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I'm probably a solo rider this spring...

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I'm probably a solo rider this spring...

Old 03-09-20, 05:45 PM
  #1  
Barrettscv 
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I'm probably a solo rider this spring...

...and maybe this summer. Just saying.
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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
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Old 03-09-20, 06:24 PM
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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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Old 03-10-20, 02:57 AM
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Solo rider?
Join the crowd.
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Old 03-10-20, 05:46 AM
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Old 03-10-20, 07:54 AM
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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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Old 03-10-20, 08:08 AM
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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.
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Old 03-10-20, 08:29 AM
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"I'm probably a solo rider this spring..."

Originally Posted by Barrettscv
...and maybe this summer. Just saying.
I might be doing a SOLO ride but I am never riding alone because me, myself and I ride together at all times.

p.s. -- great conversation with only an occasional disagreement
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Old 03-10-20, 08:36 AM
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Why?
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Old 03-10-20, 08:57 AM
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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? 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.
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Old 03-10-20, 09:03 AM
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Won’t you take your bike?
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Old 03-10-20, 09:04 AM
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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.

Last edited by rseeker; 03-10-20 at 09:28 AM.
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Old 03-10-20, 09:28 AM
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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.
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Old 03-10-20, 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Biker395
Why?
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.

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.
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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.

Last edited by Barrettscv; 03-10-20 at 01:00 PM.
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Old 03-10-20, 11:57 AM
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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.
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Old 03-10-20, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by rseeker
/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.
ha!
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Old 03-10-20, 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Barrettscv
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.
As a larger rider, I've always been off the back on hills but when I was younger and stronger I could make them work on the flats. It's good to have friends who will wait for me after the hills and I've been working on my climbing since I retired.

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.

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Old 03-12-20, 05:27 AM
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Originally Posted by smoore
I prefer riding at my own pace, my own route, can change my mind if I want, stop when I want etc.
^This. Riding alone definitely has its advantages.
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Old 03-13-20, 07:59 PM
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I ride alone to get away from people but mostly because nobody rides around here.
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Old 03-14-20, 07:55 AM
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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.
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Old 03-14-20, 08:21 AM
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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,
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Old 03-14-20, 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Hondo Gravel
I ride alone to get away from people but mostly because nobody rides around here.
I have a friend who lives in Nacogdoches, Texas. She says nobody rides there and they think she's crazy or weird. She used to run and people would ask her if she needed a ride. I think she likes it there.
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Old 03-14-20, 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by eagletree
I was going to try it the other way and paid for $455 dollars worth of rides with a club, .
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.
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Old 03-14-20, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by big john
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.
Well, this club has a nominal membership fee, but they offer a package deal for all the major rides of the year. At the time it sounded like a good idea so I did it. This year it possibly wasn't the best time to do that. I wanted to get the benefits of competitive pacing for fitness, safety to ride roads I would never ride on my own, and possibly cultivate friendships. It just turns out that the freedom sensation of riding alone, just my front tire and a few yards of asphalt in front of me, is likely the major reason I ride outside of fitness.

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.
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Old 03-14-20, 01:48 PM
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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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Old 03-14-20, 01:57 PM
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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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