[Closed] Solo MTBing

I do it all the time and not died yet (unless this is my wife posting under my name just to keep the illusion going).

Obviously you won't be riding the Red Bull(sh1t) hardline, err, will you?

Take it steady, don't try for Strava KOMs (or even PBs) and you'll be fine.

I guess where and when will influence the answer.

90% + of my riding is solo. From quick 10km mtb blasts, to 4-5hr road rides, and Dartmoor MTB epics.
Never worried about it too much.

Take it steady, don’t try for Strava KOMs (or even PBs) and you’ll be fine.

If I did this i'd be riding like a granny all year round!

I try to make sure my other half knows my general direction, and in an emergency she can log into my Android account and use the locate function on my phone.

I generally prefer solo riding...keep my own pace, less faffing and chat.
I do enjoy a social ride out with a couple of similar paced mates occasionally, but it's not very often, especially at the moment.

My road rides are solo and while that will involve a different set of risks, just ride well within your ability.

It's another of my excuses for being reluctant to do head out much during the Festive 500 I'm half-heartedly trying for the first time, having not done a 2+ hour ride (or > 35 miles) outdoors since October, there's this weekend's windy weather warning and I've no idea what state the lanes are like around Old Winchester Hill.

Having "live tracking" via my Lezyne GPS and mobile helps a little, but it relies on your contacts checking in with your progress, rather than looking for the first time when you are maybe 30mins+ behind your anticipated return back to base!

Most of my riding is solo, though more XC than Endyooro, but you can have a nasty off anywhere really. I probably attack the ascents more than the descents when I'm on my own, but don't shy away from much - just generally tell someone my rough route and what time to check if I'm back.

I rode yesterday morning, 17 miles of lanes and road, first thing the people I spoke to asked was "Who did you go with?". I like riding solo for the freedom.

As others have said, depends where. Local trails, woods etc are so busy atm someone would be near enough to catch me if I fell. The more techy the ride the more I would want someone with me but would still ride solo if no one could join me, I'd just be more careful about making sure my route/timings were known

Thanks for replies. Sounds like it’s not unusual/stupid to go solo then. I do prefer the banter of going with mates but with work, kids and now Covid it’s a pain to arrange and I need to get riding as often as possible now as I’ve had to give up running 🙁

Hopefully the weather doesn’t ruin it for me....

I'd say that 90% of my riding is solo, never anything too technical and only ever had one incident where I dislocated my knee. I was near a local golf course so shouted for help and got rescued by some ladies on a golf buggy 🤣

Nearly all the time as well. XC routes with the odd DH run thrown in. I do have a Husband tracking app on my phone and my Garmin 530 has an accident alarm that goes off if you stop too abruptly. It does work as I emergency stopped once and it went off, meaning that I had to get the phone out and say it was OK. I think you have 60 seconds or so to do it, before it fires off a message to your one and only or who ever you decide.

I don't worry about it, and always (OK nearly always) ride within my capabilities when solo

Most of my riding is solo - I used to regularly do 24hr offroad rides, I had a SPOT tracker at the time, so Mrs DB could check out where I was.

I was near a local golf course so shouted for help and got rescued by some ladies on a golf buggy

As a fantasy that's got to be among the worst I've heard 😂

Over half of my riding is solo - Although I prefer XC more than Enduro/DH when Solo and the other way round when riding with others.

I ride alot on my own. Started using strava beacon

A with all outdoor stuff you need to think through the risks and what ifs.

I like riding solo. Often I’ll start off with a route in mind and change it as I ride, usually riding further than I might have with someone else.

Around here someone would likely find me if I was laying at the side of the trail, but I’m always wary for solo night rides, so share my phone location with my wife.

Only ever ride solo, apart from family rides. Felt quite spooky parked up up A57 the other night on my own, but don't usually notice it.

Doing the inner cairngorm loop in summer was another step beyond though. I think some bits of that are 15km + from the nearest phone/ habitation, perhaps more. Told the missus that if I wasn't back that night then she shouldn't necessarily panic, as any significant bike failure would leave me with perhaps a day or two walk back to my starting point. Perhaps with an overnight in a bothy.
That was definitely a step beyond, and I'd be really interested in Colin,Matt, Whitestone and others' opinions on how they deal with those occasions when you have zero phone signal and zero chance of getting back with anything worse than a minor injury....

