Sometimes, you just have to go for a drive.

Allow me to preface this post by saying that while driving can be extremely liberating at times, it is also one of the most goddamned stressful activities a human being can undertake in this day and age. Traffic congestion, the unpredictable behaviors and dangerous habits of other drivers, the constant flux of fuel prices, the increasing scrutiny of automobiles' effects on the environment, and other relevant worries all conspire to make vehicle ownership an exercise in frustration and high blood pressure. It's a wonder why your average, sane person would even bother owning one if their public transit system would fulfill their needs.


As briefly mentioned in my introductory blog post, however, having a car can reduce, if not completely eliminate dependence on public transit in one's personal life. With a car, one can go just about anywhere at just about anytime they please (though there is such a thing called 'business hours'). It is for this very reason that driving can at times be extremely therapeutic, or at the very least, an exercise in stress relief.

As one of my favorite controversial presenters and masters of hyperbole, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson explains within the first minute of his review on the Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Edition the benefits of just going for a drive.


Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Edition Test 1 by cagatayhindistan

Sometimes, one really does need to just go for a drive. One without a solid destination in mind, no agenda. Just you, the driver; your car of choice, and the open road, preferably one that's not heavy with other traffic, and at a time of day when the people most likely to be paying more attention to their phones than the road in front of them while behind the wheel will have hopefully already made it home and called it a night. It goes without saying that a decent amount of fuel in the tank is a necessity, particularly dependent on your vehicle's fuel mileage. And of course, make sure your vehicle is in good working condition--few things will put a damper on your meditative drive faster than being pulled over for having a taillight out or having to get towed home because a piston decided to jump right through the hood of your car. And please, don't forget your Driver's License.

When you can meet these conditions, then I can absolutely recommend that you go ahead and undertake that drive. Spur-of-the-moment drives I find are the most relaxing journeys to take, mainly because there's no set goal. Without a solid destination in mind, there's no rush to get anywhere, and this can lead to more time to reorganize the thoughts in your head, to worry less about what's going wrong with the world this very minute. Perhaps you're also hungry, so why not take a detour to get late-night eats via drive-thru at your favorite fast food joint? 

Why yes, I did take Wendy to get...Wendy's.

This is something I've already done with Wendy, whom being rather tidy in terms of fuel consumption, is ideal for taking a spur-of-the-moment drive around town. Or even out of town. At night, when less people are on the road, and on the back roads off and away from main thoroughfares, where there is far less traffic to encounter.

In my experience, music is largely optional. If you must have music, keep the volume low-ish, and don't pick something that has too fast a beat or a lot of high-cadence electric guitar, since those kinds of songs are more suited to foot-to-the-floor track day action. I prefer Jamiroquai for my backcountry drives, personally, but the best soundtrack of all is radio off, windows down, and all you can hear is the sounds of the outside world and the hum of the engine over the rush of the cool night air finding its way into your cabin. This will also be a good time to listen for any unusual noises your car is making so that you can have it inspected for issues at the soonest available opportunity.

As of this post, I have taken a drive just to take a break from my constant connection with social media. When most of what pops up on your newsfeed is negativity and 'politi-crap' (as someone once said as a descriptor), it's easy to let one's emotions override common sense and plunge themselves headfirst into some idiotic comment war. I have on many occasions started to type something in response to what someone said only to erase it all in frustration upon realizing the futility of continuing an argument on the Internet, and I have found an outlet for my frustration just by going for a drive. I didn't need to go fast, but I needed to get away, to have some time to recollect my thoughts, a few minutes on the road to have some fresh air at 35-40 miles per hour (depending on what signage in the vicinity says). By the time I got back home, I was no longer angry and decided to start doing something constructive, namely start posting on this blog, which had been a non-starter for a very long time.

As a means of unwinding, I for one will personally vouch for taking a drive. You get to go places, you get to know your car a little better, and you get to have some time where you don't feel obligated to respond to someone else's opinion on the Internet. Yes, fuel can be expensive, but so is alcohol and various recreational drugs, and those usually keep you in the same place you started when you overindulge. At least when you shed a tear at the pump over the cost of gas, smile a little bit, because the opportunity for an adventure is always at hand because of it.