Modern Vespa

I prefer to ride by myself. I can stop when and where I want. I'm never at a loss for conversation, I can talk to strangers very easily about almost anything. Am I an oddity or are there others scooting around by themselves.

Dave

i'm a scooter loner...although i was recently invited to a ride with some people from the honolulu hooligans scooter club (on myspace). i didn't show up because i had other things to do. hopefully my scooter lonerness won't last for long.
i'm getting kinda tired of scooting around the same areas of the island. i can go 10 miles this way, or 10 miles that way....all the scenery is the same!

Don't think so. I ride almost always, solo.
The odd time, I'll link up with a group of bikers/scoots when travelling to London, or Toronto.
On heavily trafficked routes, it's sometimes better to have safety in numbers.

I fit into the loner category as well for the reasons mentioned. I like to go at my own pace, in my own time, as the road calls to me. Stop when I want, and do what I want. An experience is best when tasted alone....

Rode over 300 miles on my GTS on Saturday. Had I ridden with someone else the ride would have been completely different.

I really enjoyed riding solo around LA. I had a GPS on my moto and would just to ride where the road took me then could always find my way back home. No pressure from anyone else along the way, just rode until I was done exploring.

I would consider myself a loner, for much the same reasons as you, Dave. Whenever I ride with a group I'm reminded of why I prefer to ride alone! I go when I want to go, fast or slow, stop when I want to stop, for as long or as little as I want. Although I have enjoyed many a ride with others, those rides usually turn out to be more about socializing than riding! Riding with a friend can be really enjoyable, but these days I tend to ride alone. Perhaps it's because everyone else is at work when I choose to ride!

Cheers,

Bob

A lone man on his horse...ya that's me.

My parts guy prefers to ride alone. I asked him if he wanted to ride with us and he said, "I kind of like riding alone, no offense." None taken. Gotta respect that. 8)

i prefer a passenger if im scooting to a rally without the club.

she keeps me company and i can go as fast as the scoot will let me.

i stop when i need petrol and im hungry.

90% of the time I ride solo, I love it, I hate scheduled stops or having to hope the other person will gun it at the right time. Like I've said in past posts, every ride is a race, and I must win. "We" must win does not sink in, if there is a car next to us you better gun it and get in front or else we're splitting up!!

I rode 'loner' for 6 or 7 years then a couple guys in my town put the basics down for a local club.
I joined, all enthusiastic about the idea, but I find with family and work commitments it's not ideal at all.
It's a rock and hard place deal, I really want to support the idea of a scooter community, but I don't have the time/schedule to fit in with organized stuff (meetings, minutes, motions carried......bleh).
I ride every day, 60 miles a week just commuting, and there's nothing that brings a smile to my face more than a stretch of open road with just me on it

1086 miles in month! All by my lonesome!

Since I run a dealership and always being around people, I prefer to ride alone 90% of the time. 10% in organized group rides.

So far I've been mostly riding alone. I'd say 85%. I like the idea of taking a right turn when I want take a right and just seeing where it goes.

The other 15% is done with a passanger or with a friend of mine that has a Harley. It's quite the sight really. She's this tiny thing maybe 5', maybe 5'-1" and drives a dark grey beast of a bike. I'm a 5'-9" male on a pearl white beauty... Although I am the one with the helment that has flames on it.

Riding to work is obviously by myself. For pleasure riding, my hubby and I go together (he has his own Vespa). So, we're loners, together!

I mostly ride alone. I enjoy the group riding for the people, but the ride itself isn't always as much fun because you have to pay more attention to the other riders than enjoying the ride. Group rides have taken me to places I haven't been before, but I sure like going out on my own.

I rode solo for over twenty years, hit every state east of the miss. river on my last harley. I was recently adopted by the Royal Bastards and now never have to ride alone. (actually, just did 750 miles through the Carolinas solo )

I tend to ride solo because I simply miss most group rides for one reason or another! And I am a magpie for patches, so this is frustrating!

I did ride out to a picnic to Limantoure Beach (this is out in the San Francisco-ish area). It was about 75 minutes each way. Very cathartic to ride out on country roads with lots of fresh air by oneself. Just don't fuck up, landing in a ditch where nobody can see you...


I regularly cross any bridge around here to visit friends and family, getting access to the entire Bay Area. I RARELY see other scooters out on the highways; no fellow GTSs and only the occasional maxi-scooter. Typically, I am splitting lanes in heavy traffic with Harleys and sport bikes (Heh! I wonder what they think of me?).

But the rest of the time: solo. Even the scooterists of SF don't wave as much as I thought they might.

Dave

Solo on the Vespa, motorcycle and bicycle. Hey, it's the only time I have to myself. I cherish it.

Great thread, and great responses.

Most of them reflect my view of this topic as well--having the freedom to go when and where my heart desires at that moment. The fact that my days off are during the week underlines that point. I do wish, however, I had a reliable pillion, available when I feel like riding, to share the experience. There wouldn't be much risk of her deviating from my route and pace

I do enjoy leading rides as well, sharing newly explored gems that might otherwise not be found by others, or participating in rides of which the planned routes are promising an "organized adventure".

i ride solo alot. a certain zen aspect of rolling just me and the machine. listening to each other, talking back and forth. the wicked dance with the metal mistress...

i do enjoy riding with a select group of friends, maybe like 5~8 bikes, but only under certain circumstances. generally i like rolling with only two or three other people. tight and fast. it's a good thing that i wear a full face so that they can't hear me cackling with laughter as we crank thru the twisties, everybody battling for position, swapping the lead, and getting on the throttle. each trying to out run the other...

i love riding in a big group, but only for the sake of the group. if the leaders and other people involved in the ride aren't on it in a big way then i tire of it quickly...

best,
-greasy

I ride alone each and every time, with or without a pillion. I had a scooter buddy when I lived in Arkansas that rode with me a couple of times when his GTS was brand new, but now that I'm in Texas, I ride alone and love it.

