Cycling on your own

[Aidan]

Inspired by some of the comments on Crinklys ride report about peoples like of cycling alone, or not.

Possibly the slowest 40 miles in the history of cycling.

I love cycling by myself , I mostly head off and do rides alone, and treasure the freedom, peace and time by myself that this gives me.

I like riding with others ( although some Audaxs I've done by myself ) for the company and the chat, and the shared experience, but on the whole prefer, and love lone cycling.

How about you?

[clarion]

Most of my riding is on my own, and always has been.  I never linked up with any clubs till fairly recently.  Now, though, I like riding with Butterfly & TGL.  I do like riding with clubs such as the Clarion and E. Sussex CTC that we occasionally ride with, and, of course, WARTYs are magnificent fun.  But I ride mainly alone, even if there are other cyclists on my road.  I do like it that way.

[nicknack]

Always on my own. Can't imagine anyone else being able to be as slow as me.

[jogler]

I am equally happy riding with company as per yacf rides & solo as I did on my E2E

[hellymedic]

I sympathise. I was mostly a lone rider even (or especially) on Audax rides. My pace uphill was usually too slow for company and having people in my wobble zone could spook me.
Then there would be the patronising men...

[Regulator]

I enjoy riding with other people - but I also love heading off on my own.

Mr R doesn't really ride so I tend to go out on my own at weekends, unless I hook up with a club/forum ride.

[Woofage]

Usually ride on my own. It's a welcome escape.

[Butterfly]

Always on my own. Can't imagine anyone else being able to be as slow as me.

You'd be surprised. I look at who's going on rides and there are certain names that I find reassuring .

I like riding with other people so long as I'm not obviously holding them up

[Basil]

I'm one of those people who is "happy in their own company".
I cycled alone for years and years until the internet happened.
I've joined a few forum rides and enjoyed them, but I'm always happiest on my own.

[Greenbank]

I prefer to ride on my own or with one or two others. I've done large chunks (400km+) of Audaxes on my own.

Sometimes group riding is excellent fun (the last day of LEL was spent in a group of 5 growing to 10 by the end) but most of the time I dislike it when it gets above 3 people.

[Wowbagger]

I greatly prefer company when riding.

Sometimes I find the prospect of riding alone quite daunting. Having said that, although I was very disappointed when Charlotte had to go early from our Wales tour (and that's not in any way meant as a criticism, m'dear ) I actually had a couple of wonderful and very memorable days' cycling. The weather was marvellous but if it had taken a turn for the worse I would probably have headed straight for the station and gone home.

When I'm riding from home I have no real difficulty with solo riding and sometimes do some fairly long day rides (60 miles plus). However, I can't imagine me taking on the sort of tour that Gordy's just done - 1500 or so solo miles over a 3 week period. I'm just in awe of someone who can do that.

[Clandy]

I mostly ride alone. I prefer it because it gives me freedom to go where I want, or stop when I want. I am a photographer, so often I may want to stop to make a photograph. That can be irritating for other riders.

[GruB]

99% of my cycling is done alone.
I also prefer the solitude of my own company and the freedom for my mind to wander.
I enjoy cycling with others if they are of similar speed to me and humour however I don't often get the chance as I live in the sticks.

[bobb]

I prefer cycling with someone. At least you've got someone to talk to and you can motivate each other.

Riding with more people can be a bit of a pain as there's always going to be "I'm hungry" "I need a piss" etc...

I always remember being dropped on a draggy hill on the 2007 DD. I completely lost contact with the group I was riding with and have never felt so lonely in all my life. Miles of complete darkness as the last rear light went out of view.

I pulled myself together though and blitzed it to get back on 

[Steve Kish]

I'm equally happy with other riders or on my own.

[Redlight]

I've always tended to ride alone as I don't know many people who live near me and enjoy "my" kind of cycling. I've toured solo, which can be both liberating and rather lonely, in equal proportions. I've done a few organised cycling trips as well - that can be fun as you can choose to ride at your own pace but still hook up with other riders from time to time. I had a great holiday in the Pyrenees on which the "official" route took in a col or so a day but a few of us added in a couple more each day to make it more challenging!

On Audaxes i have often ended up riding long stretches solo as a result of being, shall we say, one of the more leisurely-paced riders.  However, on some rides I've done long stretches with other riders and thoroughly enjoyed their company - Matt C and Fidgetbuzz on the LEL, Tomsk on a couple of rides in Essex, Cyklisten and Man of Kent in the hills of the south east and Ron Lawrence on the K&SW600 are a few that spring to mind.  Curiously enough, there doesn't have to be a great deal of conversation, just so long as it's interesting.

