Billy Brown

Do you usually ride alone or with others? I almost always ride alone.

cryogenic

I'd say I ride alone most of the time when I'm commuting but when I'm riding for pleasure, it's almost always with my best friend.

Maelstrom 

When I started I rode alone only. But last year I started riding in packs. A lot more fun and way better for progression

XzEn54321

Cant stand it, the people in my club are to slow on flats and to fast on climbs.
Plus they have little regard for trafic/trail laws.
~X-Zen~

MadMan2k

I rarely have anyone to ride with, so alone. Sometimes my mom or dad, or my neighbor will go on rides with me, but only about once or twice a month on average.

Maelstrom 

Ummm you in a road group?

harescbl905

The only time I ride alone is when Im commuting back and forth otherwise Im with atleast 3 people but usually around 5 or 6 people in a group. I cant stand riding by myself it gets boring.

XzEn54321

No, it's a MTB club; why?

Maelstrom 

Just curious. It sounded like a road group. I am just not used to people saying things like "they are slow on flats and fast on climbs" except from road racers.

Billy Brown

I enjoy riding alone, plus my schedule makes it sort of a necessity. But undoubtedly, riding with others would help me push myself and help me gauge my skills.

MudPie

In the spring/summer months, I ride alone 25% of the time. The typical group size is 4.

In the fall/winter months, I ride alone 85% of the time. With the "cooler" weather, you can't blast some of my ride buddies out of their homes with dynamite. And we live in Southern CA, where winter is probably 60F! Also, I enjoy night rides and when darkness hits, TNT wouldn't even blast them out. I'd be lucky to get one other rider.

blue_neon

I only know two ride partners that would be the same 'standard' as me. It is really quite difficult to find riders that are the same degree of riding that you do. I found two and thats good enough, i dont really like packs that much, 2 is the ideal size for me

Maelstrom 

I ride with a range. couple beneath me, a few equal (but maybe better in areas) and a couple of REALLY good riders.

PWRDbyTRD

I'm too slow for a club so I either ride with my friend, or ride by myself...I try to cram about as much riding time in with my friend as possible...it always seems more fun.

cryogenic

Yeah, it's a lot more fun if you have someone to talk to and whatnot when you're out riding. It's ok to ride alone, but I think riding with a friend is more fun. Too bad we don't have any other friends who'd be willing to ride with us. It'd be kinda cool to get a little group together and go riding.

PWRDbyTRD

I'm sure we could convince Dwight and Steve to ride with us

cryogenic

hahaha... not likely... as much crap as they give us for riding as it is.. I just can't see either of them even remotely considering a bicycle.

PWRDbyTRD

I could hear them complaining about their knees or whatever

geoduck

I ride alone, mainly because I enjoy having time to myself. I've always enjoyed solo sports, and mountain biking is no different.

Also, when you go solo, you have ultimate freedom in terms of route and pace. You can dawdle along, or hammer until your lungs explode. And when you finish that first loop, you can 'go have another' if you wish.

It's true, however, that your skills will progress faster when riding with other, more experienced riders.

Juniper

Yup! I, too, like the solitude of riding alone in an otherwise busy world. I do tend to ride aggressively and I've tackled some things, like first time steep descents, I really shouldn't have done alone. A broken bone would have meant crawling out for miles; not too wise, I know.

I usually ride with the same two guys; one is an animal and leaves us in the dust. He spins like a maniac and just motors up the longest climbs. Trying to stick with him is a major workout. The other guy is in good shape, too, but is pretty skitterish about taking risks. Crazy stuff is my strength so we make a good mix.

Cornish_Rdr_UK

I like riding with With a group because i porgress so much more quikly, but if i want to go for a nice xc ride, i usually do it on my own, I ride XC to chill out, and compared to djing and street, its relatively safe compared... So i can still push myself with XCing, even if im on my own..

forum*rider

I usually ride in a group of more than 3.

Me, my uncle, 3 sisters, 5 younger cousins and my dad.

Thats a huge group of little kids lol

Occasionally I do go out and ride by myself though. Usually thats when i want to push myself and hammer it out in the drops. The group rides with my family are more leisurely and not solely oriented around speed/HR/technique.

EDIT: oops! thats for my road rides, for got I was in the mtb forum

My mtb rides are mostly me and my uncle. My sisters/cousins don't like it, "It's too bouncy and dirty!" are their words. My dad doesn't like it, says it hurts his joints(he's got bad knees from years of running and playing tennis) so it's me and my uncle that get to go out and play in the dirt.

Maelstrom 

Thats a big biking family...wow

forum*rider

yeah it's a big group but it's also really great when we can all go out together. Lots of fun for the young(er) kids and the adults get to ride slowly and chat while I watch the little kiddos and make sure they stay on their side of the bike path.

mtnbiker66

On Christmas day were getting about 8 or 10 up for a ride. I hardly ever ride alone.