I'd say that biking is probably at the relatively sane/ safe end of the spectrum of stuff I've done solo. Cuillin ridge traverse was a key highlight. I recall the realisation, as I went off route on Sgurr a Bhastier, that if I fell off then there was a reasonable chance that I wouldn't be found for two more days.
Likewise skiing.
Kayaking. Can't believe I got to the stage 16 years ago that I was happy paddling the Upper Dart and things on my own. That was definitely not a good idea.

I prefer riding with other's than Solo. So much so that I'll even leave my E Bike at home and go out on my analogue bike so I can ride with others.

Most of my rides are solo, but being in the packed South, you are never actually far from anyone unless it's 3am. Today's solo ride probably passed by 30 walkers, 3 horse riders and 10 mountain bikers in around 12 miles.

Pretty much all of my riding is solo, I also reckon I'd be worse off if I injured myself locally (Aberlour area) as there's much less folk about than in the Cairngorms. I almost never meet another soul.

Yeah, the inner Cairngorm loop is pretty out there if you aren't used to it. Not many places in the UK are as remote, the middle of Fisherfield is one. I've come to MTB from climbing and fell running so mentally I'm used to being out in the middle of nowhere either alone or with just a partner or two. Also most of that time we didn't even have mobile phones available so there wasn't that much difference between being stuck in the middle of nowhere and in a field overlooking a major city.

For areas like that knowing the escape routes helps, not "knowing" as in "in depth knowledge" but that there is a track/bothy/farm in a certain direction sort of knowledge. I'll study maps and "internalise" escape options. Of course you have to be in a state you can use it. I bailed on the HT550 a couple of years ago due to food poisoning and heat stroke but I could still walk (slowly). I'd three options and took what appeared at first glance to be the weird one but it got me into safe ground in the shortest time even if the first couple of km were basically bashing over peat hags. Different times/weather and I'd have possibly chosen one of the other two.

I suppose there's a sliding scale, anything that actually stops movement - broken leg or pelvis - would mean staying put and using my bivy system for the duration. Just about anything else and you are walking wounded and can get out albeit slowly and probably without your bike.

There is a bit of fatalism involved TBH, you have to accept that there's risk. When I was training for my Bob Graham I headed over to do the Wasdale section. It was snow and ice on the tops and pretty windy. Back at work on the Monday the conversation with a colleague went something like this:

"Where did you go?"
"Running round Wasdale Head. Quite a bit of snow and ice."
"Did you have ice axe and crampons?"
"No, I was running"
"But what if you fell?"
"I'd probably have died."
"But ..."

You get the idea.

These days I've a mobile phone, SPOT tracker, etc. I won't take everything all the time but they are tools available to me should I deem the risk sufficient. Of course in races/events that choice may be taken away from you.

Most of my riding is alone. I'm 50 so the element of riding like a loon is well gone as I'm an ex roadie, and have suffered a badly broken spine on the road bike 5 years ago.

My new Garmin has tracking and crash detection - that is turned off !! I don't tend to drive anywhere to ride on my own - I ride from home, and most of the routes someone will be coming past at 'some point'.

I know some riders who are 50 or above who really do ride like a loon. Although their skill level is just very very high so it allows them to.

Most of my riding is solo and most of the people I see on the trails are also solo.

I've done a lot of 'mild' XC stuff this year, but it's been mainly in my lunch breaks as I' working from home - just need to do routes I can do in a set time. Further stuff has been weekends with a mate or two when allowed. Either I drove upto them, or they drove near me to meet up.

I've used Zwift much less. I've given up road riding due to the number of cars that hit me commuting - I started to use my best road bike again when I took it to North Wales to use on quiet back roads - it's 30 years old and irreplaceable as it's custom built for me, my own design paint job, and Dura Ace throughout. I'd literally kill someone if it got damaged.

Despite the lockdown, I've ridden loads more this year. The only time's I've had a bad accident on the MTB was actually my in-experience and lack of attention when I started to MTB again after years of mainly road (four years ago, and a year after breaking my spine). I had an old 80's MTB that was good for mucking about on, but when you get a new full suspension, 30 years in the making, it was my own stupidity that caused the crash, and in a studid place. Crashed at the top of the climb at Llandegla, followed too close to a mate on the flat, drifted slightly wide, and hit a hidden tree stump. Banged up my shoulder and mashed a helmet, but managed the black OK. Couldn't ride up the hills though, I was in that much pain.

