Does Anyone Else Like to Ride Alone?

[FJ1100mjk]

Yea, it's Winter. Can ya tell?

Does Anyone Else Like to Ride Alone?

[aviationfred]

I like a good mix. I have done 500-650 mile day rides with a riding buddy. Most of the really long rides have been solo. Mostly because it is difficult to get others to ride the long distances. In my area, for the majority of the riders, anything over 200 miles in a day is in the realm of the impossible.

I found this...

https://motorbikewriter.com/10-top-reasons-for-riding-solo/


Fred

[FJ1100mjk]

Good read. I find myself feeling the same ways on those ten points. I do agree with one poster, in the comments post that I provided a link to though. He mentioned that its not fun sometimes when stopping for eats, and there's no one else to hang with and talk.

[Sparky84]

Love It

I do like to just ride and unwind without the need for conversation, my mates plea to get an intercom but I still haven't,
who wants to answer the phone while riding, you can ring them back,

Riding Solo does have its merits as stated but usually on long rides with a few mates we have already worked out who's tank is smallest and where the fuel stops will be(that's when we stop, fill up and keep going), which way we are going and then ride at your pace which sometimes is Solo.
Especially if your mates want to stop for a smoke on the way.

Then you can go off the beaten track if you desire.

At least when you stop there is someone to chat and eat with, but if there's not that's OK

Cheers Alan

[PaulG]

99.9% of my riding is alone.  The only group rides I do are once/yr when we have our FJ rally in E. Ontario.  Outside of the FJ group I know only one other guy that rides, and he rarely gets a chance to do it for pleasure due to family and work commitments.

The 10 points listed in the Motorbikerider article hits the nail on the head.  When I went to Texas for the GP in 2013 I rode with my brother.  After three days I wished I hadn't - and had nearly two more weeks to go! 

On long trips - which are few these days - time and distance are not that important to me.  There is a goal for the end of the day, but how I get there, and how long it takes doesn't matter as much.  Those days of slabbing it are unavoidalble and that's when thet Zen stuff really helps.  Most of my trips now consist of shucking domestic duites and taking off for a day, and using up 2-3 tanks of gas while the wife is at work.  The only priority is that I'm home in time to pick her up at the subway in the evening.  A vestige of when I was single and would f-off for 2-3 days just cuz I could.  Uh-oh - getting nostalgic again... 

[Bill_Rockoff]

I liked the article.

I love some good alone-time on the bike. It's a completely different experience, and I love it in a completely different way, to ride with other people.

When you ride alone, there's no extra logistical pain-in-the-ass when someone else wants to stop and pee, or gets annoyed when you want to stop and pee. There's nobody making you wait at a fuel stop because they want to order a burger and then eat it when 1) you thought it was going to be a fast-as-possible gas-n-go, and 2) it's 3pm and you ate lunch 3 hours ago and you'll eat dinner 4 hours from now when it's dark, but for GOD'S SAKE MAN WE'RE WASTING GOOD DAYLIGHT AND SURELY YOU WON'T STARVE IF YOU SKIP A MEAL BETWEEN LUNCH AND DINNER. Under way, you can pass slower traffic without worrying about whether or not they'll make the same pass, or get stuck and miss your turn-off. Or, you don't have to worry about them making a pass you wouldn't, annoying someone unnecessarily.  Your pace is your own, your detour decisions are your own, and it's just you and the bike.

However, there's a lot to be said about riding with someone else. Two days ago, I spent the afternoon riding with an old college friend, one of the first guys I ever rode anywhere with - and with his son. We took the FJ1200 and the 998, and the son rode pillion on the FJ1200 (the 998 is a monoposto) and it was epic. The friend and I rode around Atlanta together 30 years ago, first on 1970's dual-purpose bikes (his XL250 and my TS185) and then on 750cc streetbikes (his Seca and my KZ twin) but this was the first time he and I really covered some ground together. And it was his son's first long-ish ride (5 hours, about 200 miles.) It was epic.

First of all, my friend has been riding his current bike (a Moto Guzzi police-bike from the 1970's) throughout France for the last 15 years and then through the Pensacola area for the last year, but this was his first time riding in the north Georgia mountains. Also, he had the Seca a good while in the 1980's and 1990's, but Labor Day was his first time riding the FJ and the Ducati, and even that was just farting around the suburbs; Friday, we got to *really ride,* and he got to really work a couple of bikes well set up for it. It made an impression. Also, it was something he got to share with his son.

But somehow, even after being friends for almost 35 years, there's something that deepens a friendship when you ride together.

Similarly, some of my favorite riding is riding I've done with my son. Happy as I am to ride by myself, I love riding with him even more. He graduates from college and moves back to Georgia next month and starts a job in January, and he'll be about an hour from me, 1/3 of the way between my house and the Cherohala Skyway. We might wind up riding together and spending more time together than just two FJ rallies a year. (It is half boast and half complaint when I say "the only times I ever see him, it's on a motorcycle trip.") I can't wait.

[Country Joe]

Do I like to ride alone? I don't mind it but I prefer to ride with other riders that ride a pace similar to or faster than mine and do so safely. I like riding with my son, who is a fairly new rider, but I have a difficult time in not paying a lot of attention to his riding and just riding my own ride. We have Sena headsets to communicate with each other, so I have to make a conscious effort to not be a nagging voice in his helmet.

[FJmonkey]

I like riding with others, I do not have a specific pace. But I do like a decent pace so I do have my limits. During rallies I understand the mix of riders with different skills. During rally rides its about the ride and enjoying it. There are no winners as it is not a race. I also like to just get out and ride as the mood suits me. Cash said best, "Fuck it lets ride".....

