ride as a big group...let the buggies lead. When its a smaller group, and only quads are in the mix I seem to always lead....must just be my personality. Over the last couple of years it has definitely made me a better rider as I have to pay attention and not just follow and mess around in the pack! Anyone else agree about leading?

my exact same feelings. The rear can be lots of fun. You get to see the action and play around in the rear.

Can lead, but its more fun to follow and pretend race....If I lead its starts to become a B-line to the next stop.

I love to lead

I usually lead a run. There are only a hand full of guys that I feel comfortable following in a ride. A persons ability to choose a good line and maintain speed is really important.

I dont have a choice, nobody else in our group will lead so I always get voted to. The good thing is the air is clean up front. The bad part is when there are no tracks to follow the witch eyes jump out and try to grab you.

72 votes and 42 good leaders.

Define smooth..

With a stock suspension Rhino it can get pretty bumpy, but it flows well.

Smooth meaning, like riding on a roller coaster, just left and rights, transitions, no stopping or a bunch of "oh chit's"..

I have no problem leading but would usually rather follow as long as the leader is fast! There are some REALLY good ones out there.

"I can get to where I want to be but it's not pretty" <--- This is so me!

I can lead if I absolutely have to but I am not the first choice or volunteer.

When I had bikes I was a good leader and didn’t mind doing so, but in the buggy its allot harder to see because you can't stand up so I like sticking to one behind the leader.

it depends on who i am riding with if i lead or not.

when i lead i am run at my own pace which is typically on the fast side and pretty smooth lines. i have a real good sense of direction and know where im going without a gps. so that gets me elected leader alot of the time.

when i follow i like to be near the leader if the the leader is fast and smooth with good lines, as i like to ride fast. if the leader isnt smooth or hits stuff i dont wanna hit i will gravitate towards the end of the line. in the back you can take a different line and not have to worry about the person behind you following.


a good tip for everyone when your in a large group, no need for the leader to worry about everybody in line keeping up or getting lost etc. just keep an eye on the person behind you. and everyone in line should do the same. if everyone keeps an eye on the person behind them, nobody should be left behind.

I agree Chad runs a nice line, some days it is more fun to follow and see what they hit LOL There is a dune missing the entire lip from Sunday morning!!! WOW that was a ton of sand!!! I was LMAO about that one.

I almost always lead our group,when I dont, I race for it!

I'm a follower
But I have great leaders...O Soto in the cars
O Soto, Jeffafa and Mac on quads

Follower. I want to lead, but only duning for 1 year now and really only got into the big stuff recently. I don't feel comfortable swinging my own line yet, but definitely plan on getting there

I tend to lead most rides and there seems to be alot of the same riders on thoose rides. There are a few that I love to fallow though and have no problem getting in there line. I can end up anyplace I want sometimes not the quickest route sometimes not the smoothest line but allways an adventure.

it's skawry out there... (said in my best Elmer Fudd voice)

I'm gonna disagree with this a little bit. Certainly, it's one of the "rules" that all group members are responsible for those behind them. But the way I was taught was that the leader is responsible for their whole group. I keep an eye on the last person as much as I can, and will circle back at times to make sure I can still see the last person. This helps me try and keep the speed to the level of the entire group as well. As a leader, the way I was taught, it is a very horrible feeling to lose someone in "your" group.

Even though you do your best to keep your group together, "stuff happens", so another good tip is to have whoever is running last, be able to lead the group back to camp at least. That way if you get split up, there is a good chance that everyone will make it home safe.

Quad leader, almost always the rides are fast and furious and smooth. Speed depends on the quad, GF's it is slower paced due to suspension setup. My quad involved and the ride will be faster due to better suspension for my heavy arsh. Oh and the ride is pretty much WFO all the time, just depends on what gear the bike will pull with the type of terrain. With one exception, after it gets dark I couldn't lead you out to take a pee and back without dropping us off a cliff. My depth perception in the dark in the dunes is just pointless I have none.

Buggy I lead, but GF prefers I don't and she is constantly telling me to slow down so I usually do to keep her happy. Hence I prefer to follow and GF lets me gas it more. Hence if I follow she also doesn't scream as much, after getting the headsets it startled me in the beginnning.....I never knew she was a screamer!

I would like to follow but i'm always voted to lead. I know we're having fun when we finally stop and the guys say, "where the heck are we." I did lead a group at the Funco Regatta, biggest group ever. We the the likes of Wild Bill, Bohica, Dunflyere, Rick Redline, Ahiparra 55, and so many more, the group was like 22+ cars, there was some action in the top8 positions. i swear at one point it looked like we had a train over 1/2 mile long, it was fun. I'm sure it was too slow in the rear, but like i always say, "passing's legal."

I lead probably 90 some percent of the time and usually do good but I have to admit that sometimes getting my mojo back after a break can take a bit. If it is a screaming pace long ride I can get sloppy towards the end especially if we end up in some tight stuff where there little or no tracks.
Funny thing is that I can keep my direction pretty good leading but if following I can get totally turned around.

In our group (5 to 12 Rails and Quads) I am the leader about 99% of the time and I take it seriously.
It is my Job as Leader that we all stay together and safe at a good pace. When I can't see everyone
I will make a big circle. When we get in tough stuff I throw my arm out to signal danger.
Now that I and some of us have Car to Car Radios I put one with a radio in the rear so they
can tell me how we are doing. Go faster, slower or stop, it has made my Job so much easier...


Buddie

I follow but I really need to work on leading more.......it's a goal of mine to get better at leading more!

I love leading!!!!! Especially in the virgin dunes where you can make your own path

4 wheels (Sandcar) = Leader
Two Wheels = Follower

More fun to follow, you don't have to think as much just hawl the mail. I use to like to be the last car so I could drop back then hawl the mail to catch up, not to worry what you are getting into as long as you can see the car in front of you. That is fun at night because it is like following the freeway of lights.
DON~~~

I LIKE THE NIGHT RIDING BUT HAVE HAD BAD LUCK WITH THOSE SUDDEN WITCHES EYES BEFORE. IT IS THRILLING TO BE HAULING BUTT AT NIGHT, COLD AND CANT SEE ALOT. I CANT LEAD VERY WELL BUT IF YA GOT A SMOOTH LEADER...MAKES THE TRIP ALL THE BETTER.

I alway seem to lead, but as a leader I am always minful of the skill level of every follower, and sometimes that will effect which line I take.. I try to implement a long sweeping S pattern, to keep an eye on everyone.. Two years ago I ecaped wheelchair status for the rest of my life; by the grace of GOD. So I hung up the quads after 20 years, and now most everyone in our group has migrated to rails and guess what?? I'm still leading.. Occasionally someone else will lead ,and it is fun to just screw around in the back.. Oh , and the car to car radios really help, and are definately more safe ,with multiple eyes seeing things that you as a leader don't notice while picking a line..plus it adds to the fun factor, as everyone in the car feels like they are on the same ride with everyone talking back and forth. One added bonus as stated before, the air is always fresh and clean up front

You are the best leader I have followed, sorry Scott!

I can lead, but I like to follow riders that are better than me. It tends to make me a better rider