Secrets of the Solitary Rider
Weather: Sunny and 38°F (4°C)
Road Conditions: Dry and salty in most places, icy brine in others.
Riding solo requires a different approach from the group experience.
The Winter of Twenty-Ought-Six/Seven has been a long one, but for Frogwing and I it is finally over.
Yesterday, we took a ride typical of our solo weekend rambles. Across the border and into Wisconsin, we rode a simple ninety-mile loop along both banks of the Saint Croix River. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and my spirit soared higher than it has in many moons.
But I’m saving that tale for later in the week, because this whole question of solo vs. group riding has been filling my thoughts lately, and I can’t write about anything else until I clear these mental buffers.
In the image above, you will see a number of items that seem to suggest a journey of some sort. The vehicle might be an antique aeroplane, motorbike, or a classic roadster. The devices pictured here are timeless, as useful now as they were “back in the day”.
Sure, they are being rapidly eclipsed by modern inventions, but it is nice to maintain one’s acquaintance with these analog items, because they don’t require batteries or a network of satellites in order to work properly.
Underlying everything in that image above is The Map. Gone are the days when I would just hop on my motorbike, after a hard days work, and ride anywhere just to be in the wind. With the responsibilities I have now, there is no time for that anymore. I cannot explore dead ends and blind alleys as I have in the past, so I resort to the bird’s-eye view provided by a good map like the DeLorme’s Atlas and Gazetteer.
Once a general route is sketched out, I may go on the Internet and research any points of interest along the way. Riding solo, however, does not preclude me from stopping to investigate anything intriguing that didn’t appear in either of these two references. I can stop where I want, when I want, for whatever I want. I believe this is called “Freedom”.
The compass is there to help me find my way back to the original route, should I get lost. Given my inquisitive nature, this is not an infrequent occurrence.
You will also see a pair of goggles in that image. These were the eyewear of choice for motorized adventurers from the Golden Age of Speed on land, and in the air. I include them here because I want to be sure to See Everything along the way.
This includes paying utmost attention to the various threats we face in an unfamiliar environment. Traffic hazards can come at you from unexpected directions on roads you have never ridden before. You have to be ready to react, which means slowing down to increase your options when something happens.
Finally, we come to the book. This isn’t any book in particular, but it is very important nonetheless. It can be anything from the Bible to a murder mystery, and it is there simply as an erstwhile travelling companion. Let’s face it; there are times on a solo ride when, despite all the wonderful freedom of action and beautiful scenery, we find ourselves in a diner somewhere, waiting for our meal, and the waitress is too busy to talk. Other folks are keeping to themselves, and we are left sitting there with nothing to do.
Open the book, and you are instantly transported somewhere else, where exciting or interesting things are happening, or where you are learning something profound. This applies to the lonely hotel room, on a long road trip, or even to the picnic table at a wayside rest or city park. I always have a book along with me when I am riding, and it has saved me time and again from boredom on the road.
Frogwing pauses beside a frozen pond, on our first ride of the season.
Another positive thing about the solitary ride is your ability to learn more about the places you visit. If you ride into town in a group, the people running the roadhouse are going to be focused on all the money they are about to make. They are not going to waste time chatting about local history except in the most general of terms.
But when you ride into town alone, you can often catch them in a bored and contemplative mood, which then leads to some of the most wonderful conversations I’ve ever had on the road. It is for this reason that I usually carry some sort of notebook along with me, so I can get the facts, news, or popular local legends straight for later embellishment…er, I mean dissemination here in the blog.
When it comes right down to it, I think that is the biggest reason why I like riding solo. It makes for better writing. But there is another reason why this is important to the mission of Rush Hour Rambling…
Riding to Work is, by necessity, a solitary endeavor. I don’t know of any workplace, anywhere, that the workers all meet and start from the same place, and ride to work together. If I am mistaken in this, please enlighten me. Most of the time, the motorbike commuter is a solo rider, simply by geographic and demographic necessity. That being the case, I hope this little bit of wisdom helps to smooth your journeys. For it is not necessarily the Ride to Work which motivates us, but rather the Ramble on the way home.
Here’s wishing you Happy Ramblings in Twenty Ought Seven…
March 18th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Solo riding has become so normal and everyday for me, that I forgot to look for the beauty in it. Thanks for the reminder.
Have fun,
Bill
March 18th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
The only time that I ever recall being a witness to a place where all of the employees would meet and start to work from the same place is back when I used to fly for a living. I was in Las Vegas and I noticed a small group of 737’s with a red stripe down the side of them, all departing on a northerly heading out of Vegas, I inquired about the flights with the odd callsign (”Lucy” I believe it was, but don’t quote me on that, it’s been a while) and another pilot told me that was how the Government employees and Military personnel would all commute together on their way to Groom lake a.k.a. “Area 51″. I don’t know if he was pulling my leg or not, but the story sounded good (Commercial flights usually don’t go very far north out of Vegas, lot’s of Restricted Airspace in that part of the country). That’s the only occasion that immediately crossed my mind, don’t know if I would want to take that commute, but then again………..
March 18th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Glad you were able to get out for the first “long” ride of the season and stretch those riding muscles. I just love the still life of the map, book, and gear. I travel with the same sort of stuff plus a camera or two. And a bottle of water.
