I'm probably a solo rider this spring...
...and maybe this summer. Just saying.
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Most of my days are... commuting and the occassional odd trip to whatever I fancy. Ride smart and ride free!
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Solo rider?
Join the crowd. :roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2: |
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I ride alone. Yeaaaaaaah all by myself. You know when I ride alone, I prefer to be by myself.
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My only somewhat-regular riding partner was my wife, who put in around 1,800 miles most years (out of my 10,000.) Spring of 2018 she dropped her front wheel into a pavement crack and went down. Never really got the confidence back. In the two years since, she's put in maybe 300 miles. Total.
It's a bummer. |
"I'm probably a solo rider this spring..."
Originally Posted by Barrettscv
(Post 21359765)
...and maybe this summer. Just saying.
p.s. -- great conversation with only an occasional disagreement |
Why?
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Why? Convenience. Easy to roll out the door from home. I ride at my own pace. I choose the routes I enjoy. I ride on my timetable. There is no competition and I can ride for my own enjoyment. It is therapeutic (hip injury) to ride alone. I do not have to explain why I carry four water bottles? :D Well sometimes I do anyway when asked going up a long climb.
Why not? Companionship. Learn from others' cycling experiences. Groups can be fun and safer. Shared experiences. Mutual competitive accountability if training for an event. Encouragement. Coaching. |
Won’t you take your bike?
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/me waves at the group
Also a solo rider here. Hey, guys, all us solo riders should get together and .. oh, wait, that wouldn't work. |
100 group rides for years, over 1000 in 10 years. Now that I've retired I do more group rides, 4 per week most weeks. I found another club and they have a really fun ride Wednesdays.
Solo rides can be ok but the right group adds so much. |
Originally Posted by Biker395
(Post 21360413)
Why?
Second, it's an election year and it's inevitable that someone will start some kind of opinionated disruption. I don't discuss politics except with a few family and friends. I don't like having opinions forced on me. Third, I want to empty my mind and enjoy the breeze, trees and sunshine. Everything else is really not needed. It's not an issue yet, but if the virus becomes ubiquitous, that will be a small but possibly significant risk in a group ride. I was scheduled to be at a trade show in Las Vegas this week. My employer doesn't want employees attending , so we canceled. No one wants to bring this home. I feel safer from vehicular traffic when riding in a group. But maybe the roads will be a little more empty this summer due to practical restrictions. |
I've been riding since the mid 70s and have almost always ridden alone. I prefer riding at my own pace, my own route, can change my mind if I want, stop when I want etc.
Interestingly I have always enjoyed BIG group rides of 100 to 3,000. I can get lost in the crowd, I'm never the last rider and faster than some and I enjoy the people watching aspect of it. My wife has a good bike but is always afraid of traffic and falling in general....so we only ride two or three times a year. I've learned just to enjoy it for what it is. |
Originally Posted by rseeker
(Post 21360456)
/me waves at the group
also a solo rider here. Hey, guys, all us solo riders should get together and .. Oh, wait, that wouldn't work. |
Originally Posted by Barrettscv
(Post 21360755)
First, I'm out of shape and I fall behind on every hill.
Second, it's an election year and it's inevitable that someone will start some kind of opinionated disruption. I don't discuss politics except with a few family and friends. I don't like having opinions forced on me. We keep politics out of our rides for the most part. Sure, if you have a large club you will get annoying talkers sometimes. It's only bad when they are right behind you. Having been with one club for 31 years there are negatives. The last couple years there has been an influx of younger riders who seem intent on dropping everyone they can. This can ruin the ride for some of us. Mountain bike group rides don't seem to have that issue. People go fast but always watch out for others. Some road clubs are that way too. Always checking, regrouping, and doing head counts. |
Originally Posted by smoore
(Post 21360760)
I prefer riding at my own pace, my own route, can change my mind if I want, stop when I want etc.
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I ride alone to get away from people :lol: but mostly because nobody rides around here.
