Ever just go for a drive just for the sake of it?

bigpinkelephant

I love going out for a drive just to clear my head. I am sure most people who do this would do so on a nice sunny day but I love going maybe on a Sunday night when there is hardly anyone else on the road. I put my music on and just forget about everything
Anyone else?

Gary ITR

all the time... contemplating it now actually

View Profile

Its something I did on my motorbike all the time but now less so in my car.

I do enjoy driving at night though with very few cars about.

Its very soothing.

God I miss my bike......

L-M

I would do the same, but i do it to go some where. Ie. i might just decide on the spot to go out to a friend who lives 15 miles away just for the spin.

God i love my car:D

artanevilla

At least once a week, lash the music on, and go crusing.

Rowley Birkin QC

Not for a while now.

I had a lot to think about around two years ago, personal stuff. Remember driving to Longford from Mitchelstown via Limerick, Galway and Mayo.

Great time to clear the head. I brought a new AA map instead of GPS and took every backroad I could find instead of using main routes. Took about 6 hours but great time for thinking.

L-M

bigkev49 wrote: »

I brought a new AA map instead of GPS and took every backroad I could find instead of using main routes. ng.

I wouldn't ever use a GPS on Irish back road again, if Ninety9er sees this he'll tell ya why. Out of range my arse lol.

bigpinkelephant

Oh good, I thought I was the only one who goes at night!
I love the dark, and the quiet, and there's no traffic or anything.

L1011

Frequently. Did one yesterday cause of boredom, but the 'clear the head' one happens too.

One particularly frustrating night I drove to Sligo and sat on the car looking at the sea for about an hour. Sorted out no end of ****e in my head that night, and the breakfast roll as the sun was coming up in the midlands was nice too.

P.C.

I used to live a two and half hour drive away from my folks.
Used to love the drive - time to myself.

Still like to go for a drive for the sake of going for a drive.

cianclarke

I do it all the time. Most weekends I'm not busy I drive up the old Military Road through Wicklow, either to Lough Tay or Laragh and across the gap. Amazing driving roads despite the surface.
During the week, if I have time in the evenings I find myself heading out to Poolbeg and to the South Bull Wall.
I'm definitely in the same boat, I'll drive for the sake of driving.. I'll take a ferry even if it's more efficient to fly, rent a car even if it's faster by train...
Pity the things are so expensive to run. :-(

bigpinkelephant

MYOB wrote: »

One particularly frustrating night I drove to Sligo and sat on the car looking at the sea for about an hour. Sorted out no end of ****e in my head that night, and the breakfast roll as the sun was coming up in the midlands was nice too.

Now this I must do. Shame my sat nav is broke and I can't read maps- hopefully Garmin will fix me with a repair soon!

Rowley Birkin QC

P.C. wrote: »

I used to live a two and half hour drive away from my folks.
Used to love the drive - time to myself.

I'm kind of in the same situation. Do the Dublin-Cork-Dublin run around once a month but the drive is so bloody monotonous now, quicker and easier alrite but boring as hell with all the motorway sections.

L-M

bigkev49 wrote: »

I'm kind of in the same situation. Do the Dublin-Cork-Dublin run around once a month but the drive is so bloody monotonous now, quicker and easier alrite but boring as hell with all the motorway sections.

Try a different route each time:p:D

IanCurtis

I drove to Dundee in my bare feet

Rowley Birkin QC

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

Now this I must do. Shame my sat nav is broke and I can't read maps- hopefully Garmin will fix me with a repair soon!

Reading maps is extremely satisfying and definitely a necessary skill for any man! Although at a glance at your username I doubt it's an issue.

Voodoomelon

I do it about twice a week, head out on a Saturday and Sunday night and just drive on the empty roads, even if its raining, adds to the relaxation. I love sitting in my huge armchair-like leather seats with the heater set to the perfect temperature (25*C), radio on low to medium volume and the soft, warm head rest nustled under my neck, ahhhh.
And not a decibel of road or wind noise to interfere with me, buying my car was literally the best thing I ever did to date, i'd cry like a 2 year old if someone robbed it...

