The Empty Road

by The Philosophical Fish

I just love the solitude of an empty road.

Sometimes when I go for a ride I am annoyed when there is someone sharing my road and I may even pull aside to get my solitude back.

I think one of the reasons I fell in love with riding the motorcycle was the somewhat forced isolation.

Although I am infinitely more vulnerable on the motorcycle and scooter, there is something so wonderful about just being alone with myself inside my helmet.

Even when you ride with others, unless you use an intercom system (no thank you), you are still somewhat alone when underway. There is no conversation, no distracting dialogue, just an opportunity to focus on the ride.

Even before I rode I used to love solo road trips in my car/truck. I didn’t have to worry about conversation or small talk. There were no questions, no explanations.

Just me and the empty road ahead.

Some people fear solitude, they seem to fear the quiet of being with themselves. They always need to surround themselves with a crown, either literally or through social media means more recently. There are people who can’t find a crowd to join, so they build their own. I don’t understand that simply because I’ve never felt it. Some people can be lonely even when they are in a crowd. Some people can be alone and not feel lonely at all. And of course, we can all feel both ways at various points in time. In general, I only suck at being alone from the standpoint that I can’t be bothered to cook for myself when Kirk goes out of town.

113 Photographs in 2013 – #55 Solitude

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5 comments

Marne Birch July 26, 2013 - 5:46 am

Cooking for one seems like a waste of time for me. I’ll make myself a salad or a sandwich and that is it. And I like alone time as well. 🙂

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Paige Ackerman July 26, 2013 - 6:50 am

You have dogs, you’re never alone 😉

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Marne Birch July 26, 2013 - 6:55 am

They don’t talk much on long drives tho

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Paige Ackerman July 26, 2013 - 7:03 am

Be grateful for small blessings… can you imagine the conversation?

From comedian Brian Regan – this had me in tears when I saw it on TV:

“Hey, it’s nice and quiet. Why don’t I bark it up for no reason whatsoever?” (Barking noise) And right when you think he’s done…(More barking noises) “What the hell’s the matter with ya’?” “I’m a dog. Barkin’.” How do you argue with him? Wouldn’t it be weird if people were like that for no reason? Like if some guy went on his porch at three O’clock in the morning. Nobody knows him, new to the neighborhood. “HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!!!!” “Hey, you allright, man?” “HEY, HEY, HEY!!!”

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Paige Ackerman July 26, 2013 - 7:06 am

I’m sure you’ve seen it, or at least a version of it, but it’s worth another view…..

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