[Closed] Riding solo.

I get so much more done on a solo ride. I too like the group rides, but solo, heading for a trail centre ( or better a natural trail) i'll get three miles for every one done in a group.

I love the crack of the group rides

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No no no no.

I'm the opposite, mostly solo rides. It's nice to go out riding with people, but at the same time I find it...inconvenient. Not being able to ride to my own schedule, at the time I want, at the speed I want, stop when I want... And if you're in a big group there's always someone with a persistently recurring mechanical failure, or the least puncture resistant tyres this side of Mars.

^ I agree with that Butcher.
Plus I find my schedule sometimes opens a last minute riding opportunity here or there so it's good to be able to just get out and go.
I do occasionally ride with a group (or family) but the majority is solo.

I prefer riding solo or with just 1 or 2 other mates. Not really a fan of big riding groups unless it's an uplift day where everyone ends up spreading out. Riding is my time and I want to spend it how I like rather than at the pace of others.

I hardly had the hammer down today but got round cannock in 1.45. I don't think I've ridden it solo before, in the group it's easily 2 1/2 hours. I've no idea where that extra 45 mins goes? On and then there's the ****ing 40 mins fettling in the car park pre ride 😆

I love a solo ride, that said i like a group ride too. its nice to be able to do both if and when the opportunities arise.
The whole process is always shorter / quicker when solo, but i do seem to faff about more myself, as I dont feel there are folk waiting for me to arrive get going stop taking photos etc.

I mostly ride solo, just coz i really dont like to mess people around. I dont want to make plans with people and then on the day of the ride, back out because I cant face going out.

Also, im not very consistent, good days im fairly fast, bad days i constantly feel like im holding people up! which I dont like

I ride solo on a Monday night and in a small, 3 - 5, group on a Wednesday night. Somewhere between 22 & 35 miles on a Monday and 18 - 25 on a Wednesday

i wouldn't ride if i had to ride in groups

Keep safe though folks.

No one to call for help if you come a cropper. I just do steady XC mileage when I'm on my tod now and save the lairy riding for when I'm with friends.

Was a few accidents last year I read about that made me realise I was asking for trouble riding sneaky stuff at full pelt in my own.

Im about half and half with riding solo or with one or two others mates and very rarely a group of five or six (anything more and it's too unwieldy). I like riding on my own for clearing your head and just doing what you want, but riding with others means I can just push it that bit harder / ride in more isolated places knowing that if I have a major off there's there's someone with you to fetch help!

Im about half and half with riding solo or with one or two others mates and very rarely a group of five or six (anything more and it's too unwieldy). I like riding on my own for clearing your head and just doing what you want, but riding with others means I can just push it that bit harder / ride in more isolated places knowing that if I have a major off there's there's someone with you to fetch help!

I ride solo all the time, only about once every 18 months will I ride with anyone else or a group. Not through choice but that's just the way it works out.

Don't mind riding alone but, like survivor said, I don't go mad speed. Which then means when I do ride with a group, I've lost all my confidence and get off and push 😳

I much prefer riding on my own. I hate it when someone is visiting this area and wants me to show them some trails.

No one to call for help if you come a cropper.

I ride some pretty remote stuff sometimes, and I'm quite conscious of this when on the mountain bike. Definitely pull my speed back a lot, and I'm a wuss anyway. But even so, it can be very easy to make a mistake. Went out for a ride the other week. Spent hours being ultra careful around the snow in the fells, then came a cropper on what I thought I was a safe, completely non-technical grassy descent (that almost mossy stuff, that apparently when completely waterlogged is like ice!)

I do 99.9% of my riding solo.
It's probably for the best ,as I faff so much I get on my own tits. 🙂

Most of my cycling mates are roadies with just one or two who play dirty as well so on the road usually in a group of at least six but off road on my own or one other. I much prefer doom things my way without having to worry about anybody else. This fails for night rides though, cos my wife hates me riding alone in the dark. She is convinced I will crash and die of exposure before anybody finds me!

scotroutes - Member
I much prefer riding on my own. I hate it when someone is visiting this area and wants me to show them some trails.

