Solo Motorcycling, Is It for You?
Even though there are headlines hawking stories and videos about solo riders doing exciting things it’s not for everyone. Even if it’s not for everyone, it is for others.
Researching solo riding there were two different types of references to solo riding. Some consider solo riding as a single rider on a motorcycle rather than two up. This often applies to women riding their own motorcycle even though they are riding with others. The second is someone out riding alone, no one else on the bike with them and not having a riding partner or riding with a group.
For this purpose, I’m talking about the second type of solo ride. Alone on the motorcycle and alone on the ride. It’s my favorite way to ride however others prefer to share their experience. There is no one right way and each day what feels right for you might be different from the day before or the next day.
The most important consideration is what each rider wants to do. Right now it seems like solo riding and travel is the “in” thing to do. Don’t let that push you into doing something that doesn’t interest you.
Pros and Cons of Solo Riding
Pros
Freedom
Riding solo is the ultimate freedom. You can change your mind on a whim without checking with anyone and move on any way you want. With most of our lives being controlled by “needing” to be somewhere or do something having this freedom is priceless.
Privacy
If you value your privacy riding solo provides it. Camping or staying in a room alone is refreshing if you are an introvert and need your alone time.
Flexibility
Go when you want, stop when you want, go where you want, ride at the speed you enjoy. You are on your own schedule or no schedule. You get to make all the decision without considering or asking anyone else.
Mental Clarity
Solo riding can free your mind of the stresses of daily life. With a clear mind you are able to enjoy your own personal journey.
Meeting new people
While alone you become much more approachable than you are when you ride with someone else or a group. People will strike up a conversation in places like fuel stops, rest areas, viewpoints, and in camp. Often they ask questions that seem “dumb” but they are simply trying to connect with you. It can be a lot of fun and you can learn a lot about the area you are in. In camp, it’s not uncommon to be invited to someone’s camp for a meal or to share the fire. If you stay at motels this doesn’t happen as often but I have been invited to join people for dinner at a restaurant.
Experience new things.
You will be able to do things on your own that you may not have done before. Just riding alone might be new to you. Have you camped alone before? Doing things alone can inspire confidence and self-sufficiency and you might just ride away feeling good about doing it.
Opportunities
Riding solo you can experience a little bit of self-indulgence. The ride is all about you and doing what you want. If you want to stop and do something your friends normally wouldn’t want to do you can without thinking of anyone else. No one is impatiently waiting for you to get through that museum or whatever. This opens up so many opportunities along the way.
Peer Pressure
There is no peer pressure because you are alone. This can be very freeing. Riding with others sometimes includes peer pressure to keep up when you want to slow down. Or stop for a beer or two when you don’t want to drink and ride. Continue to ride when you are tired and ready to stop for the day. Alone there is no pressure.
No Compromising
It’s not always easy to find people to ride with. Schedules often get in the way. Where people want to go might not be where you want to go. Amounts of time available for rides might differ. Riding alone means there is no compromising needed.
Financial Advantages
You determine what you want to spend money on and how much. If you want to save on food you can eat in camp but if your riding partners want to eat out it becomes an issue. Do you want to do your thing while they do theirs or do you want to go with them and spend more than you want? Are they prepared to eat in camp? If staying at a motel do you like to stay in cheap motels while others prefer much nicer much more expensive accommodations? Or the other way around? If you are not equally matched financially will you spend more than you want to be part of the group or will you encourage them, unknowingly, to spend more than they can afford?
Navigation
You get to do it all, create the route you want. When you are riding you follow the route you chose. If you make a wrong turn you can make whatever decision you want. You can go back to where the wrong turn happened and go the right way or continue on and see where you end up. You can throw out the entire plan midway and re-plan without consulting anyone.
Cons
Lack of sharing
When you stop to see something you don’t have anyone to share it with. For some people not sharing the experience takes away from the fun.
Loneliness
This is a tough one for those who don’t embrace alone time. Extroverts who are energized by others might find this much alone time overwhelming. The loneliness can take all the enjoyment out of the experience. Don’t let this happen to you.
No second opinions
If you want to bounce ideas off of someone there isn’t anyone to bounce those ideas from. It’s all up to you and you don’t get to ask, “What do you think?” (Or blame anyone else.)
