I find that more and more these days, going to the range is stress inducing. With the scarcity of ammo, or the abundance of range idiots, or the guy with the rifle/cannon in the next stall, it hasn't been a lot of fun to go shooting.

So I've been doing a lot of riding.

Lately I just want to be where there is a whole lot of nobody.


Sometimes nothing clears the mind like 80mph wind in your face. Not that I was riding 80mhp. The speedometer doesn't appear to be working correctly.

nice, why I am trying to get myself a KLR. There are some obstacles. But still I really would like one.

Try riding in the Metro Detroit area. You will find that shooting is much much more relaxing. BTW I took up shooting Skeet and have found you meet a lot nicer people on a Skeet field than you do at a pistol range. In addition shooting at moving targets is a lot more fun than punching holes in paper.

Yes! There is just something special about riding a motorcycle. No matter how stressed I get a brief blast out to the country on my SV1000 always melts the stress away and leaves me feeling energized.

This baby isn’t quite as gas sipping as my previous SV650 but the torque and acceleration makes it a joy that never gets old.

I love riding out to the country and just exploring back roads until I get lost.

Funny, I have found riding to be more stressful than going to the range. My little country towns are being overrun with transplants and traffic. Between the texting drivers and the brodozers I find every ride is an abstract lesson in not being killed. What used to be a 2 minute ride to solitude has become a 20 min ride of red lights and assholes not paying attention. For the first time in years I’m contemplating selling my Ducati. I am fortunate that I am almost always alone in the pistol pit at my range. When I haven’t been, I’ve only met one complete idiot and it wasn’t a safety issue. I was more concerned that he was standing around boasting about violating Federal laws, which is honestly none of my business. Just proved the guy was a moron.

I wish riding was giving me the same clarity that you all are still getting. I miss it.

I agree, riding a motorcycle is relaxing.

When commuting on my bike, I find I'm overall much more relaxed before and after work than I am when I drive the car, truck, or jeep.

You trade all of the other stresses of life for alertness when you swing a leg over the machine. If you're doing your job right, none of the other worries have much time to creep in as you and the machine cover the miles.

I got the adventure bike itch bad… Gave up my motorcycle endorsement 20 years ago after moving here as traffic is so bad.

The last two decades and its only gotten worse; people don’t even see me with four wheels in a rag top.

But I still get the itch … contemplating…

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
I got the adventure bike itch bad… Gave up my motorcycle endorsement 20 years ago after moving here as traffic is so bad.

I don't have it bad, but more a constant, low-level "I sure would like to..." thing.

But my problem, well, one of them, is the same as yours: Drivers in 4-wheeled vehicles.

And it's become noticeably worse since things started freeing-up after the first surge of the Wu Flu scaredemic. People are driving both more aggressively and more carelessly than ever before.

It's become so bad I'm seriously thinking of insisting to my wife we trade in her Chevy Equinox for something with a bit more heft.

It used to be my way of relaxing and winding down from a stressful day at work. I live 10 minutes away from traffic free country roads and took full advantage of them. I miss those rides a lot.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Try riding in the Metro Detroit area. You will find that shooting is much much more relaxing. BTW I took up shooting Skeet and have found you meet a lot nicer people on a Skeet field than you do at a pistol range. In addition shooting at moving targets is a lot more fun than punching holes in paper.

Lived in Southgate and can confirm. One ride was all it took for me to stop.
I did enjoy Top Gun in Taylor though. Excellent range. Been 7 years since I've been there.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
I love riding out to the country and just exploring back roads until I get lost.

A friend and I call this "the left-right game." Get to an intersection and toss a mental coin -- heads you go left, tails you go right. A fella can get way away from his "known area" that way. Go out for a couple of hours and get so far away from home that you have to get out the GPS to get back.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
I took up shooting Skeet and have found you meet a lot nicer people on a Skeet field

I'd like to do a lot more of that, too, come to think of it.

My therapy has been shoveling off the snow so I could open the door to look at my bike. Its February!

Until the last few years, I did not know I was an ADD type, but it seems to fit. I jumble numbers, did poorly in classrooms, etc.

Riding a moto calms me. I figure it's the so many things you need to be aware of, threats, possibilities, plans - thinking a few seconds ahead, etc that focuses you.

I actually start yawning, get totally relaxed.
Mine is a ST, so I take it in the twisties. No need to race, just going places works.

I always felt that riding and range time both relax because they occupy 110%. If you find you can't allow either activity to absorb you you should probably take a break. For that day or maybe longer. Doing either "Well" warrants your undivided attention.

Here's my approach:

Turn off the radio, TV and Internet.



Ride to the IDPA match where idiocy is rare and good friends are there Leave early and take the back roads.
Enjoy the morning, shoot for those perfect trigger releases, screw the timer, help clean up the stages, and take the long way home
Later, go for another ride (wear leather) with no particular destination but live in the awesome February weather.

Stop to see friendly furriners having fun in your locale.
Cows. Cows are cool.
Earth, water, wind, sky.

The side of the road guy is there with all kinds of goodies.

Open throttle on the way home. Hear the engine sing, feel the tires grip and shred, sense the brake pads gripping the discs into radiant redness.
Do the low wave to fellow bikers on the other side of the highway, let the Honda Civic pass you on the straight and swoop courteously past him in the sweeper.

Choose the back roads to go on home, let the Five O 'Clock World take the Interstate without you.

Hug and kiss your wife, crack open a dark brew and breathe the good air on the patio.

Stressfree!

I got in 96 miles of wind therapy today. First ride since January and it was a good stress reliever.

Throttle therapy.

I am fortunate, I have several backroads that can go on for thousands of miles. I avoid heavy traffic roads, interstates, etc. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And when I come home, I feel like I was just baptized. All stress is gone. That’s a ride on my GoldWing.

When I’m having a bad day, I fire up the V-Max for a very spirited and short ride. And Thank God I arrived home safely. I feel like I made a deal with the devil.

My wife kind of understands, if I go out, doing something I enjoy, that’s how I want to go. And she will be taken care of. It took me forever to convince her, but I don’t take her on the V-Max anymore.

I wish I could ride. We have had a couple of warm days but they have been bookended with winter storms and the roads are covered in salt, slush and deep puddles from snow melt. Hell, my street is still mostly snow and slush covered. Probably have about 5-6 more weeks.

Stay safe and enjoy the hell out of it. I sold my Bonneville last fall because I finally accepted that our season is just too short. It spent more months up on the lift than it did on the road.

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
I wish I could ride.

I hear you. When I moved to Texas from Colorado this was one of the things I was excited about. On the flip side, there are usually several weeks in July/August where I just can't ride. Can't handle the extreme heat while sitting on a massive heat generator.

Quite the stable. I hope my garage looks like that someday.