Non nativespeaker having a question

[Flyingfish2019]

When I say “I am riding“ is clear that I am riding horse or could I also be riding a car or a motorcycle?

You might find this useful
www.englishcollocation.com/how-to-use/ride

Also.....

Drive
◾Use drive when someone knows how to control/operate a car or has a driving license.
Example:Ava can’t drive.◾Use drive for travel in a motor vehicle, especially when we are controlling it’s movement.
Example:Sometimes, her mother drives her to school.

Ride
◾Use ride for travel on a bicycle, or horse when we control its movements. Use ride or drive for travel on a motorcycle, ride is more common.
Example: It takes an hour to ride to school.◾Use ride for travel in a vehicle (car, bus, train) when we aren’t controlling (driving) it.
Example: She enjoys riding in her mother’s car.

Take
◾Use take for travel with public transport, we can replace take with ride
Example: Ava doesn’t like taking the bus to school.Sometimes, the family rides the train to Coney Island, just for fun.

You can still sail in a ship that's not a sailing ship, confusingly. I don't know about a submarine! Might be sailing.

You sail a submarine!

'I'm going for a ride on my horse/bike'

'I'm going for a drive in my car'

'I'm travelling by train/plane/taxi'

'I'm getting a lift in my friend's car'

American here....for us we could say "Want to go for a ride?" which would mean driving around in a car (or motorcycle). We ride a bike or horse (or skateboard). We do "ride the bus" also. For a train though its more common to say "take the train" "take the subway or ride the subway". But if someone told me they had been riding I would first think horse before the other options.

I think it does depend quite a lot on context - If someone says "How do you get to work?" You might say "On my bike" "By bike" or "I cycle" or possibly "I ride my bike". If you just said "I ride" I would assume you must be in a very rural area and on a horse. Talking about a hobby or skill though you might say "I can ride a bike" (ie you know how to) or "I can ride a horse" (in the same sense). On the whole, if you just say "ride" without specifying what "I ride every day" I think most people would assume you meant a horse. Also, in North America, they use the word "ride" to mean taking someone else in your vehicle whereas in the UK we would talk about "A lift". They might also say "I ride the bus/subway to work every day".

For a boat you’d just say I’m going on the ferry, or by boat. Unless you have a boat which you’d sail - even if it doesn’t actually have sails.

Horse of bike for me. For bike, though I'd generally say cycling myself because I have a man with a hobby (but not a selfish family avoiding man).

I cycle to work and I might say "that was a very wet ride today" or "a wet cycle" or "a wet commute".

Also - confusingly - if you say 'I've been taken for a ride' (when not discussing transport) it means that someone has deliberately misled you or made you look foolish.

As a PP said the verb riding is usually used for something you are on top of rather than in in British English

So you ride a horse, a bike, a motorbike even a wave.

The noun - a ride is a synonym for journey or trip
So a train ride, a ride in a car, a bike ride. It is often prefaced by the verb to go followed by for
I am going for a bike ride
I will be going on a long train ride tomorrow
I went on a horse ride this morning.

You can also combine to go+for+ride+transport using in /on
I went for a ride in a car
He is going for a ride on his bike.

followed sometimes by for

Re sailing - if you are in a boat on the river or sea with oars - you would be rowing, not sailing. (Sailing usually refers to a boat with sails) but sailing is commonly used to describe crossing water in any boat including a submarine.

I will be going on a long train ride tomorrow
I went on a horse ride this morning.

These can also be written as
I will be going for a long train ride tomorrow.
I went for a horse ride this morning.

See if someone told me they were going for a ride if ask what they are riding because to me "I'm going for a ride" isn't a complete sentence... But then I don't know anyone that has horses, and you go on a bike ride...

If someone said they were going for a ride I would assume cycling. If they said they had been riding I would think horse. To be honest there are very few people who ride horses so it's not a mistake I would make, I know who they are

Thank you so much for explaning.

A submarine ride has got to be something dirty.

Oh and you can ride a wave eg surf

Yep, sailing in a yellow submarine.

Riding a bike or riding a horse. Or a motorbike.

You can go for a ride in a car, or on a bus, or on a train. Or a boat, maybe.

But you wouldn't be riding a car, bus or boat, iyswim.

You sail water born vessels with engines ...

You can ride a bike but if you were talking about it surely you'd say cycling or biking or going for a bike ride.If I hear riding with no extras I assume horse ( not horseriding,please not!!)

By the way, has anyone you been reading the Lord Peter Wimsey novels or Tommy by Kipling because I have question about the language if some of the language is still contemporary... for example “to myself says I“ Which found in both contexts but to me it sounds incorrect. I would make it “and I said to myself“, so said instead of says... and also the word-order is most unusual, isn’t it?

Also ride a donkey, camel or hippo. Or a Ferris wheel or rollercoaster.

Take a train/boat ride (ride as a noun)
Ride a bike/horse (ride as a verb)
Have a ride in a car/helicopter/hot air balloon/carousel/carriage (ride as a noun)
Go on a plane/ship
Go in a submarine