I will say, though, there are few more soul-destroying feelings than being out on your own in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with at least 100km to go, knowing that you are probably the last rider on the road.

[rdaviesb]

Life without the solitude of the ride back home from work on my own could get difficult.  It's vital chill time. Weekends are definitely different. It's great to share the experience with others.

[Rhys W]

I spend far too much time on my own. Cycling is a social thing for me. I get bored with my own company and I struggle with riding on my own as it gets to 2.5-3 hours. Bored. I can easily spend 9 hours on a bike if I have somebody to talk to.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm more used to riding on my own. I was in a club for a couple of years as a teenager, I've been on a few Critical Masses (in Bath about 1994 - embarassing in retrospect, but fun at the time; in Poland - pathetically few people; in Bangalore - huge crowd, great fun, no embarassment   ) and I often went for Saturday or Sunday rides with a friend in India, and that's also enjoyable. Sometimes it's good to have a riding companion to motivate you - for me that's not so much "you can get up this hill" or "you can do this mileage" as "you can ride that gnarly bit of forest road and you won't fall". But although I have done cycle camping with a friend in the past, if I were now to embark on a tour, it would have to be alone. That, however, seems to be a completely different thing to a day ride, for me.

[Wowbagger]

I will say, though, there are few more soul-destroying feelings than being out on your own in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night with at least 100km to go, knowing that you are probably the last rider on the road.

Amen to that.

I think my loneliest time on a bike was my first 200k audax. It was the Willy Warmer about 3 years ago and I was indeed the last to finish, having been on my own pretty much all day. That final hill up to Gerrards cross nearly did for me. I'd been out for over 14 hours. Then I had to get the train back to London and another to Southend. I'd got up at 4 a.m., cycled about 140 miles and got to bed at 2 a.m.

[David Martin]

I am equally happy riding with company as per yacf rides & solo as I did on my E2E

+1

I like riding with m own thoughts for company. I like riding at a good gossip, and I like riding in a fast[1] paceline where I am alternately chewing the bars to hang on or dishing out the pain from the front.

..d

[1] fast is indeed a relative term. There are many faster than me..

[Jaded]

My head works in a very strange way. Jumping all over the place and imagining/working through all sorts of things. This is better suited to riding alone, but people who are happy being sprayed with a stream of non-sequiters are very welcome to ride with me (if they are slow enough).

[mattc]

I've ridden with Jadeds. It's usually good fun, provided you've somehow established a rapport.

I find most people get more random as they fatigue*, me included. There is a big difference between company on a leisurely "short" ride, and company in the long dark hours of a "long" ride. A good companion in the latter is like a diamond in the mire.

*Most people get quieter, too!

[Kim]

Cycling on my own is and always was the default.  I greatly enjoy it, and I certainly wouldn't be posting here if I didn't.  It's about letting your mind wander; exploring; talking to random wildlife and inanimate objects; playing an inverse game of Lunar Lander - jugging lungs, knees, balance, remaining contours and exhaustion - against the climb, then zooming down the other side as close to R17 as you dare; being sarcastic at the Garmin at times, but following its sage advice at others; getting utterly soaked and enjoying it; converting miles to kilometres and back in your head; stopping in random places to seek out and rectify minor mechanical niggles; the poetic synergy of woman and machine (or appalling lack thereof).  Or something.

Cycling in a group is different.  Pace may be faster or slower, but more importantly it's not yours or anyone else's, it's that of the group.  You can talk to people, or not talk in a mutually understood way.  Hearing becomes an issue.  Faffing about in the cold becomes an issue.  Navigation becomes an act of consensus .  Disasters aside, it's not about your fitness, and it's certainly not about the bike.  The numbers are less important, except where used to quantify CAKE.  It's awesome fun, but it's not the same thing.

I think riding in a group makes me appreciate the place I'm riding through more.  On my own, it becomes about the ride, and I tend to only stop for bodily or mechanical needs.  With others there's time to stop and think.  I sometimes even remember to take photos.

[Ham]

I'm mostly solitary, quite happy that way, but I do hanker after the occasional group ride. Plus the odd occasion I ride with people on my East-West drag of a commute really cheers up the ride. Interestingly, I almost never end up riding with people on the inward-to-city leg, or for that matter on the homeward from city which is always a mass of people. It only seems to happen on the Westerly out-from-city section in the morning.

I probably would join more group rides, but there always seems to be a conflict of time.