I have afew mates that have been MTB'ing all their life and I leave them to the crazy speeds downhill, I'm not far behind, but don't take the risk.

My mate is the same age and is a loon. We call him tigger. He is just nuts, but has the skills I don't. The rest of us are about the same in skill level - we let him shoot off. When out with a group of mixed age (pre lockdown) I could keep up with the younger lads uphill, but not down.

It's the best sort of riding. Stop when you want to catch a view, ride at your own pace, make last minute decisions to head off in another direction.

Or put simply, freedom.

There are many incident detection systems these days, although most rely on a phone signal (I think the SPOT tracker is satellite based though?)

For example - on a typical ride I've got a Specialized ANGI device on my MTB helmet, incident detection via a Garmin watch and I imagine likely something via the phone. I don't use any of them but probably should.

If in doubt I'd suggest use one of these systems - you've probably got one or more already.

I do most of my riding alone. I did buy a SPOT tracker this year after sharing my position on my phone with my wife at the start of a 5hr ride in the Welsh mountains where there was no phone signal (so looked like I was stationary for hours). I saw about 3 people for the entire 5 hrs and realised it may be a good idea to have some kind of backup just in case anything happens.

New Garmin's have tracking and accident detection, but it would only worry my wife. She used to worry a lot about my commuting into Manchester (with good reason) than she does now with my MTB rides. If I'm going to be late back from a ride, I'll let her know.

I did a 40 miler from home up and over Kinder, back up over Mam Tor, and I'd stopped for a quick drink and bite to eat on the top of South head. She phoned then and wondered why it was so windy, she'd forgotten I was out on the bike (I had a day off). I'd ridden from home, so it was about 5-6 hours on the bike.

Arn’t we a bunch of Billy no mates. As above most of my riding is on my jacks.

The Thursday bimble club was 5 in the summer and down to me now

I always ride the same route and carry kit so it calms the Mrs

Riding solo is something I never really think about as I've always done so. I guess that coming from a hillwalking/mountaineering background I never consider it as much more risky. Once you've been (literally) crawling over some mountain top in a blizzard you do get to think about it a bit.

Mechanicals: something can always go wrong. Having a well-maintained bike, a few tools, and the knowledge of how to use them will increase your chances of getting back safely and in good time. Carrying some additional clothing/protection in the event of being out longer than planned is a sensible precaution.

Injury: I have caught myself riding in a "safer" fashion when solo on the basis that the added risk could result in a properly debilitating injury. The descent to Glen Ling would be a classic example. Again, a few simple precautions and equipment, and spare clothing, will massively increase your chances of getting back to safety.

Navigation: There's no doubt that many of the worst incidents come from folk either heading the wrong way or sticking to a planned route without taking cognisance of the circumstances. River crossing would be a classic example where a planned route might become impossible due to spate conditions. Having the equipment (map, compass, GPS) and the knowledge of how to use them, and also some appreciation of how weather affects things again helps.

Fitness and wellness: being very fit gives you more options and riding "within yourself" should ensure you have some margin if things go awry. But you should also be listening to your body on the day and planning around that too. I've done that thing where I've exhausted myself getting to somewhere and then seriously wondered if I had enough left to get back.

I do have a SPOT tracker (though I didn't subscribe last year). I plan to be using it again in 2021 as I am in enough places where phone signal just doesn't exist.

FWIW, I've also had stupid injuries from the most innocuous trails, as @iainc can attest.

I’ve done that thing where I’ve exhausted myself getting to somewhere and then seriously wondered if I had enough left to get back

Yes, this is something I've done and it can genuinely be a bit scary.

Regarding the phone thing: I was riding home from work the other night in the dark, feeling pretty knackered, and I had what seemed to be retina burn, with blobs of light in my vision. I mused on the fact that this could get so bad that I could be rendered incapable of using my smartphone to call home, and would have to rely on a (frequently) passing dog walker for help. Anyway, I didn't go fully blind, got home and thought nothing more of it.

