Wanderer or Route Rider ...which type are you?

[the Ferret]

I normally make a couple of trips a year, 2,000 to 2,200 miles on average. Freestyling, with no plan or anything other than a general destination is my favorite. Good luck and keep riding long and hard
-MotoGeezer_

Our friend MotoGeezer has said this on multiple occasions and it always fascinated me. I will wander aimlessly around home although generally not. For instance I know today I will be heading down 222 to 50, out 50 to Hillsboro Ohio, down 247 to the river at Aberdeen then take 52 back home.

I have all the routes planned out for the Men's Fall Trip which will take place this year in eastern Ohio. It takes place in September and I already know what exact roads/routes we will be riding on what days. Hotel rooms will be booked in the next few days.

When I go out of state I go to a specific spot on specific roads, and stay in specific places all planned in advance.

For some reason I just can't imagine saying to my wife, Honey, I'm headed out for a few days. Nowhere in particular, think I will just head northwest and see what I find. More likely for me it would be Honey think I will ride up to South Dakota, I've always wanted to see the Bad Lands. Think I will take 74 over to Indy, then 80 over to 39 north, spend the first night in XXX. (I always have hotel rooms booked in advance). Then on up to XXX .... Be back on the 23rd.

Just wondered how many of you are wanderers, like Geezer, or route riders like yours truly?

 

[kennyw]

I planned the route for my long trip. Primarily due to the limited range of the CB and the possibility of gas stations not being everywhere. But I have taken trips where I just headed in the general direction exploring backroads on the way in a car that could go 500 miles on a single tank.

 

[aschem_imp]

Route rider, not very many roads to wander on here in the middle of nowhere...unless you have a ADV bike. If you have one, there are thousands of miles to explore. I relay to my my wife where I'm going as many of the roads here are remote with critters waiting to ambush you (elk, deer, bears, cattle, bison, wolves, cougars, and Bigfoot) In summer many roads are closed due to wildfires so best to check before you head out.

 

[4 Paws_imp]

Wanderer!
I head out of the driveway on my bike and just go, no real set plan and frequently change directions on a whim, usually ride alone. My general rule is to avoid traffic and towns and the GPS helps me do that. I find lots of "towns" I had no idea existed and some amazing remnants of days gone by.
Wife and I will fly to other states and rent a car with several destinations in mind but no real plans or routes. Just wander and stop for meals or photos as we please. If heading to "big" or premium destinations then lodging pre planned.
My professional life was highly structured so this must be my way of compensating.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Wanderer most times. When Pamela and I set out on a ride we usually have no destination in mind and if we do it'll be the long way 'round the barn. When I ride to visit family I take the back roads, especially ones I've not taken before. Interstates are avoided like plague even when I'm in the truck.

 

[jrns_imp]

I'm with 4 Paws- always a wanderer .. love the freedom of leaving my driveway and not knowing where I'm going or how long I will be.

 

[Rocky_imp]

Route rider on back roads unless I need to get somewhere in a hurry.
I came back to bikes at age 55 when I retired so I'm not in much of a hurry these days
I'm 78 now and in fairness to my family I have always told them where I'm going and with whom, but also many times alone for 2-3 days.
24 years ago we didn't have the cell phone service we have now so when I'm on the road I check in frequently with my children as I'm a widower now.
My wife was not a rider so I rode alone for many years because all of my friends still had their noses to the grindstone. But as the years passed I gained riding companions as they retired.
All that said, I really enjoy riding alone at my own pace and doing what I want.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Good topic. I'm a little of both, but when it involves riding with others (especially with women riding their own bikes), I'm definitely a route rider, with accommodations reserved and waiting for all.

 

[Powerdogg55]

When I'm riding from home it's kinda like "a feather in the breeze". Just checking out what's over the next hill. At rallies it's all preplanned with room reservations made in advance. I'm a wanderer at heart.

 

[CA200_imp]

We do both, when I ride by myself I will ride around till my butt gets tired or I get low on fuel. When we plan a trip we plan every detail. We planed a trip up north with our new car since last winter. Wanted to see the Apostle
Islands etc.. Drove 8 hr. north (took the long route) only to be turned back by all major roads washed out in flooding.
Mans best laid plans -----

 

[rboe]

My heart says wanderer, but the facts say otherwise. :dodgy:

Since I started riding again the only time I get out on trips; when I have a destination in mind. Once there I'll wander a bit though.

Ideally, the dream when I was much younger, was to strike out and take a year to knock about. Now, with a wife, house, dogs, cats.....way too much structure to be a hippy or gypsy. Not good or bad, it's the way things are and I would not want to get rid of the wife, house, dogs or cats (well, the cats are iffy.... ).

 

[Django]

In fact, I'm a route rider. My routes contain fuel stops and I book my rooms in advance.

However, I would like to be more a wanderer...

 

[Ron in MO_imp]

Wanderer here too. Since adding a Garmin to my bike, I'm not as concerned about getting lost or finding gas and food. In groups or on occasion I will plan a route and plug it into the Garmin for help along the ride.

There are lots of beautiful back roads out there just calling us!

 

[emptysea]

As with most polls here, I seem to be somewhere in the middle.

