Nightshade

I prefer to ride alone so I can go at my own pace with the company of a radio/CD player I installed on the bars.

What is your preference for companionship while you ride and why?

Inertianinja

i used to really want a riding partner.

i tried riding with my fiancee, but she's very much a beginner, so i wasn't getting a workout. so i only ride with her for fun.
then i tried riding with a local cycling group. their "B" rides were too slow and their "A" rides were full of maniacs.
then i tried riding with another group - they ended up being weird - always stopping for food (really?) and they'd get tired on the return trips and fail to call out the holes.
then i tried riding with a guy who i went to law school with. he's good, but he has caused me to crash twice.

so screw it, i ride alone and just do my little "cat 6" races and enjoy my ipod

in general, the best group rides have been race training rides.

Frankgt2

i start alone and end up riding with someone I always get in the way... Riding alone for me gets a bit boring sometimes

Shimagnolo

I ride alone, yeah
With nobody else
I ride alone, yeah
With nobody else
You know when I ride alone
I prefer to be by myself

XR2

With the exception of occasional rides with my nephew I ride alone. I ride simply because I enjoy it.

sean000

I've been riding for 25 years and most of that time I've ridden alone. I love riding alone because I like to follow my whimsy and ride wherever I want, at whatever pace, and stopping whenever I want. It's also the time when I think the most clearly about things, so my bike rides often have a therapeutic effect. My favorite rides last all day long, but with several stops throughout the day to have lunch, read, stop for a beer, visit a museum, take some photos, etc. So maybe three hours of riding mixed with three hours of other activities. If I get to explore a place I've never been it's even better.

I'm not really a competitive rider, although I did race some in my teens (mid to late 80s). I started riding farther and farther when I was about eleven years old because I enjoyed it and because it was a way for me to explore beyond my neighborhood. I had a few good friends I would ride with sometimes, but after awhile not many of my friends wanted to go for ten, twenty, and thirty mile rides. My parents didn't like it when I went for long rides by myself, so they encouraged me to look into local cycling clubs. In the mid 1980s where I grew up the only clubs were pretty much dedicated to racing and were sponsored by local bike shops. I liked to go fast and was a fan of bicycle racing, so I entered my first race at 13 and raced until I was 19. For those years I trained some by myself and about half the time with the team or a teammate I became good friends with. I was never driven to be that good a racer... just didn't have the desire to put in the training required. It was a shame since I had a wicked sprint As much as I enjoyed bicycling, training took some of the fun out of it for me... especially when I stopped exploring and started riding the same tired training routes with my teammates. After I moved away I never joined another team and never even joined a recreational bicycle club. Since then I have gone for a lot of rides with friends, but most of the time I just ride by myself. Partly because I don't know many non-racers who want to ride where I want to ride (or as far), and partly because I have just grown to love my time on the bicycle as time to think or meditate.

My wife does own a bicycle, but she isn't into cycling like I am. She likes to go for short easy rides in the Summer, but that's about it. Part of me wishes she was into riding the way I am, but it doesn't really bother me since I've always been a lone cyclist. (cue the violins)

calamarichris

Alone, yep. Still can't find anyone who can hold my wheel.

L.L. Zamenhof

I've never been on a pleasure ride with anyone else. I have little interest, too, for reasons already listed.

caloso

Most of my rides are solo, but I'll ride with anyone: big groups, little groups, fast groups, slow groups, my kids, my wife, my kids' friends, my best friend, my worst enemy. I just ask that you be safe and take an occasional pull if you're able.

StephenH

Sounds like you have a serious riding problem there!

I mostly ride alone due to lack of better choices. I've just recently started a couple of club rides, but the ones i've been on, I wasn't too thrilled with, the one that sounds too fast, I was one of only two people there, etc.

I've had a couple of rides where I rode with people that were sociable and interesting, and that was really neat, but doesn't happen often.

dcrowell

When I started riding in April 2008, nearly all of my riding was solo. I eventually met Tim through his blog, and we rode together, then formed a group to do group rides where we actually stayed together the whole time, usually at a reasonable pace.

We called it River City Cycling Society.
https://rivercitycyclingsociety.com/

Recently, scheduling problems have meant very few group rides, but I'm probably going to head out for some long solo rides again. I also commute, which is a solo thing.

cyclist2000

I ride alone mostly, I tour with a friend but we ride alone and meet up at the end of the day, so we can ride at our own pace.

BlazingPedals

Almost all of my rides are group rides. But it's pretty common for me to ride alone on at least part of them. They guys call it "dropping BP off the front."

RunningPirate

I'm on the fence.

Being an introvert, I prefer riding alone. I can go my own pace, set my own route, bag out if I feel like and I don't have to engage in 98% content-free chatter.

That said, I do understand the benefits of riding with someone else. If I'm riding with someone else, I'm less likely to bag out and more likely to push through tough spots (yay, ego!). Also, there is a certain comfort in knowing that there's someone to help bail you out, in the event something catastrophically fails (but that may be more of a noob thing). Finally, if you happen upon something cool, you actually have a witness to corroborate your story when you tell it to others, lest people think you're MSU. Sometimes, these are worth the price of content-free chatter.

petrolhead

Generally ride alone, I like to get up early and do my coastal and country route as the sun comes up. I can ride at my own pace; push it hard if i want to, or just cruise. On a weekend morning I'll travel to my brother's and ride with him, it's a great way to catch up, the pace is relaxed and it's more of an urban envoirnment which makes a nice change.

crazzywolfie

i like biking with other people so that i push myself harder but most of the i end up biking alone

dspilot

I ride alone mostly. I do have a friend that lives about 15 miles away that I hook up with occasionally to ride. This spring I am hoping to make some group rides in a couple of different towns, unfortunately both are about an hour from m where I live, so they will not be very often. I do find myself to ride better when I am riding with someone.

Nightshade

Wow! Reminds me of a line from a Beatles song...."all the lonely people where do they all come from"

All kidding aside it's nice to know that I'm not odd man out riding alone with my tunes!

AlmostTrick

I'm almost always riding by myself and I still have to put up with content free chatter and getting dropped!

doctor j

For after-work rides, it's solo. For the Saturday rides, it's mostly with our group (Spring, Summer, Fall). Sunday afternoon rides are usually with a friend of mine. I enjoy the social nature of the group, and as others have mentioned, I'll push a little harder on the group rides, so it's beneficial for fitness.

Machka 

In the almost 21 years I've been riding regularly ... I've ridden alone most of that time. So far it is looking like it might swing the other way for the next 21 years because I married a cyclist and it is nice to ride with someone, but there's nothing wrong with riding alone. It can be quite enjoyable to be out there in the middle of nowhere, all by yourself, alone with your thoughts and the sounds of nature.

twobadfish

I have no idea.

Joemess

I generally ride alone. About the only person I enjoy riding with is my dad, who even though he is 65 can still ride folks younger than him into the ground. It is our time together.
otherwise, I enjoy being alone and listening to tunes or just thinking. If I run into someone who is out on the road and wants to hang together for a while that's cool. I just do not go looking for them.

chandltp

I ride alone.. I've ridden with other people, and it's fun at first, but after a while it gets annoying that we don't want to stop at the same time, ride the same pace, etc. I'm sure it would be nice in the event of a breakdown, but it almost ruins the ride for me. Unfortunately, the only way my wife will be comfortable with me riding to my in-laws is with a riding partner.

Brontide

I ride alone... not too many are crazy enough to be out at 5am and/or when it's freezing out. I like to ride with my wife and in groups on occasion, but I just don't have anyone to ride with on a regular basis due to my own constraints.