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At 66, riding buddies and groups in my life have come and gone in succession since the '70's. Some still alive and riding, some put through the meat grinder and mangled like tar_snake, some no longer riding, some dead. My take on the guys in this thread boasting about solo riding is be careful bros. Like StoneTrekker, I may down-size from my EG because the wife doesn't go any more.
You don't quit riding because you get Old, you get Old because you Quit Riding. I'm 73 and would rather Ride by myself. Ill Group Ride on PGR Escorts etc, but otherwise its Back Roads for me. My good friend John quit Riding 2 years ago, last October we Celebrated his 93rd Birthday! I want to be like John!
I have a similar "inspiration"; and 84 year old who was still dirt bike RACING!! He had broken his ankle the weekend before in AZ, and was at another event in NM when I met him, and he STILL wanted to RACE, ON that broken ankle in a boot!!! Now, THAT is "inspiration" for ya!!! Anyone as tough as that, at that age, makes me want to keep riding until I'm 100, and maybe BEYOND!!
In my case, I dont like people. I dont trust them. So Im not a sociable guy. When I go to bike nights, meetups, whatever you call it, it is hard for me to interact because everyone is some type of know it all. The age range is all over the place from old dudes to young dudes which is good but for me it's hard to connect. Sounds kinda gay but in the scheme of things everything seems gay right. It's hard to spark up a conversation to a random stranger or just feel comfortable around them. I just dont really like to talk, I just feel like the odd man out in a group of people especially for those that already know each other. You go to these meetups and you can already tell which groups are already in a Click. Feels highschoolish to me. Like a boys club, you dont want to step in their boundries or they will give you this odd look.
Everyone's comfort zone is different. Some people just have that presence of being welcome and have the personality of being the cool guy. In the back of my mind I'm thinking what shady **** is this guy going to do. I dont trust this fool. To me everyone is a 2 face liar.
As I got older, for me it's harder to make friends. As much I would love to have a riding buddy, it's hard to find a good friend that you can trust and not be shady around them.
Funny but I did not get back into riding until I was 50 years old after not riding for 25 years. Now 15 years later we have owned 7 Harley Davidson's and ridden 160k miles total. The longest single trip to date was 3500 miles and I've accomplished one Iron Butt ride.
I have found that it's really hard getting a good riding buddy close by that both enjoys the same type of rides and has a similar schedule.
One buddy I rode with a lot moved to Florida. One that I have logged the most trip miles with as a 09 Ultra with 150k miles and he does not like to get far from home anymore. The other one has a trike now and our riding styles are much different.
Recently we joined the HOG chapter after being out of it for many years and have really enjoyed doing the rides with them when we can and want to. No pressure at all and it has been fun. The wife and I have no problem packing up and heading out by ourselves when we can and always have a great time.
I feel like the last man standing. All of my riding buddies have slowly but surely sold their bikes not to return again. Most of us are in our early to mid 50’s. With kids going off to college, inflation eating into the family budget, crazy drivers in Texas; folks are selling their HD’s within my circle of friends. It really stinks. I have been a loner for the past year or so and my mileage has dropped dramatically. Just not as fun to ride alone and I have had too many bad experiences with group rides where I always seem to be near the weakest link rider who has no idea what he is doing. The rides we used to do were for camaraderie and catching up on what’s been going on. Riding with all new people I don’t know doesn’t have the same feel. I am not selling my bike, at least anytime soon. Just not the same anymore. Anyone else experiencing the same?
Bike received 900 miles of riding time total in the last year. I was nearing 7K prior to that and that was no long trips. Just Saturday meet ups. I cannot ride to work otherwise it would have been double that.
Anyone else seeing the same? Just getting old I guess.
So what you all need to do is to start a Friday Friendship night . Hang in someone’s garage crack open a beer and talk bike ****. It will bring up things that might get some of you to go for a short ride for lunch or maybe a lottery ticket run . Sometimes all you need is just 10 or 20 miles of Wind therapy to keep the fun going.
Last edited by Iron lHorse; Apr 19, 2023 at 11:46 AM.
I feel for the OP. Im 70 and most of the people I rode with over the past 35 years have quit riding, passed away or moved out of state. Just last week, a couple of very close friends and riding buddies announced that they were moving to Tennessee as soon as they can sell their house.
A move last year took me 30 miles further from the nearest dealership and I honestly dont know how much longer Im going to be riding myself. Im pretty good health wise but its no longer as much fun as it once was.
I feel like the last man standing. All of my riding buddies have slowly but surely sold their bikes not to return again. Most of us are in our early to mid 50s. With kids going off to college, inflation eating into the family budget, crazy drivers in Texas; folks are selling their HDs within my circle of friends. It really stinks. I have been a loner for the past year or so and my mileage has dropped dramatically. Just not as fun to ride alone and I have had too many bad experiences with group rides where I always seem to be near the weakest link rider who has no idea what he is doing. The rides we used to do were for camaraderie and catching up on whats been going on. Riding with all new people I dont know doesnt have the same feel. I am not selling my bike, at least anytime soon. Just not the same anymore. Anyone else experiencing the same?
Bike received 900 miles of riding time total in the last year. I was nearing 7K prior to that and that was no long trips. Just Saturday meet ups. I cannot ride to work otherwise it would have been double that.
Anyone else seeing the same? Just getting old I guess.
I jumped on a bike as a teenager and found a passion that has never left me even now at 64! If someone I know wants to ride with me, its great. If I'm riding solo, its just as good. I get there are all kinds of riders, I dont sweat it one way or another if you ride 30k miles in a year or 300. Its always been an individual thing for me, blessed to find a woman who's put up with the trials of being married to a biker for 37 years with everything that can happen over a long riding life, lol.
At 66, riding buddies and groups in my life have come and gone in succession since the '70's. Some still alive and riding, some put through the meat grinder and mangled like tar_snake, some no longer riding, some dead. My take on the guys in this thread boasting about solo riding is be careful bros. Like StoneTrekker, I may down-size from my EG because the wife doesn't go any more.
hmm... I have to ask what's wrong with solo riding? I ride solo most of the time or I would not be riding at all. Most folks I know that have bikes don't ride them much, if at all.
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