shelleyspins

So is it just me or does anyone else have an insanely difficult time find reliable riding buddies with similar work schedules who ride a similar pace/distance? I don't go remarkably far or fast, really it's the scheduling thing I think. I have some mid week morning and afternoon free time and I use it riding. Usually 1) alone because I planned on being alone or 2) alone and bent because I planned on being with someone else but that didn't happen.

I don't mind riding alone sometimes but the route I take (a popular ride route around here) has some stretches with poor road conditions and/or construction and out in the country. I just feel safer with someone else around. Plus the wind has been sucking lately and it's nice to hunker down behind a buddy every now and then.

I had an errand today (after another solo-not-by-choice ride) and while driving up the highway spotted a group of 4 guys riding up the access road. They were coming in from doing the same loop that I do! So I took the exit that the cycling route uses, parked and waited for them (on a stretch of flat just before a big downhill - not a horrid place to be stopped.) After a few minutes of waiting, there they were. I flagged them down, assessed them as harmless, made a quick plea for some company on my daytime rides and gave several of them my email address in the hopes that one of them would think to ping me next week.

Really? Is it that hard to find someone to ride with that I have resorted to stopping random strangers and giving them my contact info? What should I do to find riding buddies with the same schedule?