Thee next day, at work, I DID ACTUALLY GO BLIND, although only temporarily, and not fully, but more than enough to be a little unsettling. A check up at the optician diagnosed a migraine, although I have never had one before. I am still thinking about it. Apparently the migraine should be short term, if it happens again, so stop and wait for 30 mins or so.

A lot of my riding is solo and got a Specialized Angi last year which gives the wife some peace of mind and for the most part it works really well although I have been having a few issues with my new phone. Well worth the money though.

"OK Google, phone home".   😉

My commiserations on the migraine. I occasionally get the "jaggy sight" thing which is troubling enough. For me, that never develops into the full-blown migraine though.

I do it all the time because that's what I enjoy. I'm an antisocial git at heart. If I thought it was so risky that I needed a chaperone I'd stop doing it.

Mind you I've come to realise that I'm not actually a mountain biker. I'm just somebody who enjoys riding his bike up mountains. By which I mean that I don't ride up the mountain in order to enjoy the descent. I ride up to enjoy being at the top. The descent is often fun too of course, but then so is the climb and if the descent gets risky enough that it stops being fun I just get off. If I was all about the gnar on the way down it would make a lot more sense to have somebody with me for the inevitable crashes.

My wife did just buy me some fancy ultralight emergency bag thing for Christmas though, so at least I'll die warm 🙂

Do a huge majority of my biking solo, less now my OH rides, but still a fairly high amount. I actually ride a little harder when I'm going solo as more chance of nabbing a QOM when not having to hang about waiting for people or keep company. Have even in the past ridden solo for MTB night rides and no chance someone is going to find you when that happens! Not in time to be any real help anyways. I do have the crash detection turned on my garmin and would be interested to actually test it properly to know it will work when needed. A lot of people are surprised when I say I ride alone, especially as I've experienced the terror of having a bad crash when riding completely alone and breaking my jaw in three places plus bruised ribs. Surprisingly I was able to operate my iPhone and ring emergency services even with concussion and no recollection of actually dialling!

I have a number of mates who cycle but bar one they are all dyed in the wool roadies. I usually go out once a week with them but twice a week on the MTB on my own. Locally I don't think about it but in Scotland earlier in the year I bottled a big River crossing which I probably would have attempted with a group. You just have to adjust to circumstances. If I didn't ride alone I would hardly get out.

It’s all I’ve really ever done. No faffing, no stopping, a pace I’m happy with, so much better than group riding.
So yeah, do it.

Pretty much all my riding is on my own. I Was night riding in the woods a couple of hours ago.

Turn on Google Locate.

I have had crashes (worst was clipping a stump and taking a massive OTB) but I've always made it home.

Or you can phone for help. Friends have knocked themselves out but they came round eventually, or been carried out on a backboard.

Worst case is Wifey phoning a friend or the mountain rescue - that's where the tracker comes in. At least they know roughly where you are.

Turn on Google Locate.

Very unreliable for remote riding

Almost all my riding is alone, unless I’m doing a Friday Night Ride to the Coast.

I have a spot tracker for when I’m remote, although I haven’t renewed since September. They’ve emailed me a half price offer for next year so that might be worth it...

Both of my big offs have been in places where I know there’s a lot of traffic and have been riding beyond my skills.

If I’m in the back of beyond I’m a lot more careful, especially with things that are beyond my comfort zone (eg as above, river crossings).

I turned off the auto detection on my Garmin, I commute in London and it goes off every time I have to break hard for somebody cutting me up...

I generally ride off road on my own. After a big crash (out cold for a few minutes, broken elbow, 12km ride home one handed on road on a 150mm bike) it took me a while and a session with Jedi to get a bit of confidence back.

I definitely ride within myself when I’m on my own, but I still go quick enough to enjoy it.

There are some people who only ever ride with mates. They never go alone. Some of them are extremely fast on the DH.

Its funny I don't think twice about riding alone. I'm a within my limits cross country kind of rider so it's not a massive risk of self destruction. I rein it back a little further when solo than group riding.

What worries me more is when I'm out with my boys (both under 12). As morbid as it sounds if I'm out with them and the worst happens to me then the thought of those two seeing it and having to make the 999 call from halfway up a hillside on their own is worse than the thought I might end up relying on the luck of someone finding me. We've talked about an emergency card with a straightforward set of instructions on it and I should do that really.