Solitary riding is my ride of choice though I have to admit that I am warming to the idea of riding with one or two others. A lot depends on who the other riders are.
Looking forward to your post on this topic.
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
March 18th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Wow Gary, that was a great post. It sums up everything I love about riding solo. Great layout of the tools in the top photo, as well as frogwing taking a breather by the side of the ride.
Up here, we keep getting hit with winter. Again, and again, etc… I’ve been itching so bad to get out on the road that I’ve been tempted to back Gypsy out of the garage and fire her up for all the neighborhood to hear and fear. But alas, I wait for the snow to melt. Not to mention the first good rain to clear the streets of the accumulation of salt and sand.
Again, that was a great post. If I wasn’t stoked to ride already, now I’m really in bad shape. I look forward to riding with you again this year.
Later,
Eric
March 19th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I carry that same Atlas when I ride. You’d be amazed what you can find in there if you just look hard enough.
Hope to hook up on a Ramble Plan or two this year.
Thanks for the pics and the ride review.
Sidewalk Dan out.
March 19th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Mmmm yeah that’s what it’s all about! I hope we both have great rambles this coming summer Gary.
There should be some sort of bikers greeting for the start of the riding season. At Christmas we wish everyone “Merry Christmas” etc so come spring, the first dry roads and blue skies we should all be wishing each other “Happy new bimbling” … or something like that.
March 19th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Another idea where workers gather and ride together would be the Tower Soudan mine…. (way back it was the immigrant miners going to work) — more currently used for particle research by the U of M.
NOTE: I recommend this tour to all reletives who end up visiting my folks on the Iron Range and if you are making the journey up there…. you might as well take a ride on Minnesota Highway One.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/soudan_underground_mine/index.html
Mat
March 20th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Just today I rode 61 miles and took a leasurely ride up into the mountains east of town. I needed to deliver some stuff to a friend. It was nice to hop on the bike and go by myself. I do enjoy riding with others and the laughs and adventures we share. I rode with one friend, she on her bike and me on mine, from 9am to 9pm and boy was that fun. We went all the way to Copper Mountain Ski resort. Did lots of stops and took lots of pictures.
Another favorite was when my husband and I each rode our motorcycles and the eldest drove the youngest and we did our family vacation. I’ve also done quite a few group rides with the Mountain Shadow Riders, a chaper of Women on Wheels. I love the mix of solos and group rides and the differences they offer.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Thomas Earl- the red stripe flights do indeed go to Groom Lake- that is how most, if not all, the employees get there.
Gary- don’t know about riding to work, but there were a number of times that many coworkers (co-riders) and I would leave work at the same time and decide to go on a “ramble”…
-BS
March 20th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Bill: You’re welcome. It’s too easy sometimes to overlook life’s simple pleasures, until you have to do without them for a few months.
T.E.: Imagine having a job where you are not allowed to Ride to Work…
Steve: I’m not going to devote an entire post to group riding just yet. I’m very selective about going on group rides, and I only ride with people I know pretty well, or people I instinctively trust, if that makes any sense.
While I value the freedom of the solo ride, I also enjoy the camaraderie of the group. But I tend to prefer small groups to large ones. Much easier to keep everyone together. Maybe, after a couple of group rides during this season, I will address this at length.
Eric: It’s good to hear from you again. I see you have finally updated your blog, so I’ll have some reading to do later on. I’m definitely up for another trip to the Iron Range, as soon as you and Gypsy are ready.
Sidewalk Dan: The weather is going to be perfect later this week. Have you got your bike out yet? Let me know…
Mad: Hah! You crack me up. I don’t know why that word “bimbling” sounds so funny to the American ear, but it does. I have actually used another English riding slang word, “hoon”, in one of my columns years ago, and was immediately called on it by an irate reader. He thought I was being pretentious!
A friend of mine and I were talking about language the other day, and I reminded him that it isn’t an English accent that you folks speak with, but rather that we speak the English language with an American accent. He couldn’t argue with that.
MatL: Maybe Eric and I will go check that out this year. We’ve ridden parts of Highway One already. Where are you located, anyway?
Betty: I’m hoping to get out on the scooters with my girls more this year. But it’s going to have to wait until Amy’s leg heals up, and the temperatures rise to Springtime levels.
Bro Shagg: The after-work Ramble is what it’s all about. We have a bunch of riders here at my work, but we all come from different points on the compass, and it would be difficult to work out a Group Ramble that would suit everyone. Still, we might get a small group together…
Ride well,
=gc=
March 20th, 2007 at 10:25 am
I’m going to a certain “g” show to help a friend at his table on Saturday. If you’re thinking about coming to the fairgrounds I would love to see that book you have in the picture.
I will be taking the car as I might be coming home with a long gun or something…
This spring it looks like I’ll be taking your and everyone else’s advice about the singular ride. Its finally clearing up Gary, its finally clearing up!
Harv
March 20th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Harv: That book in the picture is Hunter Thompson’s “Kingdom of Fear”, the last decent thing he wrote. When I bought it, I was making preparations to ride out to Woody Creek to see if I could get him to sign it, but The Doctor had other plans…
Ride well,
=gc=
March 20th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Thanks for the title. I’ll be looking for it.
Harv