Is this you?

[Al st1100]

 

[ardykay54]

Naaaaaahhhh........I ride cause I'm nuts!!?? Russ.

 

[jdmccright]

I ride alone bc I have no friends that ride...to the point, I have no friends.

 

[bdalameda]

This definitely describes how I feel about riding - I almost always ride alone. I have never enjoyed riding in groups other than meeting for a meal or get-together somewhere. When I ride I prefer to be alone or with only another person, two tops.

Another factor I have come to believe is that riding a motorcycle, experiencing the hum of the road and the wind and perhaps the way you body responds to riding, will stimulate your vagus nerve. Stimulating the vagus nerve is known to give you a feeling of well being and increases your focus and improves your experience of life.

Dan

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Is this me? Mostly. bdalameda said it exactly how I was going to describe my riding preference. No need to repeat it.

 

[St-Gerard]

Simple Yes

 

[Chris09]

i dunno anything about the vangus nerve but I get it
it's awesome getting out for a rip on a great bike
but the bike...
has to be great
[edit] thanks for that good explanation bdalameda it makes perfect sense and probably accounts for a variety of expressions such as - that sinking feeling
not gonna google it, but read with some interest some many years ago the duodenum something releases into your stomach when
presented with a new mental stressor and I've often attributed changes in mood or ability to think clearly or keep my cool to that but obviously there's more at play
and good to know - especially as it pertains to motorcycle safety and other hazardous situations.
A relevant topic for me last couple days; ended up losing my cool a bit there at the end of the week when unexpected things cropped up and I could see my early
friday slipping away
I ended up cancelling out lunch saturday with my one riding partner to "dump" the mental garbage bin into the reports
Which brings me to...oh yeah, the topic I only get out with one other rider these days usually a short trip for lunch always goes good but 95% riding alone for same reasons mentioned
big ditto on I like doing what I want to do when I want to do it followed by I don't wait well for anyone

 

[bdalameda]

i dunno anything about the vangus nerve but I get it
it's awesome getting out for a rip on a great bike
but the bike...
has to be great

Key Aspects of the Vagus Nerve:

• Functions: It acts as the "rest and digest" component of the autonomic nervous system, managing heart rate, digestion, respiration, and speech.
• Mental Health Connection: It mediates the gut-brain axis; increased vagal tone is linked to improved mood and reduced inflammation, which is associated with decreased depression.
• Stimulation Methods: Activities that calm the body include deep diaphragmatic breathing, meditation, singing, humming, exposure to cold, and gentle exercise.
• Symptoms of Dysfunction/Damage: Damage can cause hoarseness or loss of voice, difficulty swallowing, reduced gag reflex, abdominal pain, and digestive issues. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Physical Structure and Role

• The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) consists of two nerves (right and left) that originate in the brainstem and branch throughout the body.
• It provides >75% of the parasympathetic nerve fibers, allowing it to send signals that lower heart rate and reduce blood pressure.
• It also acts as the primary pathway for the immune system to alert the brain about inflammation. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Stimulation for Therapeutic Use

• Natural Stimulation: Deep breathing, cold-water immersion, singing/chanting, and laughing stimulate the nerve to induce a calming effect.
• Medical Stimulation: Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) devices are used to treat chronic, treatment-resistant epilepsy and depression.

 

[klaproth]

I too ride alone...I am not anti-social, just pro-solitude. I have a few friends who ride, but I prefer doing what I want to do, WHEN I want to do it. I just can't see many advantages to riding with a group.

 

[Flexit]

I don't ride alone, I inevitably have Chief of Staff on pillion, but I don't ride in groups. I can choose my own times, routes, stops and pace and vary any of them at any point during a journey.

 

[Erdoc48]

When I ride with my brother, it’s great as he’s always right on my six (not too close though). When I ride with others I know, sometimes it’s a bit more of a hassle (they ride a bit slower than me, so I’m always looking in the side view mirrors to make sure they haven’t fallen too far back- when they do, traffic sometimes passes them, then they’re tough to spot).

 

[increasing]

It could be me I like to ride with others, but preferably with people I know well who have the same attitude towards motorcycle riding as I do. If I ride alone, it attracts the least attention and I don't need to stop often.

 

[Sadlsor]

Interesting.
I usually ride solo, wife hates motorcycles and won't ride, and I don't have a lot of time off work.
However, there are a handul of folks who I do ride with occasionally, in a couple of groups... either my RiderCoach friends, or adventure rider / dual sport groups. And sometimes these groups intersect.
Off-road, I rarely venture off alone because it's easier to lift 650lbs with 3 guys than by myself.

 

[MI-St1300]

When I ride with my brother, it’s great as he’s always right on my six (not too close though). When I ride with others I know, sometimes it’s a bit more of a hassle (they ride a bit slower than me, so I’m always looking in the side view mirrors to make sure they haven’t fallen too far back- when they do, traffic sometimes passes them, then they’re tough to spot).

