Road Cycling - Group Rides or 'Loner'

I'm a newbie to this forum & really find it informative. I'm an older biker (56) and have rekindled my interest in cycling. I used to race on a Air Force Sqadron Team - for fun- way back in early 70's. I would like to ask the group - I'm a 'lone rider' - hate the social club, etc. But often wonder if I am missing out on part of the fun? I have a litespeed Arenberg - WONDERFUL Bike, and a Giant OCR Touring. I train with the litespeed and take long rides with the giant. As said, I'm happy most with the lone rides (usually go up to 50 miles) on a weekend, but the only advantage I see to 'group rides' is the safety issue and technical back-up. I don't care about the social, in fact I prefer the solitude. Am I alone here?

i ride alone, but because my friends don't have bike... personally if i'm riding, i don't like waiting for or be waited on by somebody who is slower/faster than i am... with the exception of some of my friends that i can wait all day for... one more advantage i can think of riding in a group is you are more likely to push yourself more than you usually would... but i like those rides where i can just take my time and not worry about anyone else...

I'm trying to talk my sweetie into riding with me -- I like some alone time, but as these rides get longer I think it would be nice to have someone to say something to every once in a while. :D

I ride most of the time lone wolf because I can count the number of rodies in my county on one hand! I enjoy the lone rides of course, because I like to ride. I have a coworker who lives about an hours drive from me that also rides, and we have hooked up a few times this summer. I can say that I quite enjoy riding with someone else. I haven't had to opportunity of riding in a "club" ride yet so it may be a big let down, but I intend to try one before the summer is out.
I think my wory is that I'll get with a group that goes way too fast or way too slow. The feed back I get from the two clubs that are within driving distance from where I live, is that they usually split into two or three groups on the same ride. I would enjoy this because I can strive to improve against someone else instead of just riding against my cyclocomputer all the time!

I have never liked riding with anyone else. Your time isn't your own any more. It is always a compromise between what you want to do and what your riding partner wants to do.
Speed has never been a concern for me, so the organized group ride to test my speed against their's has never been an issue. Group rides seem, to me, to be an exercise in ego-satisfaction or ego-frustration.
The point is, you have to do what you feel most comfortable with.

Hi,
there are club rides, and then there are club rides. The fast ones are often Cat 5 guys (or better) who want to rack up some training miles in a pack.
Not a lot of socialisng.

You are missing out because club rides push you to go harder (if you're riding with the right group)

I've found riding with faster riders has really improved my speed because I'm always *almost* getting dropped and then I have to really push myself to catch up and maintain my position in the paceline - which can be tough. As the famous quote goes: it doesn't get any easier, you just go faster.

I currently ride alone because I'm riding my mountain bike and can't hang with the road bike riders. :( There are times where I end up tagging along with groups but it's very tough and wears my azz out. Have my eye on a road bike and hoping to start riding with a group soon.

It's both for me..........A couple times during the week I enjoy the solitude and the serenity of riding fixed, short & long distances. But I also ride with a very large pack twice weekly. Riding with the pack pushes me to my limit and I can pretty much guage my fitness level. Besides, socializing & recovery munching over java after the ride are something I look forward to.

I think it's like the rest of life. Sometimes I want to have my me-time and enjoy the solitude. Other times I like being around people for the social aspect. I try and not ride really long distances away from civilisation by myself simply for the safety factour. My general rule of thumb is at least three people on remote rides. This way, if something were to happen to one, there's at least one person who can stay with him/her while the other can go fetch help. Another philosophy I have is that it's much easier to ride "alone" when with a group of riders but much harder (assuming you don't have some sort of odd psychiatric condition) to ride "with others" when you're all alone. ;)

Both have there positives and negatives. I ha a r. It felt like such a waste. Only good part was that it was the first ride I've had in a week due to weather and work. Would have preferred to do trainer time than what I did today. Although most of the club rides I go on are much faster paced and done with people like me who can socialize at that pace.

I have ridden with groups and ridden alone.

I much prefer solo for my serious riding. Set my own speed, explore where and when I want, think my own thoughts, stop when I want - take a picture or whatever. I am almost 64 yo, and just don't wnat to put up with the extra social effort and whatever goes with group riding.

However, I do also ride with my wife, but this is at a much slower pace and not really my serious riding.

A far as safety goes, some of the very most "unsafe acts" are groups of riders riding triple abreast or more, zooming through stop signs and occasionally stop lights. IMHO, you are MUCH safer by yourself. As far as technical backup, keep your bike in good shape, carry a multitool, spare tube, pump, patch kit, etc., and a cell phone.

