Why Ride Alone?

While my preference is to ride my motorcycle with a couple of good friends, I am equally happy to ride completely alone. I regularly do that without compunction or doubt. Yet friends have said that they can feel guilty about it, so here are the reasons why I ride alone, with pleasure;

1. On any Sunday; If I am riding alone, I can choose to go NOW or later, or not at all. It's my choice. I don't need to confer with anyone to decide on the date and time of my travel.
2. Thinking Time; Once I have eased onto the saddle and made it out of the city streets to the open road, I hit the cruise-control and let my thoughts try to solve my problems, if not the worlds' problems! In 150 km, I can sort out my plan for anything!
3. Peace; Everyone needs some "me time", including my family. This is a time of total relaxation, without any external pressures. I know my wife desires a couple of hours once per fortnight too - so she can do nothing, watch box-sets or whatever, and I will not be there to interfere! So we arrange just that, together. 
4. Go or Stop; there is no pressure to keep riding or not. If I choose to ride 20km to the local cafe, or across the State, then that is my choice, entirely. I can choose on the basis of how I feel on the day, and make my own decision. I can also stop any time I wish for a pee or a drink. Any time. 
5. Alter the Route at a Whim; Around my city, I have over 100 different rides to chose from, covering a few kilometres or 1000. And its my choice. Alone, it is also my choice  should I choose to change direction, mid-ride. One evening I rode south towards Cooma, and the night was so fine, I texted my wife I would be late, and road home via Tumut - a distance of over 500km for the evening. It was just perfect for that particular evening.
6. Entertainment; Additional to just riding and thinking, I also play Podcasts and music of my choice. One day it is Heavy Metal, the next Classics. Or if I really wish to get into the background of the COVID-19 discussion, I can do just that with a bunch of learned podcasts.
7. Safety; The risk of an accident rises as the square of the number of riders in a group. Frankly, the range of competency of riders in any group is, and will remain, very wide. If I am riding with say 20 others, there will be about three really competent riders, maybe 8 others who are safe, six that are a little dodgy on the day and three beginners or genuinely un-safe riders. Reducing the numbers reduces the risk of an accident, it is just that simple.
8. The Road Less Travelled; I have found that in clubs, (noting I am a member of three of them), most riders want to ride somewhere they have been before, just becuase they know what to expect. About 5% are happy to explore options. And some REALLY like to try something different! For example, it is a rare Harley rider who will ride on gravel, even for a kilometre or two, but some of the finest rides around my State, include less than 10km of gravel. Frankly I prefer to explore. 
9. Speed and Distance; Like some very good friends, I aim to do some much longer rides when I get the chance. I'm a full member of the Iron Butt Association (IBA #517) and some friends think that I ride very fast to cover the vast distances. Nothing could be further from the truth - the secret to covering long distances, is to keep the wheels turning, rather than sitting in a pub for hours. When I ride alone, I can choose the speed and distance, which maybe stop each 100km, or ride out 450 before the next gas stop. That is my choice. 
10. Stress-Down; Life and work is demaning enouigh, and now there are very carefully researched papers from HD and universities, that confirm that you will be 28% less stressed riding a bike. For the nine reasons above, that will likely be more so if you ride alone.

So don't feel guilty. Get out and ride when you like.

Olaf.

PS please note that this was written during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some States now have "Stay-at-home" regulations. Please comply with the Law as it stands, in your State at any given time.