Unless one of the kids wants to come out for a spin I'm always out solo. I did buy an elemnt bolt a couple of months back though for doing some unfamiliar routes and for the tracking though.

Road ID is a good app for the phone (although does send the emergency text if you stop for 5 minutes for a chat with someone just met). I don't go hard downhill when on my own, although in the past have ridden home bleeding with the odd broken finger. Luckily my big accident was out riding with a mate to call the ambulance.

Ride on my own most of the time have Strava beacon and the what3words app on my phone must admit I’m not out in wilds etc.

If you're using an Android phone Macrodroid is a useful app. I have a little macro set up to respond my gps location to a text containing the phrase 'where are you'. The idea being that if I was lying,knocked out someplace, it would still respond.  Best turn it off before you get to the pub...

I ride solo 98% of the time. In my area it's not a worry at all, given how busy it is. But I am considering doing some long bikepacks in very remote country (like the Oregon Timber Trail) or in more challenging terrain so I'm considering the wisdom of riding those solo, although I'm a fairly calm, logical, careful person. I know people do.

probably 80% solo. i like to ride spontaneously so just jump on my bike and head out whenever an opportunity presents itself... but we have the regular group rides too.

i will 99% of the same stuff as i would with others. must admit there are one or two large drops near us that i tend to give a miss when alone.

saying that, i find i can ride the steepest techy stuff better on my own when im not under pressure to keep up/maintain the gap behind me! i take my time, pick my lines and keep my feet up... when im with the lads its basically an out of control high speed tripod!!

This year 100% of my riding has been solo.

In a “normal” year I’d say it’s up around 80% solo riding. This is all types of riding including bmx & pump tracks, trail centre, DH & natural trails.

I’ve come a cropper a couple of times - knocked myself out & broken a couple of ribs, but generally been ok. I always carry a phone but never used it.

As with some others, I used to ride MTB mainly with friends, though road mainly solo from home. With restrictions it’s all been solo, which I have quite enjoyed, just pootling along at my own slow pace.

I haven’t been out in the dark at all though, think it must be a mental thing..bit odd..

I haven’t been out in the dark at all though, think it must be a mental thing..bit odd..

It took me a while to find the mindset to do my first solo night ride. Worrying unnecessarily I concluded given how, what and where I ride. Looking forward to doing many more this winter as it'll be my only option. Expecting it will be mainly on the soon to arrive gravel/gnarmac bike from home.

I do almost 100% solo riding because the rides I was to do are longer than what appeals to friends or local club. Cycled home with a broken wrist last year which wasn't fun and blood pouring out my other arm after not seeing a barbed wire fence in bright light.

But today was on a road ride and a motorcyclist slowed down to have a go at me for not riding on the pavement. This worries me far more. There are so many idiots out there.

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/solo-mtbing/page/2/#post-11642556
Thanks for that, I'll try it out tomorrow.
(Macrodroid that is) how do you quote a post?

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thanks!

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nearly!

Quite a few mentions of Spot trackers. It's worth considering a PLB as an alternative. Although developed for marine use they are now legal for UK land use. A more powerful transmitter than a Spot, and dedicated to distress calls. About £200 to buy, but no subscription, and about £80 for servicing and battery change after 6 years. Lots of comparisons online, such as here.

Do 50/50 riding by myself, items only the night biking that is probably a risk.

I did crash 6 weeks ago and cracked my ribs but I was 2 min from the car.

These days I’ve learned to just slow down a bit when I’m by myself. Especially at night.

I have find my friend and Garmin locate me set up for my wife.

A very wide variety of things being discussed here under the banner of 'solo riding'. Everything from local road loops to rides that could put you half a day's walk from where you could summon help, never mind that help arriving. And that's assuming you can walk.

Yeah, there's a couple of local loops I've ridden solo, at night, in Winter, where phone signal fails and a bad accident could potentially mean death from hypothermia. Even the simple stuff, like Glenmore to Nethy Bridge via Ryvoan, crosses some wilder countryside. A Burma Road loop might see you somewhere that no one would pass in a week.

I love solo riding, frankly with the rules being what they are at the moment, you’re on shaky ground riding with others in my area.

I’ve got FindMyFriend/phone set up with my Wife who will notice if I don’t turn up when I should and my riding mate who’ll know where I am and how to get there.

