Solo, With A Partner Or In A Group - Which Do You Prefer?

Mostly solo. For years up until recently, my preference was high speed, long distance. Usually in Europe, although the middle used to be a mecca for petrol heads with miles of flat out roads. Travelling to Moto Faro through Spain became my no1 trip. First year I went with Back Street Heroes on their 'Run to the Sun'. Soon lost all the other riders once the EU paid for, and deserted motorway running south to Portugal, showed itself to be a brilliant brain out, head down high speed play time road. The organiser (Stu Garland), plus a couple of the marshals are very fast riders, so for the following nine years I participated as a marshal. Riding with another marshal, we used to spend two weeks of high speed hedonism. Eventually Spain caught up with the rest of Europe, in respect to speeding, and the last of the open roads were closed to high speed.

Seven years spent in India (where high speed is a risky 100kph), with my partner, meant a change in style to riding two up at a slower pace. Having returned to UK last year I was shocked to see how congested and over policed the roads are. The ZX12R isn't designed for two up cruising/rallying, so I purchased a street twin to fit this need. Still use the 12R but only when I need to clear my head....lol

 

I either ride solo, or with my wife. We were out yesterday, her on her Street Twin, me on my Bonneville SE. Very enjoyable day.

 

Nothing beats my memory of a huge gang of bikers every Thursday evening in the summers of the early 1960s riding out up the A664 Manchester to Rochdale road past my parents house... used to go out and wait for them and there were dozens and dozens of them ...what a blast it was watching them ... slow, sedate and totally owning the road... I’ve done a few miles in company with others but it seems all speed and mad overtaking so I always now ride by myself. .. in the past few years even my local DGR seems keen to bat along along at rather an ungentlemanly pace rather than enjoying the ride, the company of other riders and the actual journey.

 

I've always been a loner, on bikes and largely off them too. Bit of a Billy-no-mates who prefers his own company and finds most humans (when I am not allowed to carefully select them) a prime pain in the ass. I never saw the point of buying a machine that is essentially designed for solo use and then hooking up with loads of other people who all want to stop in different places, drive at different speeds or are more concerned with looking mean than just enjoying their ride. The combination of man and machine is all that matters to me. It used to really piss me off when folks I knew were going to the bike racing, as was I, and they would insist that I should ride with them and, when I would try to drop back or even take alternative routes to try and lose them so that I could just chill and enjoy the ride they would stop to wait for me or come looking for me.
I have no interest in speed just for speed's sake and so the 'wild ride' from point A in a big loop to point B and back to point A at full throttle without stops just got right on my wick. If I wanted just to speed I would find a nice race track, complete with emergency sevices able to pick up my broken body and really, really push it safe in the knowledge that, when I screwed it up the pieces could be easily found. The bike for me is visceral and it's just me and her on the road, no-one else matters or even exists when that engine is thumping away. Don't get me wrong, I must admit that I do, occasionally examine just how fast my bikes will go and just how fast they will go around bends without coming unstuck but I don't race with anyone. I only do it for myself as a learning experience.