Cookiemonsta

I wonder how many of us ride alone while they would not mind sharing more rides with others.

For me personally, this has been a bit of an issue. When I was young I joined a club. Being the awkward ethnic kid with a bike that is "not even a real roadbike" I got bullied quite a bit. That was long ago, but I have been riding alone since then. It is only in the past 2 years that I felt like riding with other people. I am slightly disgusted with myself for still having a little fear of rejection when thinking about joining a club.

Are you a lonely cyclist? And if so, what is your story? Do you know of a good way to meet other cyclists?

Rekless1

I don't know.

I ride alone mostly, I don't really "work" daily so I ride daily when I want and it's convenient for me. I competed at a reasonably high level when I was younger which makes me a bit faster than most typical 'groups'. Yet as I am getting older makes it awkward riding with 'kids'.

The thing is though, it doesn't really bother me I guess. I don't really feel 'lonely' and I like that I can go where ever, when ever, how ever. On the other hand I wouldn't mind some company on occasion. The few group rides I do now become more of a social thing which oddly enough, is more like a day off from riding. But if I could find people really close to my level....that might be different.

I suppose I fall somewhere right in between.

bikebuddha 

I wish my wife would ride with me.

Looigi

No need to join a club. Many clubs and bike shops host open group rides, no joining or membership required. Check the websites of your local clubs and shops for announcements. Try a few and see which ones fit you the best. Like anything else in life, you'll find people who you mesh with and those with whom you don't. Don't sweat the latter and seek out the former.

FrenchFit 

I think that until I ride with others, and then I'm thinking "I wish I was alone".

GaryPitts

I wish mine would, too, but she is obese and rides at half my normal speed If I could just get her to ride more than once every week to 10 days we could make some progress with that, but that has not happened yet.

I don't mind riding alone. I enjoy listening to tunes while I ride. I do ride with my daughter on the odd occasion (I need to get her riding more, too) and have a friend close by that I like riding with, but, heck, she isn't riding much either! Why don't people ride?! Haha...

I don't feel the need to join the local group mainly because (a) I don't need a bunch of other people to show me how bad of a rider I am, (b) I ride a flat bar bike and wouldn't be part of the main clik (i.e. looked down on), and (c) I'm not much of a social person anyway. Riding alone is a-ok with me.

iheartbacon

I prefer to think of myself as a lone wolf, a renegade, a man who stands alone against all the dangers a motorized world can throw at him. Defending stop as yield, red light as stop sign, and take the lane laws. I ride alone because the path I follow few have the fortitude to journey.

twentysomething

What he said. Actually I prefer to suffer alone. There are a few group rides around, just haven't hooked up with them.

tagaproject6

Here's to the one-man-wolfpack!

Datsun Nut

I need a mask so I can be the Lone Ridder!

tagaproject6

What do you get rid of?

Condorita

There's a difference in being alone and in being lonely. Do I sometimes wish for a companion? Of course! But most cyclists are roadies or otherwise interested only in doing Warp Nine while steering course 360. I want to see things, to discover the things I mightn't have seen, or even known about, had I driven to run that errand. So I poke along on my commuter bike with my trunk and my panniers every single ride, because you never know what you'll find and want to bring home. And sometimes even the deliberate errands (like the farmers' market run every couple or so of Sundays) are begun early just to give me that roaming-around time. Slow down. Sit upright. Smell the flowers.

Forrest74

Personify your bike, it will then talk to you. Mine curses at me all the time now.

Millrace

Another lone wolf here. I've thought about joining a group just because I feel safer riding in a group when I'm out in the road. But I'm not all that comfortable in social settings plus I have a hard time shaking certain stereotypes about club riders:

(1)I am not interested at all in racing or any type of competition. Yes, I have a road bike. Sometimes I want to go fast, other times I want to slow down and smell the roses. I don't do "training rides". I ride for fun and exercise, sometimes I even ride centuries, but when it stops being fun and starts being work, I lose interest.

(2) I don't get all caught up in the hyperconsumerism of bike culture. My road bike has sora and tiagra parts. They work fine. I feel no need to upgrade. Plus, commuter bikes, etc. don't seem to have this hierarchy of components which leads me to believe that expensive components are really only for the race crowd to delude themselves into thinking they can go faster "if only I had..." I don't want to get into a discussion about what wheels are crap, this tire is better than that, etc. I just want to ride the dang thing.

(3) I don't wear a team "kit" or any kind of matching uniform. I often do wear bicycle specific clothing, especially on long rides because I find it comfortable and practical. But I know nothing about the sport of bicycle racing so I find I have to worry that I don't inadvertantly wear a color that has some special race meaning (yellow?).

I do enjoy organized rides where I am essentially riding alone, but in a crowd of several hundred other strangers. That seems to be the best of both worlds. But sometimes I think it would be nice to find a low key group just interested in recreational rides without the pretense. There probably are clubs like that but it is hard to find them among the pervasive "roadie culture". Or at least I tell myself that as an excuse for not putting in enough effort to find people who are a good match for me

Aeolis

I ride alone 100% of the time, god
im so alone.

miwoodar

You sound like a good candidate for joining a club. Investigate the clubs in your area and ride with a few different ones - all will have their own unique vibe. And keep in mind that you wouldn't be committing yourself to riding with them all the time. A lot of people just show up once or twice per month.

I am not lonely but I often ride by myself out of convenience. However, I joined a group that I like and can always line something up or join one of the rides they are coordinating. Beyond that, you should say hi to folks at stop lights or on the path, etc...I've struck up many good conversations and have made good friends in this manner.

eja_ bottecchia

Exactly!

apollored

Where do you live?

If you were in the UK you could join Sky Rides at GoSkyride.com and join their organised weekly rides.

There slogan is "Everyone's Invited" and you register with their website and then jut book on rides.

They are national and in most towns and cities.

Not sure how it works in the States tho.

chandltp

I'll ride on charity rides a few times a year. I don't really ride with anyone.. in reality I feel more lonely in a group of people I don't know than I do when I'm in the middle of the country by myself.

The few charity rides I do a year make me appreciate the long rides in the country I do the rest of the time. I ride because I can pedal away any concerns and worries.. that doesn't happen in a group for whatever reason.

Notso_fastLane

This. But mostly, I like to ride alone.

fietsbob

Took a few solo long tours , had to reach out to the locals , seemed to go OK
even though I was a foreigner in a country, with a non English language
on another continent.

Maybe if you were raised in a big family you feel differently..
Only-children seem more self contained .. (for better/worse)

I ride my bicycle home on empty streets, at closing time..

tagaproject6

This thread is beginning to sound like a country song

treadtread

I must echo the sentiments of most of the people above. I wish my wife would ride with me more - she tries, but isn't really that interested. I haven't tried to find a group because there don't seem to be groups for folks with flat bar/hybrid bikes, who are more interested in exploring than racing. I take my bag and camera when I ride - I really wouldn't fit in with any of the regular groups. Don't have the speed, stamina or interest in racing.

Rootman

Me too, the few people who I've met either outclass me by a mile and I would just slow them down, or are so kooky as to be a real PITA to ride with. One dude thought it was fun to charge across a street on a red light just to see if he could make it, after a few of those I was "too busy" all the time to ride with him and adjusted my routes to avoid him.

I bought a bike carrier for the van and will load my wifes bike on it, she give me an hour's head start and we meet at a MUP around a lake about 15 miles form home. She can only go about 6 miles then complains about wrist pain and fatigue so it doesn't last long.

ben4345

^ this

Sometimes the enjoyment of cycling is the tranquility of being self focused.