Cycling on your own

[clarion]

I find my mind runs freer when I'm on my own.  The lack of ride reports in recent times from me has been mainly because I've not had the space to compose my words, stop randomly for photographs, or be quite so serendipitous about my route when riding with others.

[giropaul]

I prefer company - but the right sort of company. Like Rhys W I enjoy the social side of cycling, but this is often now the cafe stop (well, cafe residence!)

Whilst runs in company used to be amiable and "pace of the slowest rider" I (and many I speak to) now find that the "Mamils" want to make every ride a "race", and attack at any opportunity, so the run ends up as disperate groups of people chasing to get on to the "break".

My experience is that as soon as anyone gets a sensible group going out together, the "Mamils" smell it out and ruin it.

[David Martin]

I prefer company - but the right sort of company. Like Rhys W I enjoy the social side of cycling, but this is often now the cafe stop (well, cafe residence!)

Whilst runs in company used to be amiable and "pace of the slowest rider" I (and many I speak to) now find that the "Mamils" want to make every ride a "race", and attack at any opportunity, so the run ends up as disperate groups of people chasing to get on to the "break".

My experience is that as soon as anyone gets a sensible group going out together, the "Mamils" smell it out and ruin it.

For MAMIL substitute Triantelope. Fortunately if there are only one or two you can let them go and know that they will be reeled in later. This is different to sitting on the front and gradually turning up the steam.. (and forgetting to slow down on the hills    )

..d

[CommuteTooFar]

I think I prefer to ride alone but I am happy to ride in the bunch and take my turn on the front.  The advantage of riding by myself is that I can choose my own pace. If I am feeling good I can go excessively fast for the fun of it.  Or I can choose to crawl up a hill or set a pace that would upset company. On the other hand I do like to be in a group when I am feeling lost. The other problem is people insist on talking to me, don't they know I'm the most boring person in the world.

[AikenDrum]

On longer multi-day rides I prefer solitude, especially during the hours of darkness.

[Notsototalnewbie]

I know the following sounds kind of pathetic considering I'm pretty confident in other situations, but...I don't really cycle on my own outside London, for two reasons really. 1) Because I get lost so easily -  my sense of direction is deplorable and I can even get lost in London despite living here all my life, so unsignposted country lanes really baffle me and 2) I'm afraid of getting a mechanical I can't fix and being stranded (and I don't know anyone with a car who could potentially come rescue me). So I like the security of a group, even if that means you have to compromise in terms of speed/when you want to stop etc. I don't find getting lost very relaxing and if I want to be stressed, well, I can do that at work... With a group I can switch off and follow the leader.

I do prefer smaller groups in general, or even just going with one other person who is well-matched in terms of speed and cake-stop preferences etc. There have been times where a pair of us have got lost where I would have started to panic a bit had I been on my own.

I like my own company generally and will happily spend plenty of time alone (I lived alone for years) but when it comes to cycling I like a bit of company.

[andygates]

I used to be a getlosty boy until I got myself some sweet GPS lovin' - the sort with maps.  The ones without maps are wretched (YMMV).  I can *read* maps, I just never seem to navigate where I think I am - often getting mazed by 90 degrees or totally turned around.

GPS tells me where I am, which is all I need to go out and get lost enthusiastically - alone or in groups.  Prefer riding solo or with friends to riding with weird strangers, though.

[Rhys W]

Whilst runs in company used to be amiable and "pace of the slowest rider" I (and many I speak to) now find that the "Mamils" want to make every ride a "race", and attack at any opportunity, so the run ends up as disperate groups of people chasing to get on to the "break".

My experience is that as soon as anyone gets a sensible group going out together, the "Mamils" smell it out and ruin it.

Now this sounds familiar... they rip it up every hill, then whinge about how they've had to wait for everybody to regroup at the top. And they fail to see the connection!

It only takes one or two "clubrun racers" to push the pace and a few lemmings go after them, oblivious - and the group ride is in tatters. Some of the worst offenders are now starting to be the target of a fine strand of sarcasm regarding their non-existent racing achievements!

[Julian]

I like riding on my own or with good friends.  In groups I get very anxious that I'm holding them up, which I usually am.

[Wobbly John]

I mostly ride on my own, and will often set out across the fens after dark.

I do enjoy the social rides with forumites etc. but, in cycling terms, I tend not to play well with others, and sometimes will push the pace if I feel we should be making better progress.

I tend not to do local club runs now as too often they are pushed to 'race pace'. 

[clarion]

I like riding on my own or with good friends.  In groups I get very anxious that I'm holding them up, which I usually am.

This.  But probably more than a TRATter.

[mattc]

Whilst runs in company used to be amiable and "pace of the slowest rider" I (and many I speak to) now find that the "Mamils" want to make every ride a "race", and attack at any opportunity, so the run ends up as disperate groups of people chasing to get on to the "break".

when our club's regular ride leader stopped riding in the winter, we carried out an unplanned  6 month social sports science experiment.

