Why I prefer to ride alone (even if I do enjoy the company)

[R Doug]

1.  No one to critique your riding.  Granted, if I'm doing something completely stupid, I would hope a friend would point out the obvious so I can learn from it.  But, just because I may ride a little faster than someone else, that shouldn't give them arsenal to make some snide comment about it.  "You know, it would only take one old person pulling out of a church parking lot to end your day."  

2.  I don't end up with someone who rides too aggressive for my taste.  Whether it's following me too closely, passing a car the same time as me leaving no room for error, or draws way too much attention to the group by the po po, I can do without it.  You want to ride uber fast and take off, fine.  I'll catch up with you at the next stop.  Just don't do it in a manner which puts me in add'l risk.  

3.  I don't end up with someone who will ride over their limit trying to keep up with faster riders in a group.  Ride your own ride, no body is going to think any differently of you whether your fast or slow.  Just as long as we can end the day together and BS afterwards, it's all good.  I don't want to wait for the ambulance or tow truck.  I have riding to do.  Please stay within your limits.  

4.  I can stop to take a picture, piss, snack break, etc... anytime I want without the guilt of feeling like I'm being an inconvenience to the person(s) I'm riding with that day.

Granted, I could list as many or more reasons why it good to ride with someone.  For the most part, I prefer to go at it solo.

What say you?

[scubadoguk]

+1

[Stripes]

What say you?

I say, no one wants to ride w/ you anyway.      





Sounds good! Very valid & detailed synopsis. I agree w/ most of what you said, but I still like to ride w/ people, old riding buddies & new peeps too!

[cyjo]

I like to ride with people I know and trust. Those people don't care how fast or slow I am. We do our thing and BS at the end.

[redpattison]

Totally agree that riding alone is my preference for the same reasons you stated.Tried the group rides, no thanks. However, I have a few friends i do like to ride with. Still feel a lot more comfortable on my own. Am I anti-social, probably, it is my choice and nobody else`s.  

[J-Mac]

3 riders is cool. Any more then that becomes a hassle.
I only turn on the afterburners when I'm alone.

[MrMoto]

+1. As I usually lead, and use Scala intercoms, I relish the peace and quiet of riding solo and not being responsible for any one else.

Just did 170 miles solo for the the first time in a month. Ahhhhhh.

[SLK50]

I find riding alone, well.....lonely.
I rode solo for 25 years and much prefer the
company of other riders.
What's the point of having an epic ride if
there's no one to share it with.
It's all about perspective. I spend a lot of time alone
so I enjoy the company of others and don't
consider the interaction an inconvenience.

[kendenton]

I find enjoyment in riding both solo and with a few trusted friends.  I have done bigger group rides, both as leader and follower, and there are aspects of that I like as well.

Maybe I'm just too easily pleased?

[cognosticator]

We have a group of 5 guys who all ride alike and go all over the place.  I don't mind riding with them, people I don't know, I would rather go it alone.  I was just thinking about this this morning.  Six of us went on a breakfast ride 60 miles away and a new guy joined us. At breakfast he stated he hasn't ridden much because he doesn't have anyone to ride with.  I got to thinking about how nice it is at times to ride alone, just for the reason you gave.  Do what you want, when you want without trying to accommodate everyone.  Of the six riders this morning, 3 were new to our group, it was only a 190 mile day and all went well.  It would probably be different if it were a multi day ride.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

4.  I can stop to take a picture, piss, snack break, etc... anytime I want without the guilt of feeling like I'm being an inconvenience to the person(s) I'm riding with that day.

This is the key reason for me. I love my lollygagging and then racing to the next stop  

[Hardware]

I like to ride with people I know and trust. Those people don't care how fast or slow I am. We do our thing and BS at the end.

^^^This^^^

I have 2-3 friends who have similar riding styles, are safety conscious and no-drama.  Riding with them improves the experience.  Otherwise, I prefer to ride alone.

[garry]

I enjoy riding with people I know/trust that have similar riding styles to mine. It's nice to have company at gas stops and lunch breaks. Plus, a little back-up in case of a crash, breakdown, etc is good too.

That said, I do enjoy the solo days because I can stop for photos at will. I am prone to near emergency braking without warning for photos. I have passed up countless awesome photo ops because I was leading a small group ride (maybe just one or two others) and didn't want to keep breaking the flow of the ride. I get a lot of satisfaction doing a nice photo-heavy ride report. They're nice to re-live after the fact.

[NEredhead]

I do most of my riding alone and it bothers my family that I do.  Wait until they find out I'm planning
on riding to a wedding in Wisconsin in June.  Have a bike, camera, and a cell phone...will travel!

A couple years ago, four of us rode to Sturgis.  My ex-boyfriend, his brother, their cousin, and myself.
Every gas stop the brother and cousin would smoke two cigarettes each and talk on their phones.  Those
gas stops took upwards of 30 minutes.  It was a miserable trip there taking much much much longer than
it should have.

Riding with a group has no appeal.  Riding with a couple of people isn't too bad...usually.

[monkeybuttpowder]

I prefer to ride with at least one other person. Speaking from experience, there's nothing worse than having something bad happen & be stranded or hurt & alone & not being able to get some kind of help.

[SLK50]

I prefer to ride with at least one other person. Speaking from experience, there's nothing worse than having something bad happen & be stranded or hurt & alone & not being able to get some kind of help.

The dirt surfing I did last year would likely have had a
very different outcome ( much worse ) if I had been alone.
Since then I've had time to re-evaluate my need to ride solo.
I find it very comforting knowing another rider has my back.

[Justin]

I have a very small handful of folks I ride with anymore. And those that I do ride with, ride their own ride. I've had two incidents on groups rides where someone trying to keep up with the faster guys crashed. First one, not so bad, second one had some injuries. So, the few I do ride with now, I never have to worry about if they crashed behind me, they don't ride right on my tail, and if we get split, we'll meet at the next stop.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I do most of my riding alone and it bothers my family that I do.  Wait until they find out I'm planning
on riding to a wedding in Wisconsin in June.

Heh - do like I did when I rode solo from southern Mexico to Seattle: wait until your back to tell them that you went :-D

[Andrew]

I understand the points made by the OP and agree with most of them.

Group rides, only for short half day stuff and only in a group I know.

Most of my riding is solo and All of my long rides are Solo. After a day or two I don't think I can ride with anyone that long.

Intercoms, OH Hell NO tried that once and that was enough NEVER AGAIN. If you can't make a hand gesture to get your point across I don't need to know.

[Bender]

When i ride alone..i prefer to be by myself.