😀

In the last 12 months most of my rides have been solo. Innerleithen, Lagan, That one in Locjgilphead, Rivington, as I've been working in a remote location in Scotland on a wind farm. Some nights I'd ride up to the wind farm, just me and a few hundred deer, nobody else for miles.

Marvellous.

Last time I rode with my pals, I offered to head off first due to my lack of fitness compared to theirs. They rejected the idea saying we'd all ride together, it's not a race bla bla bla... Well, they were gone by the third corner. I rode that more or less on my own too.

So, it's just as well I prefer it.

No waiting for late folk, no hanging around for the one who always has multiple punctures or is inadequately prepared,

The only drawback is not sharing my fun with someone else but if someone else was there, it wouldn't be as much fun.

The only drawback is not sharing my fun with someone else but if someone else was there, it wouldn't be as much fun.

Very succinctly put, I think.

As with anything, there's always a compromise.

Riding Solo...

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I've never ridden with anyone else my whole life. And never will. Love being out alone.

I've never ridden with anyone else my whole life. And never will.

I do enjoy the freedom of riding solo but find that if I ride on my own too much I start to lose my skills/bottle. It starts with me avoiding riding anything really techy (the voices in my head telling me 'what if') and ends with me being a bit of a pussy. I really enjoy riding with someone who will push me to ride harder and stop me overthinking everything.

I just like riding. I do solo rides and enjoy getting out myself and discovering new trails, exploring different routes. It's the way I learn where things are.

I also enjoy group rides (talking off road here by the way). Fun and social muck about stuff, and more consistent pace night rides. Learning trails on solo rides means I can show people where stuff is on group rides. I do group rides with others leading but tend to not pay attention to where I am, especially on night rides.

Solo rides I tend to do more miles as I just keep going and going until I realise I need to head back. I don't stop so much either. Groups tend to need to be done by a particular time or someone's had enough.

She is convinced I will crash and die of exposure before anybody finds me!

I think mine is counting on it.

Solo most of the time, 80%. I like the odd group ride or showing people around but I'm slower than everyone and don't care for playing catch up. Taking things at my own pace and enjoying the countryside.

Seems a bit harsh to say never. Give it a whirl you might like it...

Nah. It's not for me.

No one to call for help if you come a cropper.

This does concern me more lately, especially over the moors etc.

Saying that I went down with an almighty smack on some algaeified paving in town a week back, luckily had helmet on, took a while to figure out where the blood was coming from (stud gash to the achilles) and how to extricate shin from tubing. Onlookers were at hand. They simply looked on.

Will try and stay away from dangerous looking rocks, trees and coastal erosion...or set a tracker up on my mobile and arrange expected return/vague itinerary with better half before the off. Thing is the best thing about riding for me is an odd Sunday out not knowing where the hell I'm going and most of the places have a poor network signal (read no service). I'm also discharging duty as carer in the daytime for foreseeable so most of my riding in the week is at night, again solo having moved away from friends recently. It's solo or nothing but if put self out of action via landing a cropper and get so much as an arm arm-cast then that's two of us ******. Ye gods getting older is rife with things to worry about.

I cant remember the last time i rode with somebody else.. Not that there's much company in lincs.. Still i get the odd bull chasing me 😯

I was walking the dog on the Quantocks this morning, there was a group of about 5 bikers looking at a bike upside down on the trail with the back wheel off. They were no more than 100 yards from the carpark and one of them already had a problem.
It's times like that, that remind me why I prefer to ride solo.

I like riding with mates (and strangers you meet), but as I work shifts I tend to get a lot of weekdays to ride when all the grown ups are sag in their offices (probably googling the weather for the weekend) so tend to be a solo rider. TBH I love it as I can go as fast as I want, take detours,session sections and generally explore and get lost without getting moaned at.

I mostly rides with 1 other, depending on the ride. Gives me an excuse to get out

I understand the solo thing, which I like too, but it's nice to go for a ride with a mate rather than down the pub or something else similar

Just got from a weekend at BPW and bikepacking. On my own I would have skipped out BPW and done the bikepacking only, but it wouldn't have been as much fun as with someone else

Off road nearly always alone, on road I prefer to ride with others.

