Stage-Of-Life and Riding/Touring Styles

I'm recently interested in the idea of different riding/touring styles for people in different stages of life. For example,

Is it all about going as far as you can as fast as you can? Is it more about enjoying the scenic beauty along the way? Is it about the people you ride with and good companionship? Is it about sharing or engaging in multiple enjoyable activities on a trip while including riding as one of these? Is it ALL about the
riding itself, with little regard for where you might be going?
Or........................?

And how might these priorities or interests change at different stages of life? You might be more inclined one way at age 20, and very differently at age 60, for example. So, I'd be interested to hear from folks about their personal experiences, thoughts and inclinations along these lines. You can think of this
as a mini research project that I'm undertaking. Your answers might lead me to additional questions for you.

Thanks for your time.

For me, it's about

matthew wrote:

sharing or engaging in multiple enjoyable activities on a trip while including riding as one of these?

.

I've always gone on road trips, it's just better on a two wheels.

M-

Good post Matt,
For me at 50 it's all about escaping the hustle and bustle of daily life. I love my job so at least 50% of the frustration factor does not apply here. There is nothing more enjoyable than to hop on the scoot and cruise the backroads at speeds that allow me to smell the smells and enjoy the scenery. There are the occasional twisties that I give a little more left hand to just to get the pulse over 60 bpm. I ride with a group on weekends and then its all about ICE CREAM! I've only completed one long trip on the scoot which was 3 days in the White Mtns of NH. We tasted a lot of ice cream that week....

That's me and my steed second from left.

Interesting question Matthew.
For me I would have to say it varies depending on my mood, but at some point it includes all of the things you mentioned. Sometimes it is finding that groove through a sweeping corner, or marveling at the beauty around me, or enjoying the companionship; but it is always about the journey, not just about the destination, but the destination can be good too...

My wife and I try and take a road trip on the scoot every summer. For us it is about seeing beautiful scenery while we ride and enjoying each others company. I purposely plan routes that minimize freeways, maximize back roads and scenery. I also try to limit it to 250 miles per day and about 5 hours max saddle time with multiple stops for sight seeing, hiking, eating etc. We are planning 8 day 2000 mile trip to Glacier National Park this summer.

I also enjoy group rides with friends. They are usually not more than a couple hours in length and usually involve stopping for lunch or dinner somewhere along the route.

It's not about speed for me, but I do enjoy taking some twisties aggressively when riding solo. Yesterday I went on a spur of the moment solo 200 mile ride through some gorgeous mountain scenery.

I also enjoy solo camping/fly fishing trips a couple of times each summer.

But in thinking about it, it is a synergistic relationship. Scenery is more thoroughly enjoyed without a cage partially blocking the view. Spectacular scenery makes the ride much more enjoyable. Road trips with my wife are more fun on two wheels than four, partially because of the scenery aspect mentioned above, and partially because of the thrill and exhilaration of ride. Viewing early summer wildflowers, or fall foliage from two wheels enhances the ride, and enhances the relationship.

Getting together with friends for a ride gets us together when we would not otherwise. So the social aspect of riding is a definite plus.

Riding and fly fishing are my two favorite pastimes, when I get to combine them.....there is nothing better.

When it gets right down to it, the thrill of being on two wheels is both the cake, and the frosting. Fun activities are more fun on two wheels. Being on two wheels is even more with when combined with great scenery, good friends, and fun activities!

I wish you lived close to me ,you just described my dream . Unfortunately
my wife does not want to ride .But she has gone from I am never going on that thing to maybe I will try it .So there is hope for me as well . I just got back from a trip to Banff and Calgary . I had planed on coming home threw Glacier park but the trip was not going well so I came home the short way and fast .

strangely enough this was debated on a Bike forum that i contribute to occasionally.

Quote :

Woke up this morning and it was a beautiful day so threw my kit on and
went out for a ride before lunch. By the time i got back i was
miserable. every time i go out now its like 10% of the journey is great
fun but 90% is stuck behind some moron at 28mph in a 40 zone that
brakes for everything coming the other way or sitting in a jam with
people pulling out so i cant filter or coming round a blind bend to
find some old woman stopped in the middle of the road to buy her
flowers.