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I've still never ridden with someone other than the person that introduced me to biking, and we only rode about 4 times. After that, I quickly became enamored with riding alone, but I 'spose that's because I am naturally a hermit. I was going to try it the other way and paid for $455 dollars worth of rides with a club, which are now starting to be cancelled. Except the waste of money, I'm not all that unhappy about that, riding alone is what I actually like. No one controls what you are doing but you. After I signed up for those, I immediately felt annoyed that I was going to have to show up at a certain place, have all my paperwork, leave at a certain time, ride the course in some predefined time limits etc. That is regimentation and not something I stomach easily any longer. It didn't sound like the fun I get from biking, more like a straight jacket. The fun I get from biking is freedom.
My initial words on this when I was describing it to a relative, were that there is really little to compare with flying alone down a road in total silence other than your breathing and the whir of the tires on the pavement. In that moment, no one else exists, and you feel quite liberated from society. It's probably just me because the majority are gregarious and want to fit in with others. I've never been that comfortable with that and found that the bike is the way for me to be out there enjoying the world, yet also maintaining a nice liberating illusion of not having any strings attached to anything. |
Most of us in this thread have been "social distancing" for years! Always ahead of the curve.
In fact, I'm going to "social distance" at an average of 16MPH in an hour or so, :) |
Originally Posted by Hondo Gravel
(Post 21366076)
I ride alone to get away from people :lol: but mostly because nobody rides around here.
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Originally Posted by eagletree
(Post 21366466)
I was going to try it the other way and paid for $455 dollars worth of rides with a club, .
Our club charges $20 per year, or you don't have to join. For years I have done 100 rides per year with them. It's a social thing as much as anything else. I've made some good friends and look forward to seeing them and Sundays we sometimes sit around for an hour in the middle of the ride drinking coffee and laughing and telling stories.and reliving the ride from Saturday. It's certainly not regimented, it can be very casual if you choose. We usually have 4 rides to pick from on a Saturday and also a racers ride where the participants make their own rules. I'm always surprised by how many people on the forum ride solo most or all of the time. I've done a lot of it and while it does have merits it can't compare to the fun of doing a tough ride with the right friends and bench racing later. Same as when I used to ride motorcycles in the desert. |
Originally Posted by big john
(Post 21366594)
What? A club that charges for individual rides? Or are these charity rides?
Our club charges $20 per year, or you don't have to join. For years I have done 100 rides per year with them. It's a social thing as much as anything else. I've made some good friends and look forward to seeing them and Sundays we sometimes sit around for an hour in the middle of the ride drinking coffee and laughing and telling stories.and reliving the ride from Saturday. It's certainly not regimented, it can be very casual if you choose. We usually have 4 rides to pick from on a Saturday and also a racers ride where the participants make their own rules. I'm always surprised by how many people on the forum ride solo most or all of the time. I've done a lot of it and while it does have merits it can't compare to the fun of doing a tough ride with the right friends and bench racing later. Same as when I used to ride motorcycles in the desert. The regimentation comment is just in comparison to how I live my life. A club ride has a starting line that you have to be at at a certain time, release papers, number tag, approximate schedule to finish the ride, reflectors and fenders required etc. That's what I mean by regimentation. I recognize that to most people, this would not be regimented, but just the things you accept to get to the fun. |
I go faster than the slowest group my club has rides for, and I go farther between stops. I'm too slow for the next faster group. Even if I start with a group, I end up riding solo.
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I looked into and was invited to a fairly large cycling group in OC about 15 miles from where I live. After reviewing their routes, some of them passed within a mile from my doorstep. I live in prime road cycling territory bordering LA Co and OC. The next closest club is in Chino also about 15 miles away. There are fun routes to Chino for me as well. Seems I would be wasting an hour driving round trip or riding to their start points for some rides I have no interest in.
Group rides would appeal to me but I am somewhat in the middle. I am not a novice, nor do I ride competitively and there is no way I am keeping up with younger cyclists who weigh 150 lbs up hills. So unless I organize my own group for middle aged Clydes/Athenas, or lose 30 lbs and increase my average speed/endurance, there is not much going on for people like me in my immediate area. |
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