Unfortuneately we dont haVE a club so no club rides.My wife and inlaws ride road and mtb so i guess we have our own club ride.We do ride w/ a club a couple hour away for their monthly century/metric century.And we try to hit other organized rides here and there.I dont like riding alone,i like to have someone to talk to.PLus it does push me more riding w/ others.

I like riding solo and with groups. When I want to work on speed I can try to keep up with the "A+" group. If I ride with the A-B group, we talk and push a little harder than solo. I ride on organized tours for the safety factor. But if you leave early, it is like riding solo. If your chain or hub breaks, there will be someone coming along who can alert the SAG. On group rides there are often times where I'm pretty quiet. Of the 4,000 miles this year, about 1500 are tours, and I have 1057 club miles, so the rest are either solo or with my biking partner. I told my husband I wanted to ride to my mother's house which is about 200 miles away. He does not want me to ride solo. In his opinion, the roads I'll be on will either be too busy, or too desolate. I talked my biking buddy into going with me.

There's nothing like being a paceline and screaming down the road at 27 MPH. Or the feeling that you get during the last mile before a sprint with everyone jockying for position, trying to grab whatever wheel comes by ya, and blowing themselves apart in an effort to be first. There's even something special about going up a tough climb with 30 other riders, everyone quiet and suffering like a dog.

That's what riding is about.

Mostly alone, also older - 65. I live out of town and hard to match up with townies. Once in a while I can hook up with the young crowd and really get that group ride experience. Tried to ride with a weekly riding group that is more social - way too slow and too much palaver.

I ride alone for a bunch of reasons. First, most of my miles are commuting miles, and I've yet to see a single other rider on 90% of my route into the city.

On rec rides, I avoid groups because (a) I'm not competitive, (b) I obey the traffic laws, and few group rides seem to agree with me on that, and (c) I feel far more endangered by other cyclists' behavior and lack of skill than I do by cars and other forms of traffic.

I get talked into going on (usually small) group rides every now and then. I prefer riding solo.

RichC

I have never rode in a group except on organized tours or rides. Why? I guess its a for a couple of reasons ...

1) Not many riders in my area. I live in a rural area with maybe 1 or 2 serious riders in the community. Not many choices unless I want to drive 25 miles to join a club.

2) Time ... With work and family my schedule is pretty full and free time is sometimes limited. In fact I ride at lunch during the work week so that I can get it in. Hard to get together with others on a tight day.

3) I like the solitude. I enjoy the peace of hearing only my breathing or the freedom to head the direction I want to go.

4) I enjoy pushing myself. I am a competitive person but its mostly against myself. I do not seem to have a problem giving myself a new challenge.

Mark

:beer:

Originally posted by Red Baron
I'm an older biker (56)

Wash out your mouth! A 56 year-old cyclists is not even middle aged! I started cycling seriously on my 56th birthday in May 2002.

One of my favorite philosophers, Satchel Paige, asked "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"

I, too, prefer to ride alone. One, there is a protocol in riding in a group what I don't think I could follow.

Two, I tend to ride at erratic paces, 20+mph average on the flats at the beginning of my 40-50 mile rides, but about 15mph average near the end. Plus, on all the steeper hills, I tend to crawl in granny low. It then takes me a while to build the speed back up again.

All in all, I and the groups are probably safer if I ride on my own!

A lot of times, I think of group rides as sort of like going to a frat party. Sometimes I go to the ride alone and try to mingle with others I haven't previously met. Sometimes I make new friends and sometimes I have "one night stands" where I'll ride with someone for a while and then either I ride off or they do. Other times I'll go with a bunch of friends and sometimes we'll stick together for a bit, sometimes we'll break up and mingle or whatever but eventually/periodically regroup. For me, cycling is about enjoying the ride/travel and not as much about riding itself so I tend to avoid group rides where the emphasis is about pushing as hard as you can always maintaining a paceline and locking your eyes on the wheel of the person in front of you. I think my preference is to ride with friends whether it's within a larger group or just us.

I ride alone:
1. Because I go at 0430 in the morning.
2. ALL MY FRIENDS ARE LAZY A@S'S.

I DO BELONG TO A BIKE CLUB BUT ONLY JOIN THEM ON TIME TRIAL DAYS AND HELP COORDINATE SPECIAL EVENTS.