I had planned on scratching down my fave road but by
the time i got to the turning there was tonnes of traffic and i couldn't
be bothered. its at the point where i will slow right down to a crawl
to let cars get ahead so i can go round one corner at speed before
braking for the traffic again.

I don't want to start being one of
those people that takes silly risks and makes dangerous overtakes just
to get 100 yards of clear black. I'm already starting to get road rage
quite frequently. So I'm wondering if i should grow old before my time
and chop the b1h in for an old bonneville or something so i wont care
about corner speed and overtakes etc. etc.

Just getting it off
my chest really. Does everyone feel like this or is it just me? I
suppose you guys are used to riding on much faster roads where
overtakes are easy? Maybe for the time being ill upgrade my headlights
and just ride at night.

My response.

Quote :

Difficult to decide what you want out of a ride. For me this morning
was a leisurely ride in the sunshine from Melksham via Lacock to
Chippenham for a grow bag and some other gardening bits. Enjoyed the
trip there at no more than 40 MPH. After a stooge around B&Q (DIY Store) I
strapped the growbag onto the back seat and came back through Beanacre
following a couple on a 600 wiv knobbly tyres.

No hassle just a
nice ride in the sunshine. At 55 that suits me for a spin but if I was
20 or 30 years younger I too would probably want to tear up some tarmac.

Ride safe, have fun.

Old fogey.

Kim and I have been riding Honda scooters since 2003. Started on Reflexes and moved to the SilverWings in 2006.

For us the ride is really an escape. It is many other things, but primarily it is an escape.

We enjoy the adventure of using our bikes as our primary transportation when we take vacations or long weekends. Since we both ride we almost always ride with each other and the companionship is amazing. We purchased bike-to-bike communication devices last spring and that really enhanced the experience.

We do ride in larger groups when we can and enjoy riding with others.

Our favorite type of travel on the scooters is to travel a loop to a destination and then back home. Planning for the adventure is almost as much fun as taking the ride itself. We route ourselves onto roads that we might not otherwise travel, especially if those routes contain natural or historic sites. We plan our stops based on local sights and our interest in the town names and what might be present in the locale.

We almost always set a target of 300 to 350 miles for a day, but will bump that to 400 - 425 if necessary for out time constraint. We try to get rolling by 8am and close the day no later than 5pm. That is not an inflexible and we've had shorter and longer days - the plan is not chiseled in stone and is easily changed. Obviously this style of riding is much easier when we ride by ourselves, a group forces us to make different decisions in an effort to please a larger group of individuals.

Thanks to you all for these reports and explanations. Please keep them coming.
It's interesting to get to know what riding/touring actually means to different people, and how people think about and relate to their riding/touring experience.

YES!!!!!!!!

Good question. Gosh I have been gone for awhile! Jdeereanton you are way ahead of me now..LOL Been in Alaska for two weeks.
And I missed my bike while I was gone. For me it is freedom to wander. I love to enjoy nature. I sing on my bike...way out in the country so no one can hear me! It's my quiet time and my thinking time.
I probably ride 85% of the time by myself and the rest with my group in Richmond, IN. I like to research an area, mapquest and then take off. Many times I just turn on roads I haven't been on before....
It just fills me up emotinally.

As mentioned before my rideing style depends on my mood, I like to slow down a bit more as ive gotten older and like many of you just want to ride dose'nt matter where just want a mini adventure this is gonna sound strange but i tend to speed up when i see a lovely bend or set of bends or i really speed up when i see a none to efficient sports bike rider some days i just sit at a reasonable speed just chillin clear of negativity and caught in the zone(and we all have our own zone)
I also like riding with groups I tend to stay at the back because i like to study different techniques

I am still trying to figure out what my riding style is. I am basically new rider as I only started last year and moved from 50cc to 250cc to just recently 600cc. I always liked sport cars but 2-wheeling was never my thing until last year. I am typically just looking for an excuse to get out and ride no matter where but if I have errands to run it makes it look better for my better half. As I was ready to move from Reflex to the next bike I've done a lot of soul searching trying to figure out what I want my next bike to be. I really liked sport-touring cycles but I just didn't feel ready for big, heavy 1300-1400cc (ST1300, FJR, Concours). I found 800cc BMW sport-touring bike that I really liked but it was way too expensive. And then the great deal on '08 SW came along... So far I am enjoying my SW but I am still getting used to it and I am still breaking it in. I'll add more to this topic in a little while.
Question for all of you: how do you find riding group where you live? I've done some google search but it seems that scooter groups mostly ride 50cc. I'd really love to ride with other people but so far was unsuccessful finding any groups.