I was leading a group of 3 other couples up to the Tunnel of Trees in Michigan and one couple kept laying to far back and getting caught at traffic lights. Finally I had to ask them if they knew where we were going and if they had a GPS or map (nope!) because I wasn't stopping for them anymore. They kept the gap closed after that! A buddy is fun but a group not so much!

 

[the Ferret]

I ride alone 6 days a week, and ride 1 day a week with my Men's Lunch Group of 5 usually (weather permitting). I never trip or tour alone.

 

[ST Gui]

Is this you?

That was a great video. I mainly ride alone. Riding with one or two others can be fun but not a huge group. I've done that maybe three times and it's hadn't been nearly as enjoyable as either riding solo or with a small (2–3) group.

 

[rogo]

I get out for a group ride maybe once a year at the BRG with @Uncle Phil and friends.

Solo most of the time with no set route.
No GPS screen. No playing, other than what’s inside my head.

 

[Flexit]

wife hates motorcycles and won't ride

I am truly blessed (not a bad statement from an Agnostic ). My wife joined me on the journey some 51 years ago, then made it legal 2 years later. I am guessing that at an average of 10,000 miles a year she has now trusted me for half a million miles and still gives me grief if I am reluctant to ride!

 

[Daboo]

Great video. I noticed that as the video progressed, the rider started wearing a helmet and gloves.

I ride alone, and I ride with groups. I'll undoubtedly ride alone to Kamiah, ID in a couple weeks to join up with about 35 other riders at the COG Bun Cooler rally. When I get there, it'll be a great time with friends. And then I'll ride alone to get home.

I've found only one other person to ride with that we really synced. If I wanted to stop for a picture, he didn't mind at all. He used to be a professional photographer, so he understood the desire. We rode at the same pace, and were comfortable with each other's presence. But he moved to Kentucky because the cost of living in the Seattle area was too much. So I ride alone. There's been a couple others, but he was (is) special.

When I did my SS1000 years ...no decades...ago, I was concerned that I'd fall asleep crossing Eastern Washington. I've driven that route many times in the past. My Air Nat'l Guard base was at Fairchild AFB in the Spokane area and crossing Eastern Washington would make my head nod in the car. On the return leg of the SS1000, I was anything but tired. Instead of nodding my head, I marveled at the beauty of God's Creation in front of me. The colors, the grandeur...things I never noticed in a car just brought peace to my soul. And never once did I wish I was riding with someone else.

I have gotten a chuckle at a couple of the small rallies I attend. We'll get out somewhere and maybe I want to leave the group. The others will ask if I can get back by myself? Will I be all right? And I'm thinking, "I just rode over 2000 miles by myself to get here, and you're now worried I won't make it back to the motel?"

I didn't start motorcycling wanting to be alone. It just happened. I started because growing up, I loved to ride a bicycle. Later, I moved to some small motorcycles. They were the most logical means of commuting during "rush" hour in the Seattle area. I found motorcycling wasn't just a logical or convenient way to commute, but it was something I loved. Commuting was just a way to exercise that passion. Then I started thinking, what if I was to ride this for fun, instead of to work? But no one else was around that I knew who rode...so I went by myself.

I don't fit quite in the description in the video. You won't find me taking off with half a tank of gas with no idea where the road goes. Nope. Not me. Try that in some parts of the West and you could be walking for quite awhile. Perhaps in triple digits. I remember riding down Hwy 101 along the coast one summer for my daughter's PhD "Defense" of her thesis. Virtually every motel or campsite was full. Everyone was either vacationing, or avoiding the smoke from the fires inland. So I do plan things out somewhat. But after that...I just follow the GPS and enjoy the moment.

Enuf said.

Chris

 

[Al st1100]

Key Aspects of the Vagus Nerve:

• Functions: It acts as the "rest and digest" component of the autonomic nervous system, managing heart rate, digestion, respiration, and speech.
• Mental Health Connection: It mediates the gut-brain axis; increased vagal tone is linked to improved mood and reduced inflammation, which is associated with decreased depression.
• Stimulation Methods: Activities that calm the body include deep diaphragmatic breathing, meditation, singing, humming, exposure to cold, and gentle exercise.
• Symptoms of Dysfunction/Damage: Damage can cause hoarseness or loss of voice, difficulty swallowing, reduced gag reflex, abdominal pain, and digestive issues. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Physical Structure and Role

• The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) consists of two nerves (right and left) that originate in the brainstem and branch throughout the body.
• It provides >75% of the parasympathetic nerve fibers, allowing it to send signals that lower heart rate and reduce blood pressure.
• It also acts as the primary pathway for the immune system to alert the brain about inflammation. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Stimulation for Therapeutic Use

• Natural Stimulation: Deep breathing, cold-water immersion, singing/chanting, and laughing stimulate the nerve to induce a calming effect.
• Medical Stimulation: Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) devices are used to treat chronic, treatment-resistant epilepsy and depression.

You got a lot of nerve!