I eventually concluded that you cannot have a sensible club run without an overt ride leader. Most riders just don't have the right kind of "common sense" to ride sensibly as a group unguided. When we moved back to a nominated leader, things went swimmingly again.

If the aim was to ride rather slowly, where noone gets out of breath, it could probably work fine, but that's a different kind of ride.

[Kim]

Given the high numbers of posts expressing concerns about holding up groups by being hideously slower than everyone else, we should all get together and go for a ride sometime

[Wowbagger]

I like riding on my own or with good friends.  In groups I get very anxious that I'm holding them up, which I usually am.

I can honestly say that you have never held up a ride I've been on.

[Notsototalnewbie]

I don't think I've held up too many rides, not because I'm fast obviously, because I'm not, but because I tend to go for WARTY-esque rides where the pace is slow and you know what the deal is. I tend to go for things with 'pootle' in the name. I avoid anything termed 'brisk'. The exception being the FNRttCs when I first started doing them, because I stupidly chose to do my longest rides ever at night. This is one reason I am friends with Jasper of this parish; because I spent so much time with him when he was doing TEC duties...

[redshift]

Solo, except for the odd tour with a friend.

[Exit Stage Left]

Many of the modern Audaxes are poorly laid out for companionship. I like to ride at a fairly consistent power output, simple physics dictates that I'll be fast on the flat, slow up hills and very fast downhill. The ideal Audax has 50km of flat at the beginning, 100 km of varied terrain in the middle and 50km of flat at the end. Those starting from Southport did, so I'd see lots of different riders. Now they seem to climb from the outset and a group of physically similar riders shoots off and everyone else are stagglers. I'm not sure I would have taken Audax up at all if that had been my first experience.

[gene hunt]

I do sometimes linkup with a mate for the odd ride but 99% of the time I am on my own.

[MikeFromLFE]

I'm mostly a miserable g*t, so mostly get to ride on my own.
I have ridden Audax's and thoroughly enjoy the transitory company of people I can ride with for a bit, and then see them wizz off into the distance. I do ride with my son on occasions - he can do the going up hill bit (he's got the legs), I can do the going down hill bit (I've got no fear).
Lone riding is 'ard sometimes, but then there is the passing companionship at the tea stop, the wave on the road, the 'odd' rider who comes alongside for a bit.
I wouldn't have it any other way 

[Gaseous Clay]

I'm mostly a miserable g*t, so mostly get to ride on my own.
I have ridden Audax's and thoroughly enjoy the transitory company of people I can ride with for a bit, and then see them wizz off into the distance.

+1

That is an agreement with your take on riding, not an agreement that you are a miserable git, as i have never met you!

I enjoy the peace and quiet of riding alone - relative peace that is as my brain is always attacking me anyway.....

[perpetual dan]

I mostly ride alone, although I quite like the food stop chat and occasional pairings on the audaxes I've done.
I'd be willing to experiment with being a bit more social, but without racing or getting too close to each other.

[nmcgann]

I mostly ride on my own as I'm usually training and it's hard to do what I need to do if I am part of a group.

I do a a bit of riding with the club outside the racing season and when I'm in a recovery period where I can afford to have an easy ride. It's nice to speak to other people and stop for a coffee&cake now and then 

[mattc]

I mostly ride alone, although I quite like the food stop chat and occasional pairings on the audaxes I've done.
I'd be willing to experiment with being a bit more social, but without racing or getting too close to each other.

If you do one of my events, we can supply chaperones to avoid any of that disgusting "getting too close" stuff.

[LindaG]

I used to ride on my own, as there was no choice.  I didn't know any other cyclists and had to ride when my children were at school.  No babysitters.  Cycling made me happy, it was 'mine', and kept my mental health in order.  I did it as much as possible.

Then Crusty came along and I realised how much more fun it was, to have a compatible companion on the road.

Other people came into our lives and we discovered the joy of cycling with pals, on Enid Blyton-esque adventures, with cake and ginger beer and mysteries to solve.

I started to work shifts, and most of my days off are during the week.  There's no-one to play with so I have to cycle on my own.  It's too easy to procrastinate, and very often I end up not riding at all.  A shame, because once I get out there I reap the same benefits, of peace and freedom, that were the things I loved in the beginning.  Ah well.

It looks like it's going to pour down today.  If I'd arranged to meet someone for a ride I'd have gone regardless, but I know I won't be going for a ride today on my own.

[Ray 6701]

I quite enjoy riding on my own and having the freedom to decide where & how far I want to go as I pootle along such as my ride yesterday.  However I am equally fond of social rides such as monday / tuesday morning rides out to a cafe somewhere & I do prefer to ride Audax events with company.  I would never have completed the end2end without datameisters company/planning/routefinding etc etc, all that was left for me to do was to keep the pedals turning.