Nice thread.

questioner

Was in college in cork for two years, coming from carlow used to love the drive. the later the better, as long as it was pitch black and not getting bright anytime soon. What **** i didnt eat on those trips. What dodgy music i didnt sing along to.. memories. I've a diesel and its strangely comforting to look at the tank indicator on full and know that you'll run out of land before you'll run out of fuel.
IMHO gps is killing the art of getting lost.

L-M

Actually now that you mention eating. I always seem to get a bottle of coke, a mars bar and a pack of dorito's chille wave anytime i go for a good spin. Awful thing lol:D

Voodoomelon

I'm just home from having a McDonalds in the car and sitting at the side of the road, eating it in the rain.

ninty9er

Do it a lot with the lads, we'll just hop in the car and talk about what we've been at for the week and then have a bit of a cat and mouse game around UL the odd time.

Limerick-man wrote: »

I wouldn't ever use a GPS on Irish back road again, if Ninety9er sees this he'll tell ya why. Out of range my arse lol.

:D That was fun. "I saw your brakelights and though SH!T":D:D 90 was a bit steep on that road.

We did beat the bypass jam though, just about!!

bigpinkelephant

bigkev49 wrote: »

Reading maps is extremely satisfying and definitely a necessary skill for any man!

Not for us wimmins though... :pac:

L-M

ninty9er wrote: »

Do it a lot with the lads, we'll just hop in the car and talk about what we've been at for the week and then have a bit of a cat and mouse game around UL the odd time.



:D That was fun. "I saw your brakelights and though SH!T":D:D 90 was a bit steep on that road.

We did beat the bypass jam though, just about!!

Lol, only for my "Ah sure we'll go left down here, Limerick has to be in that direction" i'd say we'd still be in the Silvermine's :P:D

MintyDoris

Great to hear that other people get the pleasure I do out of the doing the 'drive-for-no-reason' thing.

Singing away to myself, up and down the gears, a few cigarettes and a bottle of orange lucozade ...

Even the motorways do it for me. I do love sitting at about 120km and just speeding along letting my brain wander ...

Found out today that it runs in the family too

pclancy

I do all the time, the views from nearly every part of Wellington are amazing and there's two state highways with incredible high cambered curves and mountain passes to enjoy. Amazing roads down here I've done about 8000K since March and havent seen a pothole on a main road yet.

MintyDoris

Well if you're going to do it, do it in style
Lived in Oz for 3 years and didn't drive when I was there ... I cry a little inside when i think about the driving I've missed out on in that part of the world
Roads without potholes - I hardly remember what that's like!

P.C.

When I was a about ten years old, my folks took us to the States.

We picked up a car (huge Oldsmobile) in New York, and my old man drove us to L.A.
Then turned around and drove us back to Chicargo. All this in four weeks.

This was how I learnt to love a road trip.

pclancy

Its fantastic. Pretty nutty drivers sometimes but at least they have things like speed advisory signs to tell you how tight the upcoming corner is or segregated passing lanes every so often so that you can overtake safely.

Petrols down to about 0.65 euro per litre now too Insurance is also very cheap.

MintyDoris

Ah, I see the pattern now
Our family did that but on a smaller scale - my Dad built campervans during the winter and we toured Ireland in the summer. Loved the feeling of setting off and finding lovely parts of the west of Ireland
Tried to drive a campervan to Broken Hill but hit a kangaroo that was the end of that ...

SV

All the time, absolutely love driving and go for a drive the whole time.

Loveless

remember needing to think about stuff a few years ago, started off driving, got to around naas, kept driving, ended up in belfast, turned round at the outskirts of the city and drove all the way home.

I drive around 500 miles a week cos of work, but used to drive to cork every weekend to visit g/f too. enjoyed that drive from clonmel, cahir, mitchelstown, fermoy, cork..

EPM

All the time. Drove to Clonmel from Galway this morning. I waited until the roads were empty rather than heading back with a road full of cars last night. can't beat it. nice and relaxed now which makes a change for a Monday:D