Learning to relax | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Learning to relax

Not knowing where you're going to stay for the night makes all that moot. Even though the Squeeze and I sleep in motels we never know which one until we happen by and find out if they a vacancy. Camping rough with the guys is similar. We don't know if it will take ten minutes or another hour to find a good vagrant spot.
I don't know about camping but if you don't book your motel in advance you run the risk of arriving in a town and every motel in the town is booked and now you gotta ride to another town in the dark, happened to me. Now I always book my motel the day before.
 
I don't know about camping but if you don't book your motel in advance you run the risk of arriving in a town and every motel in the town is booked and now you gotta ride to another town in the dark, happened to me. Now I always book my motel the day before.
Happened lots of times. We ride to the next town and then maybe the next if need be. We've never had to sleep outside. It's a key part of what TS is trying to do.
 
@mimico_polak

Me: want to move to Bancroft?
Hubby: why?
Me: better motorcycle roads
Hubby: sure, when are we leaving! :D
Love it! But that works if you both love motorcycles! For me...the commute isn't worth it, and I KNOW that I'll need to be back at the office eventually :(
 
Me: I want to move out of Mississauga
Wife: why?
Me: motorcycle roads too far
Wife: have fun with that

LoL

There are many places in the GTA worse for motorcycling than Mrs. Sauga.

At least you're closer in proximity to the roads in Halton Hills, Milton, Forks, Hockley, etc.

If you lived downtown, it would take you *much* longer to get to any riding roads, north, south, east or west. I used to live in North York and it was a terrible slog to get out of the 416. And that was over a decade ago when congestion was a lot less worse than it is right now.
 
It sounds like you and I would like riding together. :LOL:


If you think you can keep up.. ;-)

It's a bit of a double edged butter knife..
On the one hand it's like "hey man you did it! So many kms in a day.."
On the other hand it's "hey man, why the eff did you do that..?"

When I mention riding from home to Penticton BC in 4.5 days... I "hear" "that's crazy!" But what's actually being said is "you're crazy!"
 
That's the only thing that works for me, otherwise my endurance rider mentality kicks in hard and I just ride ride ride until I either need gas, or need a bathroom. For me, there's an appeal in this (I know not all understand it, but it's a thing for some of us), although I do recognize that sometimes I miss seeing things as a result. That being said, I'm not a big scenery gawker (I can take in scenery as I ride and enjoy it just as much really), although I am an *experience* guy - if there's something cool to stop and experience (I'll use the Diefenbunker outside Ottawa as an example) I find that very cool stuff, but if I'm solo I'd be more apt to ride past vs stopping...but I've been there twice in group rides now and really enjoyed it.

There's no right or wrong way to ride.

I think if staying on the bike and doing mega miles is your thing and you're happy doing it, there shouldn't be any pressure to do it differently as long as you're getting what you want out of it.

I read a lot of ride reports and in every one, there's always a peanut gallery of people reading and responding. The comments will always run the gamut of, "OMG, way too fast! You're not seeing anything!" all the way to "Too slow! Is this a *RIDE* report or a Stop-And-Stay-In-Different-Places report?". All on the same ride report.

You can't please everyone all the time. So the least you can do is make yourself happy.
 
I think, overall... one of if not "the" biggest factors affecting ride duration is...
Your ride.
If you're on a light, pure sport bike I think you'd be more inclined to stop more often.
I'm on an FJR so... long hauls are easy.
I imagine riding a big v twin cruiser would be even easier
 
I think, overall... one of if not "the" biggest factors affecting ride duration is...
Your ride.
If you're on a light, pure sport bike I think you'd be more inclined to stop more often.
I'm on an FJR so... long hauls are easy.
I imagine riding a big v twin cruiser would be even easier

Well, you see Harleys stopped at the side of the road all the time.

Most times, that decision is made by the Harley, not the rider though.
 
I've taken a few solo trips now. One thing i find myself doing is getting in a hurry.

How are some of the ways people that ride alone or in a group learn to relax and not worry about the destination?
Try a smaller bike.

I used to keep a a few small displacement bikes in the garage, I've done multiday trips on a Virago 250, Ninja 250 and TS200R. I find when I tour on a litre+ bike, the bike always seems to be in a hurry. The little bikes can hold 120kmh all day, a little Ninja or Versys 300 will do the TON if asked, despite what some say they can be ridden comfortably for hours.
 
For me, the ultimate solution to not being destination focussed was retirement. We spend most of our lives fixed on the fastest route between two points. Even after retirement, it can take a few months, years? to change that behaviour. I always ride alone, no tunes, no phone until I stop for a break. Fully focussed on the ride and riding skills. Always curious about "What's up that road?". I'll admit that it's an ongoing battle to avoid destination focus especially when it comes to lunch stops.
 
Me: want to move to Bancroft?
Hubby: why?
Me: better motorcycle roads
Hubby: sure, when are we leaving! :D

I live in Mississauga and have a cottage in the Kawarthas, close to Stoney Lake . Bike spends half of the season there. Lots of great roads in the area.

Cottage / home prices have gone crazy in the last 18 months, record selling prices everywhere. Bancroft is still relatively affordable, in particular if you're looking for a few acres and not waterfront.
 
I live in Mississauga and have a cottage in the Kawarthas, close to Stoney Lake . Bike spends half of the season there. Lots of great roads in the area.

Cottage / home prices have gone crazy in the last 18 months, record selling prices everywhere. Bancroft is still relatively affordable, in particular if you're looking for a few acres and not waterfront.

Kawarthas is a good motorcycle HQ.

So is Muskokas.

My choice would be Ottawa Valley.
 
Live in Whitby and commute Downtown, DT has a longer season. Then when spring shows up, i have the Ganny and a choice of 6 race tracks all within 3 hours or so to ride. Pennsylvania is not that far either...
 
I do find the ride can be an influence to how I ride.

It’s no fun scraping pegs on a cruiser and somehow it’s just relaxing to putt around the back roads.

You don’t fight it and kinda accept its limitations and enjoy what it is good at, and I find it very relaxing.

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Try watching "One Week". He chilks right down gorcavride across Canada.

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Live in Whitby and commute Downtown, DT has a longer season. Then when spring shows up, i have the Ganny and a choice of 6 race tracks all within 3 hours or so to ride. Pennsylvania is not that far either...
It's been said the best motorcycle roads in Ontario are in Pennsylvania.
 
went for a fun ride yesterday around barrie, wasaga beach, collingwood and blue mountain, no gps just following my mental compass and road signs the whole way, you don’t feel rushed riding that way, it’s kinda like a exploring game as you ride
 
went for a fun ride yesterday around barrie, wasaga beach, collingwood and blue mountain, no gps just following my mental compass and road signs the whole way, you don’t feel rushed riding that way, it’s kinda like a exploring game as you ride
My ride mentality works in a similar way. Here's an example:
I'm riding out in Northumberland County and pass a road "Tobacco Road". Next road sign is for "Stoney Lonesome Road" Hmmmm interesting.
That's a cool combination of roads. Wonder who came up with those names? Who has the authority in this area for naming roads? What were they doing when they came up with the names? Is there a bigger story or history here? Better turn around and explore these roads!
 

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