Miro wrote:

I am still trying to figure out what my riding style is. I am basically new rider as I only started last year and moved from 50cc to 250cc to just recently 600cc. I always liked sport cars but 2-wheeling was never my thing until last year. I am typically just looking for an excuse to get out and ride no matter where but if I have errands to run it makes it look better for my better half. As I was ready to move from Reflex to the next bike I've done a lot of soul searching trying to figure out what I want my next bike to be. I really liked sport-touring cycles but I just didn't feel ready for big, heavy 1300-1400cc (ST1300, FJR, Concours). I found 800cc BMW sport-touring bike that I really liked but it was way too expensive. And then the great deal on '08 SW came along... So far I am enjoying my SW but I am still getting used to it and I am still breaking it in. I'll add more to this topic in a little while.
Question for all of you: how do you find riding group where you live? I've done some google search but it seems that scooter groups mostly ride 50cc. I'd really love to ride with other people but so far was unsuccessful finding any groups.

Hi Miro,

Have you had a look at these guys http://www.maxi-scoots.com/postnuke/index.php
You'll find more then 50cc there! Check out the ride out section, or simply post a few ideas and I'm sure you find some fellow scooter riders keen to meet up.

And as to why we ride bikes and scoots, it seems that there are already some very good ideas and opinions here! There is for me a certain Zen like quality about it.... A better sense of freedom in a world of ever more cars and trucks, traffic jams and frustration. What better way to turn the frustration of being caught in a jam into pleasure as you simply thread your way poast all the stationary or slow moving cars?

I work in a psychiatric hospital amongst people who sadly don't always have the capacity and or opportunity to choose what they want. No matter how hard one tries to help, sometimes you just can't reach them enough, and they remain stuck in their ways and own difficult world, even though if they could choose to, they would want out.....

So you try and make the best difference that you can. But sometimes you come and go to and from work with a foul sense of bitterness and frustration at how god awful the world can be for some of us. Then I usually feel embaressed when I realise just how much I have, and all the things I enjoy. Commuting on my bike or scoot, (and if I'm in the car) then just knowing I have these amazing machines waiting for me at home is a great release. It helps keep me grounded.

There is so much to riding a bike / scooter. I wrote this is a similar thread on a different forum some time ago....

I suppose riding a scooter, or a bike for that matter is one of many ways in which we can celebrate the human condition. It helps me feel alive, and gives me a sense of freedom. I have to say I really do love being able to overtake cars, filter to the front of traffic queues, and get where I'm going quicker than a car, and still finding it easy to park! At the same time in can also be very practical, for example commuting to work. And it’s an experience that we can share in with a great sense of camaraderie, and as this forum shows gain a great many friends.... I remember with two motorcycle pals about 14 years ago touring around Europe, on three big touring bikes. We had ridden for a good few days and done about 2,000 or so miles since crossing the English channel. I remember coming up over the crest of the hill and seeing the Mediterranean sea laid out below us, restless, and glittering in the afternoon sun as if it was waiting for us.... Wow!! Recently for the first time I took my two sons out with me. (one at a time!) That was a great moment. They loved it.... It was a special feeling, though alas Mum was concerned, so we only went out for a short spin. Then when my dad visited I took him out on the back, he's 71 years old. When we got out on the dual carriageway and got up to 70mph, I felt him put his arms around me and hug me. In that moment I had a "peak experience" so many thoughts and feelings of nostalgia passed through my mind, including memories of how I used to hug him as a boy. He was and still is my hero, and a pillar of strength and love that I still have the honour of sharing from time to time. That hug encapsulated so much..... Oh my...... I still remember when my dad bought me my first bike, a yellow honda SS50 on my 16th Birthday. I can still see it in my minds eye being delivered by some of his work mates...

Riding bikes and a scooter, (my S'wing is my first scoot!) have afforded me some of the most precious memories, experiences, and friendships.... I think it's one of the things that helps keep me grounded and adds stability and more interest to life. For me it will I think always be a special experience.

Happy Riding!