p8rider

I am surprised reading through this thread just how many people ride solo. The overall theme I get from the forums is for group rides. I have pretty much always ridden solo. It is a time of day excersize thing and also I like riding alone. I very much fit the feelings expressed by many on this thread, my time, my speed, my stops. Occassionally I ride with my children during a weekend day and that is always great. As a family we are talking about my wife getting a bike for her birthday so we can go on rides like the New River trail as a family.

DnvrFox

I think there are a number of reasons for riding that motivate folks, leading to the differential between the "group" and the "solo."

1. The guy/gal who wakes every morning with a shot of adrenalin mixed with competitiveness. To these folks, life(at least bicycling) is all about competition and winning. We even have some of these in the 50+ group. You know who they are. Their posts are full of words like "intervals" and "first up the hlll" and the like. These folks haven't a clue that groups 2 and 3 below even exist, nor do they care!

2. The physical fitness guru - eats mostly nuts and whole grain rice mixed with fresh spinach, stretches so much you think they might actually be unable to stand, gets 8 hours of sleep, and knows the author of every single fitness book ever published. Words like "Heart Rate" and "threshold" creep into their posts.

3. The "laid back" rider. Couldn't care a hoot about the above two categories, stops and smells the roses (literally), takes pictures of beautiful scenery, meditates during riding, goes as far as he/she wants and comes back when he/she feels like it. Words like "self-fulfillment," "relaxing" and "being own boss."

4. And then there are the dedicated commuter types who valiantly pedal their way through ice, snow and sunshine on their daily, never-ending trek to and from their place of employment and other erands. Words and phrases like "My bike is my car," and "End the oil crisis now, ride a bicycle" seem to enter into their posts and discussions.

And of course, there are combinations of the above. And each one will ride solo or with a partner or in a group to meet the needs of their style of bicycling!

Artmo 

In my youth, I used to prefer solo, because I could not find anyone who liked riding at my speed and because I found it too stressful riding in a bunch. Nowadays, I enjoy riding in a pace line with people I know and some of whom are that bit stronger than me, so there's a challenge. However, when I do centuries, which I sometimes do for charity, I prefer to be alone. Then again we have the tandem, which I ride infrequently with my wife and that's a totally different, but very enjoyable pace and experience.

KeithA

Probably just me, but the only competition I want is with myself, seeing how far I can extend my rides and how my speed is improving. So, I guess that's another reason I like going solo, which I do pretty much every day. Every other day, I take a nice leisurely ride with the family where I just kick back. One is challenging and fitness oriented, the other just fun and relaxing.