Top 10 Best Coronavirus Motorcycle Rides

Many stores, parks, tourist destinations, restaurants, and hotels are currently closed as part of stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures enacted to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. That means a lot of places that would have otherwise served as a ride destination aren’t open. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a memorable motorcycle ride or a quick motorcycle trip.

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The widespread quarantine closures also means there are far fewer folks on the roads. A ride on your favorite mountain road might be a whole lot less congested than it typically is. And if you’re in a bigger city, freeways are likely much more accommodating than normal. If you’re in a state where they haven’t closed all dispersed camping on BLM acreage, then you could also plan a solitary camping trip. Or maybe it’s time to relive some old memories at a spot you haven’t seen in decades.

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The point is, with a little imagination, a great ride is still right around the corner. Just remember, if you’re going into a different town or state, be courteous and observe all social distancing measures as best you can and read our Coronavirus Safety Tips For Motorcycle Riders article. Pack a mask with you if you plan to be off bike near others, and wash your hands as often as you can.

When will there be another chance to ride this open on the freeway? It sounds like sort of a dumb idea, I get it, but having four, five, or six lanes all to yourself is unheard of in most metropolitan areas. Now’s the time to explore some of those roads you typically avoid. Plan an afternoon or weekend ride hitting up as many different freeways as possible, or see if you can hit all the major highways in your area. It might not be the most exciting or fulfilling ride when you’re done, but you’ll be able to say you did it, and sometimes that’s enough.

You’ve probably already done this a time or two in the past month, but practice makes perfect. Imagine you’re preparing for an event like the Isle of Man and you’ve got to know every nuance of the road before the big show. Find brake markers for every corner and develop the perfect line from the start of the route to the finish. This is a great time to make this route your route, so when the time comes for you and your buddies to get back out there together, you’ll be able to dust them without batting an eye.

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Take a walk down memory lane and plan a ride to some location that was important to you once, but you haven’t seen in a while. If it’s nowhere specific, maybe just a ride through a town you used to live in. There’s a lot of time for reflection these days, so if you can hop off the bike when you get there, take a stroll around and let the nostalgia wash over you. A lot of times places like this tend to be overlooked or disregarded as destinations because there’s cooler places to go when everything is business as usual.

The caveat here would be that if you’re quarantined with a partner, they can come too if you’d like. You’ll also need to check with your local authorities to make sure that dispersed camping is still allowed on public lands as some states are taking a heavier hand with regard to shutdown restrictions and this may not be an option. If camping on public lands isn’t an option for you, maybe you’re lucky enough to have a friend with some land, and if that’s the case, butter them up real nice and see if you can pitch a tent for a night or two on some distant corner of their lot. However you can do it, a night or two alone with the stars is valuable recharge time.

The day will eventually come when we’re all required to be back to our desks for the ol’ 9-to-5, so use this time to plan out some new satisfying routes to work. Link up some back roads, avoid freeways, connect surface streets you’ve never traveled. Find two or three options that would work well if you’re in a pinch, or if you have some time on your hands. It never hurts to see some new scenery during your commute, especially when the alternative is to settle back into automatic mode.

Pick a road you always ride just a portion of, say because there’s a really great burger joint about 5 miles in, and then ride farther. If it’s not a huge, interstate-length ordeal, try to ride the whole thing. Or if it is an interstate highway and you’ve got some time on your hands, see how far you can go before you get sick of it and want to turn back.

There’s always room for improvement as a rider, so why not use this time to zero in on some areas that could use some refinement? Maybe trail-braking needs work, in which case go find a few corners you love and spend an afternoon doing some passes. Or maybe there’s a tricky section of road that doesn’t feel as seamless as it should. Go there and ride it until you get it right. Find an empty store parking lot and practice emergency braking or do some slow-speed maneuvers. Get really ambitious and take out some cones and make a mini riding academy for yourself.

Fill up your tank and pick a road you’ve never been on. Ride that road until you’re just about half a tank. Where did you end up? Is it worth a picture to commemorate the event? Did you discover something awesome you never knew existed, or was it just a whole lot of the same ol’, same ol’? If there’s a gas station somewhere nearby, fill up again and go for another half a tank. This is just a play on the go somewhere you’ve never been angle, but just make sure you’ve got enough fuel to make it back home again.

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If you’re keeping strict to social distancing and not riding with your normal crew, plan a geocache ride with your buddies. Each of you will need to pick some little trinket to hide somewhere. Each of you will then mark the coordinates in your geocache app or device of choice, and soon you’ll have a few stops to make in order to collect all the items. This one will take some planning and some responsible friends, so it might not be for everyone. But it’s a fun way to partake of an activity together while remaining a safe distance apart. Consider wearing gloves and storing the items in a bag that won’t come in the house for a few days, just to be safe.

If you have regular times you typically ride, say the afternoon on a weekend or the morning before work, pick a different time and plan a ride. Do a night ride, or go in the middle of the day if possible. Breaking up the routine with a pastime you love is refreshing, and taking in the sights at a point of the day you’re not usually out can be illuminating.