I ride 40 miles round trip to work, often with a tuba strapped on my back. I work 2 full-time jobs, so I usually can't fit in the group rides. I rarely can even go to our local rally! (Although I always register to support it). Come to think of it...I play a solo instrument, teach a class that is 1 on 1, always played solo sports, boxing, wrestling, etc...Maybe we all have those threads in our past!! TubaJim

I ride solo for many of the reasons listed here, and one I didn't see:
There isn't much of a scooter community where I live.

I've made some feeble attempts to contact other scooterists in the area, but as far as that goes, I'm more interested in having folks to talk shop with than having riding buddies.

There are a ton of scooter people in Atlanta but it seems I'm always busy when they have a ride so yeah...I'm a solo guy or me and my girl will take trips on our own.

loner here!

I also fall into the "lone rider" category. At first, I had hoped to join the local club and participate in the group rides. I learned that my home responsibilities don't allow enough free time to do this.

I have ridden with a few others, and have always felt at the end that I was riding their ride, travelling their speed and their route. I'm sure they probably felt the same about me. Instead, I enjoy the ability to stop and go as I please, and to ride as slow or fast as I wish.

When I reach a new destination, or milestone, I often think that it would be nice if someone else was with me to share the moment. Instead, I click a few pictures, find a nice spot for coffee, and read a little of my book (I always travel with a book). Then I am off to the next spot!

Due to my commute times, and my heavily impacted schedule (2 jobs, band, meeting with lil brother...life...) I was riding solo. Predawn hours, midday from job 1 to either home or to 2nd job. Then there's the 10pm ride from 2nd job back home.

I'd LIKE to ride with other scooterists but I have to make the time to meet them! Hell, I'd just like my scooter back from the dealership! Then I'd like to ride again solo, THEN I'd like to meet up with other riders and see about a group ride or rally!

It can be exciting traveling in groups. I'll neer forget my first large group ride. But, you have to compromise your speed and when you stop. I traveled with a group to AmeriVespa, and they didn't stop nearly as often as I would have by myself. The result was that I found the trip very tiring.

I tend to do most of my riding solo or with a friend who is compatible speedwise. I like to stop and stretch about every hour. I was surprised on my solo trip from Seattle back to California to find that I also enjoyed the "zen-like" time traveling alone, and wasn't bored, even on freeways.

And, of course, my daily 20 mile commute is solo riding.

Like others I don't have much free time to participate in group rides. However, even if I did I prefer to ride solo. So far, I have found riding in a group very stressful. A lot of it has been in moderate to heacy traffic areas (not much choice around here) and with a significant number of inexperienced drivers.

I like hanging with the group, but I'd rather just have a ride that includes optional scheduled meet up points and suggested routes.

I love going out there on my own though the way i drive i should be banned from riding with others lol

I'd like to add that as I get more and more confident, cranking the throttle more, leapfrogging through traffic, leaning a bit more into turns and feeling the balance of the scooter right itself as I straighten out; even doing the occasional 5-10 feet of sidewalk surfing because two idiots in their fat-assed SUVs (and their scooter-clipping side-view mirrors) have conspired to make it impossible for me to squeeze between them and get to the front...

...where was I? Oh yes! As I become a more competent rider (in my mind, anyway. Maybe I am a total menace and don't know it! ) , the solo jaunts through the city become more enjoyable. Riding is quite literally my favorite recreation at the moment. Any group activity like dinner, movie, seeing a band in GG Park, etc is when I say, "Great. I'll meet you there!", because I am not getting into a car when I can ride there...solo!

Which reminds me of a thought I had whilst goin' to work this morning...
Riddle me this:
What do you get when you try too hard to be polite and not move past those last one or two cagers during rush hour?
Answer:
Stuck at a red light!

Commuting's a loner activity and that's most of my riding. Unfortunately my life's too busy for many scooting events (I'd rather spend my time on my family activities, they'll be gone soon enough) plus most events/other riders aren't very close. We Minnesotans may be developing a critical mass here on MV but the closest one is probably still 15 miles away.

When I do have time to scoot I usually have only a rough idea of where I want to go (out in the country) and often get lost and do alot of turning back when I realize that I'm not in the nowhere that I was planning to be. (it's partially an orienteering challenge for me on my rides!) My wife thinks I always have a planned route and now wants to come on a wandering but it'll be hard to explain that I really don't know where I'm going or where I want to be and explaining the backtracking and stopping and GPS tapping etc that makes up my solo trips.

As much as I appreciate ride alone, I dare to disagree.

Teh Vespa is the ultimate luuv machine, and it would be shameful not to use it appropriately to pull some tasty chicas with it.

Please don't do stuff like that, it reflects badly on the entire scootering community. As has been said over and over and over: Two Wrongs Do Not Make A Right. (But three lefts will )

Dave

Have you completely lost your mind?

i rode solo yesterday, Labor Day...riding into Vermont then New Hampshire then back to Mass. i like drawing loops in my atlas, without really computing mileage
i realized that i went for 210 miles, making only three stops.
last year i also did a similar ride, crossing into Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Lonely days, lonely nights
Where would I be without my woman

Hah! Ok, I hear ya. I totally acknowledge that it's not the most kosher thing to do. [shame]

And when you look at it, who's the idiot? I'm the one on the sidewalk (though I really did mean up a driveway and down the same one at ultra-low speed, but I didn't SAY that, so...). I guess I just don't like SUVs very much and it shows.

Thanks for being gentle, bro!