About 99% of my riding is solo. I might ride in a group once every couple of months, but no more. I enjoy the social bit, but just don't often have the chance to fit into other people's schedules, and when I do, I often still don't have the time for the messing about that usually ensues. I started out riding solo for many years so I can't say I've ever conciously held back because of 'what if... ?' (I'm torn as to whether I should or not). That said, I notice I do take more chances in a group. Probably mostly because I'm following someone's wheel and there's a certain amount of "'Well, if he can do it so can I."

Mostly solo I CBA with any faffage while riding

Other reason is I don't really know what kind of ride it's going to be shred/mince until a few miles into the route

I wouldn't want to ride with me on the wrong kind of ride

I've been riding with the same group for many years. We all do solo rides in-between, but we push each other when riding in a group. I don't feel I always put the same workrate in riding solo.

I find in a group I'm more daring and try more to push myself. On my own I just cruise, retry sections, explore more and probably stop at more cake shops or pubs. Each has pluses and minuses

not a big fan of 4-5+ group rides as they are too stoppy start, dont mind riding in a small group of similar ability riders, but prefer riding solo, except mountain biking in the dark, think i get a bit scared of ghosts. for solo big mountain stuff, I carry a PLB as a backup should the phone have no signal and things go t*ts up.

Solo rides are a bit depressing, much prefer to ride with mates and any faffing doesn't really bother me, in the week it's more likely I'll wait for an evening group than go solo during the day. People are great

most often solo when on road, as usually ride from home. Evening and weekend MTB rides usually group, but ideally 3 or 4 max, with similar ability.

Also like, when away from home, exploring new trails with locals, especially when they make a good effort of coming out and showing you stuff

scotroutes - Member
I much prefer riding on my own. I hate it when someone is visiting this area and wants me to show them some trails.

...even the grumpy ones 🙂

who's actually a top chap really 😀

I like both. happy with both. each have their plus points; on balance though, as someone that works from home and doesn't always get to meet folk as often as is best;

*/ circumstances often mean I can head out for a couple of hours when mood suits, rare that that fits in with others

*/ equally, I appreciate being out with others (not all the time mind). shared trails (often its trails - roads are more limiting though often someone has a different route..

Don't mind riding alone or in small groups, often it's just my wife and myself, but I find big groups a bit of a faff.

I did the Bearbones winter event this weekend. For most of the two days I didn't [b]see[/b] anyone. I did meet one solitary MTB rider near Nant-y-Moch reservoir (thanks for the directions if that was you) but that was it.

If I'm riding alone I usually take a road bike, get into a rhythm and put some miles down. Mountain biking is a social affair for me, I'm more than happy to put up with a bit of faffing for a blast around some trails with some mates.

i mostly ride alone and that is the way i like it. being out by myself and having only myself to think about is what i like about it!

i have a riding mate i occasionally get out with and when we do, we try to do "bigger" rides e.g. up helvellyn.

i feel a bit reluctant to get too remote by myself, i always take phone, map etc and let the mrs know what I'm doing but i rarely do what i consider a big ride by myself.

do other people have a limit to what they'll do alone? taking precautions aside, where do you draw the line? i want to tackle Skiddaw/ullock pike this year and helvellyn again; and do the nan bield loop to try and spot the eagle, but I'm not sure if they push my "sensible limit" too far!!

On road - almost always on my own. I rarely plan routes to the last details, more a case of "over there somewhere" and I want the freedom to do that.

Off-road - almost always with friends, usually a drive off to a trail centre or somewhere a bit different to the local stuff so easier and better to go with others.

do other people have a limit to what they'll do alone? taking precautions aside, where do you draw the line? i want to tackle Skiddaw/ullock pike this year and helvellyn again; and do the nan bield loop to try and spot the eagle, but I'm not sure if they push my "sensible limit" too far!!

Done all of those on my own.
We used to go on family holidays to the Lakes and I was the only person remotely interested in MTBing. I used to go off crack of dawn, get in a 3hr ride and get back when the family were just getting up and we could then do family things. That was in my late teens, way before mobile phones. Although I did always leave a map/description of where I was going on the kitchen table.