Vulnerability/Fear
With solo riding there isn’t anyone watching out for you, no one has your back. You might feel vulnerable, unsafe, and fearful.
Strangers
If you don’t enjoy strangers asking “dumb” questions every time you stop this will definitely be a con for you. People like to talk with solo riders and will ask whatever pops into their mind. A common one is “what do you do when it rains?” They don’t intend to annoy us and they truly are interested but it can be annoying and riding solo encourages more of this.
Lack of Help
If you get yourself into trouble there isn’t anyone there to help you.
This picture is one of those times I experienced this while riding solo. I dropped my bike in what I thought would be an easy puddle to ride through. It had deep ruts in it and one of them caught my tire and over I went. As I tried to pick it up, I would slide on the mud into a rut and it was like trying to lift the bike over my head and it felt extremely heavy. There wasn’t cell service to call my friends back at camp and no one knew where I went so if I didn’t return they wouldn’t know where to look. Luckily for me, a young man in a pickup came up the road and stopped to help me pick up the bike. It was so heavy because the side bag on the downside had filled with water. Duh…. I discovered I was on a road that goes to an experimental forest and isn’t normally traveled. The young man who stopped had been checking the trees. Things worked out for me but I could have been walking a long way in riding boots.
Missed Opportunities
For some people, there are things they don’t like to do alone and they might miss something because they are riding solo. For me, it might be going to an interesting bar since I don’t like going into bars alone. Some people don’t like to go into a restaurant and eat alone so they might miss a fun experience and opt for fast food instead. There are other things people prefer not to do alone and that is just two examples.
Emotions/feelings might show up
This one can be a little different. You might learn things about yourself that you would prefer not to learn. You might feel emotions that make you feel uncomfortable. Riding solo gives you a lot of time to think. For some people it’s good while others don’t want to go down that path.
Telling friends you want to ride alone
If you have friends who enjoy riding with you it’s difficult making them understand why you want to ride alone. Sometimes noses get bent out of joint when you don’t invite them to ride with you.
Financial disadvantages
No one to split costs with. If you stay in motels and share a room with your riding partner and split costs things get more expensive when riding solo. Even camping with the cost of some campgrounds now this too makes the ride more expensive.
Navigation
There is no one to share the navigation chores with and you are responsible for creating the entire route without input. While riding you don’t get a break from watching for the next turn or even watching the speed you are going.
Is it Freeing or Lonely for you?
Traveling alone can be
hard and lonely or incredibly simple and freeing. It’s not for everyone and it might be for you. If it’s for you, it will be exhilarating and you’ll wonder why you waited so long to do this. If it’s not for you it will be clear very early and it won’t be fun and you likely will be miserable.
Both types of riding can be exhilarating or miserable and maybe both on the same ride. Do what exhilarates you don’t let what others enjoy dictate how you choose to ride. Remember, early-day motorcycling was seen as independence and freedom. It is what you want it to be, solo time or group time.
The First Solo Rider
The first person to ride across the United States did it solo during a time when motorcycles and roads weren’t even close to what they are today. I tip my helmet to Mr. George Wyman.
In 1903, George Wyman, wearing a suit, rode a motorcycle 3800 miles in 50 days solo from San Francisco to New York. Not only was he the first person to cross America on a motorbike, but the first person to cross using any type of motorized vehicle. Just under a month later a car made the same trip and overshadowed his accomplishment and he was forgotten for a long time.
The motorcycle he rode was a 1902 200cc created by California Motorcycle Company which was the first production motorcycle brand in the United States. The 200cc (12 cu in), 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) weighed only 90 pounds and wasn’t much more than a diamond frame bicycle with a four-stroke engine. It had wooden wheels and a tiny gas tank. In 1903 gas was sold at pharmacies, which is where he would fill up.
At one point in his ride the handlebars broke so he replaced them with a tree branch and continued until he could replace them. His accomplishment of riding across America alone when roads weren’t much more than mud bogs at times and riding on railroad ties leaving him tired and sore at the end of the day is incredible.
To read more about George Wyman’s Journey the entire story is here – – -> Link
Are You Ready To Go Solo?
If you haven’t ridden solo yet and want to give it a try there are tips HERE that will help get you started.
It’s your Adventure, fill it with the things that make you smile and remember to take time to enjoy the flowers along the way.