Yes, I think it depends on what you're reasons are for riding. For instance, I was never interested in looking at the pretty scenery, vistas, flowers, etc. It was all about going fast and hard and suffering as much as you could. A lot of rides were one big pissing match. You get the right group of riders together and they'll sprint for anything and try their hardest to be the first on over the hill.

Put me on a bike alone for 4 hours and I'd go nuts. Plus you never truly push yourself until you're riding with a couple Cat twos or threes.

Originally posted by Laggard
Yes, I think it depends on what you're reasons are for riding. For instance, I was never interested in looking at the pretty scenery, vistas, flowers, etc.

Try it, you might like it


Plus you never truly push yourself until you're riding with a couple Cat twos or threes.

I push myself all day long, and have done so for all of my life. I ride alone so I DON'T have to push myself. I ride to relax. Yes, I enjoy going fast, and seeing myself improve, and I do, but on my own terms and when I want.

Interesting just how different we all are.

part of the reason i ride is to get away from humanity :)

if im riding alone, i can relax and ride easy when i want to, and enjoy the enviornment... and i can push myself as hard as possible when i want to.


Originally posted by uciflylow
I ride most of the time lone wolf because I can count the number of rodies in my county on one hand!

same here

I never ride alone, Jesus is always by my side (on a Trek 5500).

OK, bad joke. I never really liked group rides until I found a group that I actually enjoyed riding with. It is a pretty laid-back group that goes riding together once a week. Outside of that group ride, I always almost ride alone.

I really enjoy riding alone. It's meditative in some ways and allows time to muse. All of this comes at the same time that I'm pushing high speeds. Even though I felt physically tired after my 90 mile ride on Saturday, I felt mentally and spiritually refreshed.

Originally posted by danr
I never ride alone, Jesus is always by my side (on a Trek 5500).


Damn youre fast.. 'cause Jesus always passes me. Whered he get those clipless sandles anyway?

cAPS

I never ride alone, Jesus is always by my side (on a Trek 5500).

LOL -- I rode 38 miles in hilly terrain yesterday & it was the farthest I've gone so far -- I'm fairly new at this. Anyway, I was having some serious conversations with Him by about mile 34. :D

I only ride solo; I feel it give me the isolation to unwind from my day (or week) especially if I have had a rough week at work. Riding lets me clear my mind of the every day to day crap I have to put up with and there is nothing better than feeling the wind in my face (or even better, on my back) pounding away, keeping a good cadence and leaving this sorry world behind me (man...do I need therapy) :-]

I mostly ride alone for a number of reasons.
1. On weekdays I leave the house around noon. Most folks are working at that time and I think I'm supposed to be job hunting but have sort of given up for a while. :eek:
2. None of my neighbors ride. Three of them have bikes but their bikes are collecting dust and rust. One of my neighbors "promised" he would start riding with me if he could get his bike fixed. So I did some did some minor repairs and got it working. His is one of the bikes collecting dust. :crash:
3. Some of the group rides I've been on were a little disappointing. Every rider was going at a different speed so the group was spread out. I usually rode near the front but found myself slowing down so everyone could catch up.
4. Many group rides are listed as "training" or "strenuous" in our monthly magazine. I'm not into racing or riding hard and fast.
5. Most rides start between 8-9AM. I don't leave for a ride (even on the weekend) before 11AM. The only exception is an organized ride like a century or metric.

i have always ridden alone and i'm happiest that way. I love to push myself and test the limit of my capabilities, the only way of doing this is alone. This prevents being slowed down by a group or feeling the pressure to go keep up with a group. For me every ride is a race against myself, training included. Even if its just to measure speed up a certain hill or along a certain stretch of road, i always have an aim for each ride and hope to beat my previous best. Some people may disagree with implying this philosophy in training rides, but this has always been effective for me. I believe any activity i do is competitive, and the best way to train for it is by acting competitively. I cannot remember a single ride where i have not raced against myself.

The feeling of power whilst pushing your body to the max is second to none. Those endorphins are a real buzz. There is no better time than gasping for air as your legs are feeling like lead on the biggest climbs with only your bike for company and the deafening sound of your breathing.

I ride alone, but it is only because my schedule is all messed up. 95 percent of my rides are after dark.

Mostly alone. My friends with bikes live 120 miles away. We only ride together once a month, at most. But to be honset, I prefer riding alone.

I like riding alng to worry about keeping up if people are stronger than I. But OTOH, if it's windy, there's no one's wheel to suck. And also, there's a sort of anxiety about mechanical stuff: What's that creak? What's that noise? etc. and worrying about getting a flat in the middle of nowhere. But it has its plusses as well.