[fj1289]

It's not whether I like it - its all I've ever known.  Got my "motor driven cycle" license at 14.  I spent a lot of my free days (when not in school or not working) simply going for a ride - often times day long rides.  I think I've done one group ride in 35 years - for a charity ride one of my wife's cousins helps organize.  Hopefully this summer I'll give it a go again at a rally. 

[andyoutandabout]

Since moving to the states I've been blessed with a biking buddy who wants to ride as often as I do. However, since he has way more family commitments than I do, riding on my own still happens a fair bit. I'm totally into both.
   Come rally time it's always a great feeling being in a pack of fire breathing FJs. I think those times are unbeatable. I mean, there's probably laws against the combine levels of coolness reached by FJ rally packs marauding round the countryside.
    I suppose as long as my wheels are spinning, I'm pretty happy

[FJscott]

I think Andy captured my sentiment perfectly However,  Ill put my own twist on it " if my wheels are spinnin, I'm a grinnin"     (sounds like a good Rally T-shirt  Idea) I do a lot of Riding alone and actually look forward to it for the same reasons Bill Rockoff mentioned, but.... Nothing, and I mean NOTHING beats the audible harmonics you get from 2 or more FJ,s running hard and tight, nose to tail, corner to corner, Man O man, thats my Nirvana and you cant get that from any other bike combination. as far as I know, and I have tried.

I get goose bumps daydreaming about a pack of FJ's on the 20 from Bragg to Willits.

Scott

[1tinindian]

I think Andy captured my sentiment perfectly However,  Ill put my own twist on it " if my wheels are spinnin, I'm a grinnin"     (sounds like a good Rally T-shirt  Idea) I do a lot of Riding alone and actually look forward to it for the same reasons Bill Rockoff mentioned, but.... Nothing, and I mean NOTHING beats the audible harmonics you get from 2 or more FJ,s running hard and tight, nose to tail, corner to corner, Man O man, thats my Nirvana and you cant get that from any other bike combination. as far as I know, and I have tried.



I get goose bumps daydreaming about a pack of FJ's on the 20 from Bragg to Willits.

Scott

I'll be honest, the most riding I do in a year, is the week of the rally.
If and when, I do ride at home, it's solo, but not by choice, just the way it is in my corner of the world.

But Scott has captured my exact feelings in being with a tightly grouped pack of FJs, slicing up a great section of curve filled highway.
Nothing is more energizing to me, and I have had the great fortune to have experienced it several times over the years at our rallies.

Of course, I also have the added benefit of having my son by my side, which is the cherry on top!

Leon

[ribbert]

I've been known to lie about trips or be vague about departure dates to people whose company I thoroughly enjoy and get on well with just in case they decide to join me on a ride.

Everything I enjoy about riding is compromised to some extent with company. I am a very social person but I don't see riding as a social activity, I love riding alone, it is the only time I am truly in charge of my time. Stop when I want for as long as I want and as often as I want, ride at whatever speed I want , eat where and when I want, stay where I want, start and end the day when and where I want, head off down some side ride on a whim, double back to take a photo, stay up and make noise as late as I want, run the shower cold if I want...........

I also don't like riding in close proximity to other bikes. I occasionally ride with my brother. We ride about half a km apart and have an understanding that if I want to fang off in the curves I wait for him at the other end, it's a loose arrangement.

My first group ride (in 47 years) was at the Rally this year, which wasn't really a group ride as I rode sweep, so I just fell well back and then did my own thing, if I caught up to anyone I would just fall back again...repeat until destination reached.

My second group ride was at the Manshed weekend a few days ago. I did the same thing and made sure I was the last to leave. At one point I rode with Richard behind me for about 10 mins, I couldn't do it, every time I caught a glimpse of his headlight I would look at the mirror, which doesn't work out very well when you're cornering at a reasonable clip!

I thoroughly enjoyed the social side of those two occasions and the day ride but would not have wanted to travel to and from the event with company.

As far as riding bunched up goes, other than being (IMO) dangerous, having vehicles ahead of and behind me is one of the very things I ride into the country to escape from.

A day or a couple of days away on the bike where my time is 100% my own is the way to go, I love it and feel refreshed after it, just me, the bike and the open road!

Noel

[jscgdunn]

"Everything I enjoy about riding is compromised to some extent with company. I am a very social person but I don't see riding as a social activity, I love riding alone, it is the only time I am truly in charge of my time. Stop when I want for as long as I want and as often as I want, ride at whatever speed I want , eat where and when I want, stay where I want, start and end the day when and where I want, head off down some side ride on a whim, double back to take a photo, stay up and make noise as late as I want, run the shower cold if I want..........."

This is true for all travel but especially so for motorcycle touring.  The more in the group , the more complex it gets.  Faster riders, slower riders, road choice, need-to-get-home schedules. I do enjoy the end of the day company though...so it is a balance, and, by so definition a compromise.     

[Earl Svorks]

    I really enjoy the ride in the company of a buddy on a comparable bike with riding skill not too far away from my own. On the other hand, when time and distance matters most, riding alone is the only way for me. Both scenarios have their own advantages.
What makes me cringe whenever I see it, is the more or less recent phenomenon of the pack of a hundred goofy riders, on sport bikes, on the open road.  Can you even imagine riding with a kid, standing up while doing a wheelie waving his arms ?  The lane splitting with 70 clicks on the cars he's riding between on the rear wheel. Stoppies, rolling smoke shows, using the rev limiter as a claxon. Then they get pissed at the motorist that doesn't see them coming.
This probably trumps loud pipes as the issue most damaging, as  to how the rest of the motoring public views motorcycles. And, if you think that doesn't matter, think again.
    Cheers
    Simon