I’ve gotten into Solo Night Riding, but I stick to Trail Centres as they’re easier to get out of.

I do worry that a basic phone locate will tell you nothing at all if the phone is out of range, not even last position with signal. Has anyone tested it?. Things like strava beacon seem to be way more use if you ride into an area of no signal.

FWIW I've just renewed my SPOT subscription. There's a discount for subscribing/renewing by the end of the year. In my case it was GEN350FREE (Gen 3 device, see).

ampthill
Full Member
I do worry that a basic phone locate will tell you nothing at all if the phone is out of range, not even last position with signal. Has anyone tested it?. Things like strava beacon seem to be way more use if you ride into an area of no signal.

Doesn't strava beacon rely on mobile coverage?

scotroutes
Full Member
FWIW I’ve just renewed my SPOT subscription. There’s a discount for subscribing/renewing by the end of the year. In my case it was GEN350FREE (Gen 3 device, see).

No offer for my GEN1 - had to renew at full price! Still worth it though in my opinion.

Doesn’t strava beacon rely on mobile coverage?

Yeah, but at least you'll have history, so time of last signal and direction of travel.

@scotroutes - That is fine to a point but like I said on the first page, a 5hr ride in the Welsh mountains earlier in the year left me out of range of a phone signal for hours. It was incredibly remote and that ride really struck me as being a bit irresponsible as I had absolutely no way of contacting anyone for the vast majority of it. That is what prompted me to get a SPOT device.

Oh, I agree. But for many folk, phone coverage isn't that bad and they'll likely ride through any blank spot quite quickly.

I'm with Scottoutes here

Of course SPOT is way better and i have done loads of research on getting one today.

But Strava Beacon is way more than a phone is out if signal message. The difference between knowing some on has vanished in the lakes and seeing on strava that that a phone went out of range half way round the Borrowdale Bash is huge. Although you'd be unlucky to not be found be a hiker on that route

Most of my riding is solo, but in most of the places I ride, if I did have a serious off a fellow mountain-biker would probably find me soon enough.

I push myself a bit when riding solo but certainly try more stuff that’s on the edge of my comfort zone when I’m with others who are there to pick up my crumpled body and ask me if I’m alright (mate) / reassure me that my bike’s okay.

the majority of m riding is on my own, TBH I prefer it most of the time.

I share my location with the missus on google maps, not that she has any chance of working out how to use it, but it makes her feel slightly more reassured...

Mostly on my own,

Cwm Carn solo at night heightens the senses somewhat!

As does the first two thirds of Verderers in reverse at night

Having seen my friend's one the other day I've just ordered one of these:

https://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/

I didn't get it for riding but might take it on more remote rides. It's really light and compact and I like the maintenance free, no subscription element.

Probably overkill for much of what's being discussed on here but might be of interest to those who venture into the wilds. £220 from Gael Force Marine just now.

I think 95%+ of my rides are solo.

My Mrs knows roughly where I’ll be, and if we’re on holiday I’ll use the Garmin tracker so there’s a bit more security if it all goes wrong. I don’t push it too hard and hope for the best. A freak accident could happen at any time.

It helps that most of the time I’m riding on Cannock chase so there’s normally someone about an inch off my back tyre anyway 😂

When I was in my late teens I walked solo from the East Coast of Scotland just below Aberdeen to Fort William, and then to Ullapool (doing various side trips to Munro's etc). I was away from home for about 4 weeks, rang my Mum once and no mobiles/GPS's etc in the 80's.

I'll happily ride anywhere solo, Golfie for example in the snow on New Years Eve. My OH though has asked me to stop night riding in winter alone, after an Inners ride. Luckily I've others to ride with.

Stop overthinking IMO and just ensure you carry the right equipment - imagine having to sit a night out, could you?

Much the same really. Ride a lot solo but mainly double track bashing around the Yorkshire Dales where I’m fortunate to live. Tell are lass where I’m going, time expect to be back and have find a friend app on the iPhone.

When I was in my late teens I walked solo from the East Coast of Scotland just below Aberdeen to Fort William, and then to Ullapool (doing various side trips to Munro’s etc). I was away from home for about 4 weeks, rang my Mum once and no mobiles/GPS’s etc in the 80’s.

Classic positive reinforcement heuristic trap!