General Cycling Discussion - How many others do you like to ride with?

I’ve been biking for about 14 months. I realized that all my 2,500 miles have been solo. I’m a member of a club and read about their group rides, but I never get around to going on one. I have come to the conclusion that I like to ride alone.

How many others do you prefer to ride with and why?

Is so much fun to share the joy of a MTB ride with friends. I've been riding two years, and have only ridden solo once. Most of my rodes are with three others (my wife and two friends). It's the perfect size group. I rode with a group of 10 once, and that was just too many people to keep track of.

Hey... Alone can get boring.... Alone is good for thinking. But eventually I look to 'compete' and need someone to push me along.
Sarah

For mt. bike rides, I like a small group. My wife and my dog, and then one or two of the following: her brother, her father or my friend the Mgr. at the LBS!

I've organized a couple small group rides, and anything more than 10 is chaos!

For road rides, it doesn't matter! The more the merrier!

L8R

I like to ride my mtb alone. Off-road rides with a group of 3-5 people can be fun too.

On the road I like a group of ~6-30. Pacelines and riding in a pack are what keep road riding from being tedious.

I like variety, and since my commute rides are solo, I try to balance them with riding with (small) groups. The two clubs I belong to offer 10+ rides on weekdays, and up to 20 rides on the weekend. Somewhere in all that I can find a ride with a combination of people I like to ride with and people that can push me (not mutually exclusive, natch). In a group of 4-12 riders, there are a lot of opportunities for interaction over a space of 40-60 miles, and it's fun and invigorating to be with a bunch of folks who share your enthusiasm.

Groups over 20 or so are less fun for me, in that there is a lot more "traffic" to contend with, and if a lunch stop is included in the ride, the number of folks overwhelms the capacity of the establishment. Some of the club rides attract over 100 riders, and those I stay away from unless they are going to exotic places.

Centuries are a whole different thing. Usually I'm riding with just one or two other friends in a "bubble" within the context of the century, and acknowledge that the "traffic" is inherent.

i pretty much always ride with at least one other freind. Not only to keep each other company but also safety. On many ocasions i ride with a few freinds (3-5), and very rare with anything more than 6. When i do, it's normally not a serious ride, but more of get from one place to another and meet some people on the way type of ride.
Thats what i have to say, peace out.

Mass rides RULE!Once or twice a year it's great to ride an event to feel a part of a whole and to test yourself...KC

I always like to ride with other people.

I have a regular group of guys who I ride with. It's not a big group and we aren't a club yet because we don't have a name -- the irregulars [full name The Royal West-End Montreal Light Bicycle Cavalry (Irregulars)], los escapados and the coffin dodgers have been some of the suggestions.

I do likt the occasional very fast large group ride, but I find that I have the best time with the boys, when there are six or seven of us. I also enjoy riding just with my main training partner who looks like Erik Zabel. He and I are probably the most focused in our group and I find that, when it's just the two of us, we push each other much, much harder. We also have a long-standing sprint rivalry that the other just shake their heads at us. Of course, none of them can match us in a sprint, so there you go.

My other fave partner is my GF. The rides aren't as intense as they are with Erik, but they're a lot of fun.

Most of my 'cross riding is solo, though. I guess cyclocross is just a lonely sport...

I don't mind riding alone, but I prefer riding with others. That notwithstanding, commuting and training/fitness rides are usually solo. I like groups 3-10 people for social rides. Likewise, that's a good size group to ride with on organized rides.

I ride solo about 98% of my rides, mainly because I don't have any one else to ride with. I sometimes ride with my wife, who really likes to cycle when she gets time but that is only once a month as she has her own interests and hobbies. I also ride with my brother sometimes, but he is in the Air force so his hours tend to be shift work or he is on exercises in the desert somewhere (Alice Springs this week). I tried to join a club but the rules are so ridiculous that I gave up trying. The biggest club is Norwood but because I don't live within their vicinity I can't join. They expect me to join a club in my region. I went to a club race in my region and there were 7 riders there, not exactly what I would call a club. So I ride solo, which after 10 years I am used to so it isn't a problem, but some days I do envy people when I see them riding in a small group.

I am moving in a few weeks so I will go straight to the LBS and see if they have any rides organised.

The good thing about riding solo is that I can leave when I like, go where I like, stop when I want to and it also makes me a stronger rider.

CHEERS.

Mark

That's such a difficult question to answer for me. I chose 1 other rider, but I ride by myself about as much and enjoy it just as well. Only ridden in larger groups a few times but really liked that too. I'd hate to have to choose only one. Variety is the spice of life! :)

If I am doing specific training then I like to ride alone. For mountain biking, having a ton of riders on the trail can be an extremely frazzling experience. I think one or two other riders off road is fine. But for the road, total mass!!! Being in a big paceline is what I imagine being a pilot in an aero demonstration team would be like.

I enjoy my solo commute but also enjoy weekly rides with a bunch of around 16 to 20.

On long distances I prefer groups of around 10 to 15.

I tend to ride solo most of the time. I don't know many other people that mountain bike so over the past several years I have always gone alone. I began road biking last month and have been riding three to four times a week by myself, but I just met another guy at the health club this morning that is riding with a group of people from the club on Saturday mornings, people of varied abilities and conditioning. I will likely hook up with them and am going to join some biking clubs. I would like to ride in groups but currently the friends and family that I have don't have interest in the length and physical demands of the rides that I enjoy. I'll hopefully have a different answer next month, but for now the answer has to be solo.

Generally by myself which I enjoy. I occasionally ride with my wife, which is enjoyable in a different way. Sometimes I'll do part of my commute with a work colleague by going home via another town.

I've not cycled in a group, yet, but I don't know whether I'd enjoy it as much.

Richard

Solo. Own speed, set my own breaks, go where I want, when I want.

When I ride with my wife, it is a different kind of ride - much slower, more breaks, etc., but I enjoy that for different reasons.

I dont know anybody else who rides, so i ride alone, although i've always wanted to ride with somebody else... not sure if i'd enjoy it more or not... probably not since i'm not in good bike shape. I'm primarily been a runner till of late.. I generally liked to run alone but sometimes with somebody else... accept for when i was in Hungary for a couple of weeks, i always enjoyed having a running partner, but then i was in my best shape. So i guess when i'm in shape i prefer company, but out of shape i prefer alone so i can push myself, but not feel like i'm dragging the other person down or making myself look pathetic.

I voted for riding solo. Because that is what I do most of the time. But I do go on club rides, the number of people varies. And I do like to do organised mass rides, not critical mass, just a organized ride with 100 people or more. So my vote was for the one I do most of the time. But I like to do all of it when ever I can.

I voted small group 3-10, but that is actually only on Sunday afternoons when we do about 50-60 miles. During my weekly commute, it's solo. I like doing both. It is great to have the fellowship and exchange of ideas you get with the group, and it is a nice quiet time to think when going solo.

None of my neighbors or coworkers rides so I almost always ride alone. This can be nice when I want to think, but having a riding companion or two would be nice.
I sometimes come across another solo rider and find my skills are challenged because he/she is a faster rider or better climber. Is it because they are generally younger? But I need the challenge. :D

I voted for small group (3-10). This is the usual size for most of the weekend group rides I do.
The only times I've ever been in a large group is on organized charity rides. These are nice because I get to meet new people, but often these new friends don't live or work near me, so we don't see each other very often - usually the next charity ride. :(