I am a RR when I'm leading other riders. This is true for both day rides and touring, although I will wander a bit with other riders in tow if I am riding in familiar territory. The problem I have with wandering in a group-ride scenario is the dead-end, the gravel road, the stop sign at a 4 or 6 lane crossroad, the "round-em-up" gesture I have to make to signal a U-turn. I tend to stick to the planned route to avoid comments and dirty looks from my friends.

I am a W when I'm alone...except when I am a RR. LOL. I have not had many opportunities to just ride out alone and stop wherever I want. My spouse knows the perils of this hobby and likes to know my route when I head out alone. Day rides, though, are almost always wandering rides. Long rides are usually a combination of styles. For example, when I rode solo from Chicago to Cincinnati in 2014, I had a planned route, but at a stopping point in the middle of Indiana, I looked at my map and changed my route. I did this because it looked like a more interesting route than the one I had originally planned.

So, I am not sure how to vote in the poll. I guess I will say I am a RR because most of my rides are planned.

 

[Inhouse Bob]

I suppose I am a bit of both, but not on purpose. I always plan things out but then generally forget to pack the maps and end up lost for hours. So there ya go.

 

[Sam Mac_imp]

Mostly local riding for me. 50-100 miles in the AM then pool time in the PM.

 

[Obleo]

I do both ,but for those that like to wander but want their better half to know you location , there is an app for your smart phone. It's called find friends, wifey knows where i am at all times. I feel like aim not alone if something bad were to happen.

 

[kmoney_imp]

I usually ride routes that I plan before hand. If I want to explore new roads, I usually use Google maps or "drive" bits of them with Google Street View. It's not so much that I don't have a sense of adventure, but more that I get sick of running into poor pavement conditions or stuff that turns to gravel or has gas stations that are closed, but still shown as open etc (Northern BC and Alaska is brutal for this)...

 

[Motogeezer1949_imp]

When I first started tripping, 17 years ago, newly into my 50's, I rode with a friend who was a type A squared personality. He would lay out an entire week long route with stops planned, certain times to be at certain points, no flexibility and no allowance for sight seeing. His deal was "hey, let's get moving, we're burning daylight". I always smilingly ragged on him about perhaps just one time stopping at 4pm to get our rooms or set up camp, have a brew and take a swim or some such. Never happened though, it just wasn't in his nature to relax. About 10 years ago, he moved away, but I miss him a lot. I always enjoyed his company, even though we are opposites in a lot of ways. How he lived, his example, helped me a lot to shape my life now. Mainly, because I do the opposite. I always got a kick out of his fetish to plan to the tiniest detail, his absolute overthinking of everything, his need to think he had to be in control of nearly every situation, mistrust and suspicion of people he didn't know, his fear of Face Book, on and on. I mean, the guy was very intense. He is a first class mechanic, and once he knew you and got to like you, he'd do absolutely anything for you. So anyway, after a couple years of trips to NC from FL and his moving, I started leading a few friends on the trips. I'd get us there, a fellow rider who knows good roads in N GA, TN, NC would take over, then I'd get us home. It's great, we still do it. My buds are so easy to get along with, so "go with the flow" I couldn't ask for better friends. If you were at Bland this year, you met my 2 best buds, Lee and Pat. But even given that, I still longed to do solo rides, and a few years ago started to do just that. Unlike my intense friend who packed everything on the planet, I pack the most lightweight minimal gear and go. Once underway, no freaking Interstates. Take the little side roads. Stop and take pics. Engage people, make new friends. Try out new things. The "Then Came Bronson" kind of deal, except I've got the $$ I need, so don't have to work odd jobs to keep on going. Freestyling is so totally liberating it's unbelievable. If like me, you have minimal ties to worldly possessions and home, you're perhaps now a single person with no one to make happy or keep pacified but yourself, kids are grown, no pets - you hear what I'm saying. Sure, a lot of you aren't near to that kind of lifestyle and maybe even can't imagine it! Maybe find it repulsive! But I love it. After 40 years of having my own business, being responsible, focused and dedicated, I find this type of freedom to be an apt reward If you haven't tried it and would like to, try a little at a time. One or two nights out in the world, then back home. If it agrees with you, ultimately make it as long as you like. A great old friend of mine I met at a Moto Guzzi rally here in FL years ago, Ohio Jack (RIP), was an inspiration too. Retired, he'd hit the road for weeks at a time on a ratty old white Guzzi with top box and hard cases. His Guzzi ran like a champ and was approaching 300k miles. For me now, at 67 and 1/2 years young, I'm still at it enjoying trips the CB. As you know, I got a new Yamaha XSR900 triple 'cause while wonderful, the CB just didn't quite fill my need for speed and razor sharp handling in the twisties. So between both, I've got my bases covered. Hope you enjoyed an overly lengthy diatribe from an aging senior who plans to ride as long as he can, and see lots more of this beautiful country of ours. Participating in this forum always brings a smile to my face. Good riding my friends

 

[CIP57_imp]

I did not vote fitting into both categories. My day trips normally around 250-300Mi are never planned. I often get lost in the mountains using the GPS when its time to find the fastest route home.

I'm still working full time, my overnight or weekend trips are planned and usually with a destination in mind. With a few friends in New England (Vermont & New Hampshire) I use there home as a starting point to map out the route.