Personally besides the noobies, noobiness, I LOVE to ride alone. I can just cruise around to nowhere. Driving somewhere I have never been before, no map, gps, or plan. Its a great stress reliever. No outside influences to do anything crazy as someone said before me, I have too much to lose, I have a pregnant fiance and lots of plans in progress to better my life and more important hers and his. Riding in groups is fun, no doubt, but riding alone just is different and brings a entire different feeling, freedom maybe. I dunno but I do know that I love it.

 

I like riding by myself, but also with groups. Probably because I'm new to riding. With groups, I ride with more experienced riders who often will give me good critiques of my riding. I also get to learn the rodes around here.

 

lol juliet now I am scared of riding with my newbie friends

 

Why do I ride solitary? anyone that has ever rode a quiet country road or a twisty narrow mountain road knows the answer to that its just you and your machine no pressure from work, no bills to pay, no one telling you to slow down or watch that turn its the best escape I can think of.

 

Right on, Sean. I wish you coulda made the tennessee trip.

 

Yeah me too I'm sure I will have another chance on a better bike in the future. Until then I still have the hills of Pa

 

Just LOVED your video Jules. Very professional and VERY enjoyable to watch. I've toured the whole of Ireland (circular coastal route) and most of Scotland but I've never really invested time in Wales. I keep saying that I will do a tour but never get around to it.

I live in Bolton near Manchester, so it's not too far for day-trips into North Wales but those anti-bike N/Wales Police put a lot of people off. Whereabouts are you from??

Anyway, here's a crappy video of me around my hometown of Horwich on a CBF1000 I bought in 2006. I almost always ride on my Jack Jones. Find it incredibly relaxing being able to go where I like, when I like and how fast or slow I like.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

And here's me on my little high-revvin CB400 VTEC up in Scotland...

A RIDE IN BONNIE SCOTLAND

 

I get all my solitary riding in on my commute every morning, but I'm not nearly as motivated to ride out to the better spots if I'm not with someone. There's something about the camaraderie of being out with a friend. Plus, something inevitably goes wrong mechanically or, worst case, someone bites it and needs help.

I don't really go out and ride without a good friend, and it's usually the same good friend whose skills I know I can trust. If you have someone you're accustomed to riding with, solitary riding is pretty empty.

 

I guess it really depends on who I'm riding with, but there's less "rest" time when I'm riding by myself. My ideal Saturday or Sunday is waking up at around 9 or 10, having a decent brunch, getting on my bike and coming home when the sun starts getting low on the horizon and even then I've said, "I don't want to get off my bike yet" and made a detour to the next county when I'm about 5 minutes from home.

Last summer I took my first 6-7 hour trip by myself. It was kind of an "end of summer" and nearing the end of my first season riding kind of deal. Being that I'd never been more than 2 hours from my apartment before (in Korea), I just decided to pick a direction and keep going until I felt like turning back. I ended up passing through some province I didn't know was there in some town I'd never heard of, smoked a cigarette and headed back for home. After dealing with absolutely unknown roads, trying to decipher the Korean signs for the way home, I was drenched in sweat and immediately passed out on my bed. Probably one of the most fulfilling days I've ever had on a bike, ****, probably one of the most fulfilling days of my life period.

This year, I've made friends with locals who ride bigger bikes and I've had tons of fun with them and I can definitely see an advantage to being able to push myself harder through corners and having someone there when you crash. I've definitely gotten faster riding with more experienced riders and it's awesome to have found like-minded people being halfway around the planet from home.

I think solitary and group riding each have their own merits, but I'm just happy to be on two wheels is all so I'll take whatever chance I get to spend at least an hour or so on my bike a day, whether there's someone there to ride with or not.

 

haha cause my buddies are to busy looking at my girls backside on my bike and almost crash into me...