# Do you drive purely for recreation?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 4, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947 "2015-08-04T03:20:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/1 "2015-08-04T03:20:13Z")
I got a new car in January, a Mazda3, and I love driving it. So much so that my average miles per month has doubled that of the prior car (Mazda Protege 5). Not only that, but because I have alternate transportation to work, I have virtually eliminated my commuter driving.
Which means that virtually all the driving I do is just for fun. I’ve driven all over the state on weekends just to see what’s along the way. I usually have a turnaround point where I might or might not stop for lunch or to see some particular site, but I might just circle the block and start heading back. And of course keeping the tunes cranked. A couple of months ago I drove to Denver and back. Luckily for me gas prices are quite low of late, and my car gets better than 40 mpg on the highway.
How much recreational driving do you do, as opposed to a commute to work or running errands around town?
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/2 "2015-08-04T03:27:24Z")
None. I can’t imagine a worse activity than sitting in a car for no good reason. Waste of gas, time and effort.
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### Author:  [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/3 "2015-08-04T03:35:28Z")
Yes. I can’t imagine a better feeling than steering an automobile along an asphalt or concrete roadway whilst simultaneously observing the environment through which I traverse. Sometimes I try to see how far I can go without having to use the “brakes”.
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### Author:  [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/4 "2015-08-04T03:36:36Z")
Sometimes after a really hot summer day, when the Delta breeze comes up along the river, and the sun is going down, I like to drive out along the levee road with the window down. No reason other than the sights and smells and the cool breeze.
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/5 "2015-08-04T03:41:20Z")
Me as well. Motorcycles too. It’s the best decompression I get these days.
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/6 "2015-08-04T03:55:49Z")
Absolutely. I bought a car last year that has some valid practicality, but that I mainly purchased for the fun factor—it’s a 2014 Ford Focus ST. With its six-speed manual transmission and wonderfully nimble handling, it’s all about having a blast on the open road.
Argh, I sound like a cheesy car commercial.
Anyway, I’ve always liked to take drives purely for fun, even in less sporty vehicles, especially just to go explore around in new places.
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### Author:  [@CalBak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalBak)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/7 "2015-08-04T04:04:41Z")
That and the occasional acid flashback.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/8 "2015-08-04T04:26:04Z")
I never drive without a specific destination in mind.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/9 "2015-08-04T04:44:12Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#):
>
> Sometimes after a really hot summer day, when the Delta breeze comes up along the river, and the sun is going down, I like to drive out along the levee road with the window down. No reason other than the sights and smells and the cool breeze.
And to check out the hopping vibrant night life of Isleton!
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/10 "2015-08-04T04:47:08Z")
Okay, alls you recreational four-wheelers, tell us this:
Do you mostly prefer to do these long scenic recreational drives alone, or with a passenger? If with a passenger, what kind of passenger? Buddy? Lover? Spouse? Kids? Dog?
What about doing a long scenic recreational drive, but with somebody else driving and you being the passenger? How does that work for you?
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### Author:  [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/11 "2015-08-04T04:47:16Z")
Do you lack children or other obligations? I remember, vaguely, driving for fun. I hate being a grown-up. _sulks_
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/12 "2015-08-04T04:48:25Z")
I did when I was younger. Around 40 or so I noticed my enjoyment was decreasing, and now I do it very rarely.
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### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/13 "2015-08-04T04:50:37Z")
I have a 2K14 Corvette. I only drive it for fun. Can’t haul nothing in it. For non-fun driving I have a truck.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/14 "2015-08-04T04:53:09Z")
No, because I live in DC and the city is completely surrounded by sprawl. Any recreational driving in any direction requires me to drive for an hour through a thick layer of gridlock and strip malls.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/15 "2015-08-04T05:01:59Z")
Oh hell yeah. I love driving and always have. I have a small SUV now that is quite utilitarian (but can still blow most cars away off the line) and I still like driving it. I have a 30 mile one-way commute but it is all open interstate highway Massachusetts style (80 - 90+ MPH depending on my mood). I usually take a drive down country roads during my lunch break. If I had to take a blue-collar job, my first choice would be long-haul tractor-trailer driver. I like nothing more than cruising down the open road. It is more relaxing than sitting in my living room.
That is nothing compared to when I had a BMW 3-series though. Driving my girl was my favorite thing in the world. I would just pick some place to go far away on my days off just so I could get more time driving. We hit 130+ mph on some desolate stretches of road in Vermont, did some really aggressive driving in Boston and everything in between. The say that BMW drivers are all pricks which is mostly true but you try not being a prick when you have one. They handle so much better than other vehicles that it is hard not to be. I think I need to go back to that when I get my next car.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/16 "2015-08-04T05:51:18Z")
No matter what I drive or when or where, car, boat, plane, mosicckle, pedal power, horse, bull, drive the wife crazy, I have fun every time. I can have fun going now the drive to get the mail.
As much as I hate, HATE, \*\*with the burn of a thousands SUNS hate \*\*lawn work, when on a riding mower I have fun.
Fun, like happy is an inside job. It is a decision I make. I also have as lot of ideas I can try.
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### Author:  [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/17 "2015-08-04T07:25:08Z")
When I could afford it, I bought a nice little road-loving coupe.
In my youth, I had vowed to _someday_ drive across the country.
That car got 12,000 miles on it in 3 weeks.
Might have to get another fun car one of these days
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### Author:  [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/18 "2015-08-04T08:48:43Z")
> [@madmonk28](#):
>
> No, because I live in DC and the city is completely surrounded by sprawl. Any recreational driving in any direction requires me to drive for an hour through a thick layer of gridlock and strip malls.
WOW! When Portland Oregon got that bad for me, I moved! It was usually only 30 minutes or so of that, but I hated it. So I moved farther out into the tooliewads. I got a different job & I enjoyed my community again.
I drive just to see something different. Even my commute gets varied as often as I can. Motorcycles are my first choice as to what vehicle to take. Sometimes I just need a truck.
My wife has some health issues that make going for long rides a pain. Literally! So unless I can coral one of my sons, friends, or grand kids, I go alone. While I like my own company, I often pick up hitch hikers when I am on a drive/ride.
When I retire, traveling will be on the agenda for sure! I did enjoy driving long haul trucks, & I may go back to that when I retire.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/19 "2015-08-04T09:04:48Z")
Well, I love living in DC, it’s just the outler layer of sprawl outside of the city that I hate. My commute is virtually nothing, and it’s all through DC neighborhood streets.
If we’re going to try and penetrate the dead zone (as I like to call it) we plan it like an expediton and it’s usually for a vacation or at least weekend get away. We pack the car the night before and get up early to get out past the sprawl before the arteries clog up like those of the diners at the many Olive Gardens we pass on our way out. Each year it seems like we have to drive a little further before we pop out on the other side. I can’t imagine having to commute that every day.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-drive-purely-for-recreation/726947/20 "2015-08-04T10:41:14Z")
All the time.
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