margo1000

For me,I enjoy the freedom and you don't need care the views of others,just follow your heart.Moreover,maybe you will meet some cyclists in your travel.

skye

I have a job where I am in close contact with others constantly and I have a lot of responsibilities for others' well-being. I'm also married, with children. And I'm essentially an introvert.

My time alone, on the road or trail, is how I recharge. I revel in being responsible for only myself, and if I want to ride until midnight and then stop and howl at Rhiannon's moon, I can.

Looigi

If it's being alone is what you're after, what's the point of meeting other cyclists?

highrpm

I like riding alone. Just like skye, I am surrounded by people all day at home and at work. I do enjoy my quiet time on the bike.

avidone1

I was thinking the same thing.
to answer the question, I like riding alone because I don't have to keep a pace or follow a route set by someone else. I ride for fitness and pleasure.
I love cycling. Sometimes I like to go fast. Sometimes I like to ride sitting straight up. Sometimes I like wandering around aimlessly. I usually don't know or even think about what kind of ride i'm going to take. I just go and let my body tell me what kind of ride I'm taking.
I love it.
P.S. I do like to wave and say hello to people

rex615

I generally ride alone for many of the same reasons stated above. I like to think and recharge when I ride. I pick the route, the pace and when to stop.

However, I do enjoy the occasional ride with my son (though he is now a bit too fast for me). I haven't done a group ride in over a year.

ltxi

Huh....never really thought about this before. But, other than with a s/o I've ridden alone for 35 years and wouldn't want any other way. Like skye, I'm essentially an introvert who's been until recent retirement "forced" into being an extrovert professionally. That can get to be most stressful.

Doctor Morbius

I enjoy riding alone because I don't really like human beings. I'd rather be around cats or dogs.

GeneO 

I deal with people and that politics and technology all day long. I like to get away from it. I have two avenues - nature photography and biking. Over the last few years it has been biking since I ride mostly trails for commuting and pleasure rides - I can soak up nature on the trails. It really has a calming effect and I don't have to deal with biking group politics .

fietsbob

I toured in many countries solo in western and eastern europe and the British isles .. you are open to new experiences that way .. you have to be.
You get fed by looking in display cases and pointing at things that look good..


raised in an 1 child family .. still single , in my 60's..

rydabent

When I set out on a ride, I usually know which of about 5 usual routes that give me the 30 miles I will ride. But------------------while on these routes if I see something or just have a whim to change the route, I can. I dont have to ask what other think.

If I want to ride with others, our club has several weekly rides to chose from.

sail

I like to talk to cows without others eavesdropping.

sostoked

yes moo'ing at cows is absolutely necessary.

CliffordK

I can't say that I prefer to ride alone. It just happens. And, I don't have to worry about too fast, too slow, too long, or too short of a ride.

Dodging traffice to get a bit of side-by-side time can also be a bit unnerving.

ltxi

"People are no damn good." -- Rick Dragonowski, 1963

margo1000

Good question I mean I can say hello to other cyclists who also riding alone .

diphthong

jean-paul sartre nailed it. hell is other people.

canadian deacon

I would agree with skye's comments above.

I will often use the portion of my highway commute which doesn't require as much attention to pray (I drive on the paved shoulder and at 5am the small number of cars travelling give me some space). It's often the best part of my day.

Garfield Cat

Probably, for some of the reasons of this bike forum.

jimmie65

Because I hate people.

Cougrrcj

I prefer to ride alone - mainly because I don't want to feel pressured into riding where/when they do and at whatever speed they'd like. I ride WHEN I want to, WHERE I want to, the ROUTE I want to, and the SPEED/PACE I want to!

habilis

I envy your freedom, but don't tell my wife. I'd love to do an extended foreign tour (the Danube bike path, for example), but it's not my wife's idea of a vacation. She's a good sport, however, and is compromising: she says she wouldn't mind doing a guided "tulip tour" in Holland next spring. We'll be plodding along on Dutch utility bikes, but I'm still looking forward to it.

Drew Eckhardt 

It lets me choose

1. Route
2. Total time or distance
3. Starting time
4. Effort
5. Rest stop location and duration

Usually that means

1. Starting at my home
2. 2 hours on weekdays, 4-5 hours on weekends
3. Starting around sunrise with pleasant temperature and traffic
4. A pace consistent with my training schedule, fitness, and morphology
5. Stopping only long enough to remove layers/pee/refill water bottles

margo1000

But sometimes,riding alone means you must face the dangers and difficult alone

Cougrrcj

I also don't have to put up with the frailties of others!

I am confident that I can overcome almost any obstacle or danger than may come up. I also echo Drew's reasoning in the above post. Not to mention that I ride alone on my 12.5 - mile each-way commute.

And for what it is worth, I once rode over 1200 miles over two weeks by myself, carrying only one change of clothes plus a windbreaker and a large garbage bag for a rain poncho, 'stealth camping' along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed that trip. I ate one hot meal/day at McDonalds or a 'greasy spoon' diner, and snacked on whatever I could find at the roadside produce stands along my route for the rest (you gotta love riding in the rural Midwest!). That level of total freedom was almost Zen-like. I never felt unsafe or in any danger.