Do any of you ride organized rides alone?

This past weekend, my dad and I were heading down to Kerrville, TX, to ride in their Easter weekend ride. At the very last minute, my dad said he wasn't going. Well, I'm a 42 yr old woman and totally capable of doing this alone. So my mom and I drove the 7 hrs down with my kids and my bike on the back. They had several route choices, but since I was alone and wanted to get back and do things with my kids I did the shortest (25 mile) ride. This was a first for me to do anything alone. I've only done a couple other organized rides, anyway. I headed out with a group of other riders. Made it to the first rest stop where EVERYONE else proceeded to go left for the 46 mile ride and I headed out to finish up my ride....completely alone! Literally! I didn't see another cyclist for the next 14 miles. I was IT. I was so nervous and at the same time sort of exhilerated at being able to do it all by myself.

Now at least I know that in the future I can ride alone if I have to. Not my favorite thing to do but it was sort of a big self-confidence booster for me. I've been riding exactly 1 year this month. So I'd say I've learned a lot.

I'm impressed! You drove 7 hours to a ride only to do it solo. Wow! I wouldn't have done that my first year, let alone now. Congratulations to you and your awesomeness. :cool:

First, great job on riding anyway; I'm glad that you got beyond the alone-ness aspect and it sounds like you had fun! If it was a supported/organized ride, were there support vehicles out there somewhere too? If not, the total of 25 miles shouldn't have left you exposed or alone for too long, right?

I didn't drive 7 hours to ride in an organized event, but I did learn quickly (when I first started riding) that if I showed up @ 9/10 AM on either a Sat or Sun at a local park, that it was a popular starting point for weekend rides and many organized ones. If I wasn't meeting another newbie rider/friend to ride, I'd get to the parking lot ahead of time, get ready to ride and then wander over to gathering groups to ask about their plans (route, ride level, mileage, etc). Plenty of times, I got the cue sheet and map and followed everyone out at the beginning, telling them that I was fine on my own if I was dropped, but I also worked to hang onto the back as I gradually got experience and became a stronger rider. I only did this in the general Seattle metro area, but I also drove to many, many other organized rides with friends and, that was how I learned so many beautiful ride routes, that I've repeated many times over the years...fun!

I do most of my rides alone, whether they're organized or not. Even if I start with friends, I wind up getting dropped. I've done some rides where there were lots of other cyclists around and some where I don't see another person for most of the ride. So I consider it icing on the cake if there's anyone riding with me.

I figure as long as I have a phone number for SAG/mechanical support, it's fine to ride alone.

Good for you!

I think I would be a bit nervous too, if I didn't see any other cyclists on the route. It's great that this experience has helped your self-confidence.

To answer a few questions...it was really a 3 day holiday weekend ride. I only did the 1st day. They didn't have support vehicles out. But had "sweepers" that were there. But like I said, after I split off I didn't see anyone at all. No signs, either. Is that unusual?? They said they'd have them but on the route, I only saw 2 and they were up to the first rest area. Then nothing. Just had to go by the directions they handed us in our registration bag. Is that normal?

I would have ridden Saturday but it was 36 miles for the short one and I was afraid I'd be the only one on that one again. It wasn't a mass start ride, either. So people were just starting whenever they wanted. I did start out with probably 3 separate groups of about 20 or so in each. But got passed fairly quickly by several of those. lol!! Sunday's short route took me right on a major roadway, 4 lanes, but no shoulder for a large part of it. I was afraid of being on that alone, too. If my dad had gone, we'd have ridden all 3 days. But me alone, my courage was up but not that much.

Great job on your solo ride!

I do all of my organized rides alone...unless I'm on the back of the tandem. ;) I will hook up with pacelines, but I never plan to stick with a particular person or group. The more that you get out there alone, the more confidence you will gain. :)

It's rare for me to go to an organized ride alone, but I generally ride them alone, and frequently ride from my home alone. On the organized rides, DH usually does a different distance (and so, a different route), and he rides much faster anyway. I've spend 30+ miles alone *on an MS Ride* (I'm slow). The sweeps stay behind the last rider (I usually volunteer to do that for my local club). It's normal that you wouldn't have seen them - especially if you weren't the last rider coming in. When I'm sweeping, I usually try to check in on the last rider(s), but won't crowd them or ride with them the entire time (I don't want them to feel hurried).

Congratulations!!!

CA

See the post by NY Biker and put my name instead.

I do exactly the same thing.
I generally prefer riding alone; other people make me nervous. I do enjoy the camaraderie at the end.

Yep. Last organized ride was a 100 mi century around Mt Bachelor. Wait a minute, let's strike "organized" from that comment. The 2 "rest stops" were someone's pick-up parked on the side of a road with the tail gate down. With only about 100 riders total, I spent much of my time alone. It was nice that as I turned into the headwind two nice broad and tall pairs of shoulders showed up.

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Originally Posted by gingerale

No signs, either. Is that unusual?? They said they'd have them but on the route, I only saw 2 and they were up to the first rest area. Then nothing. Just had to go by the directions they handed us in our registration bag. Is that normal?

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Route markings vary depending on the ride, but especially if you were told the route would be marked, I'd definitely let the organizers know about that. Lots of people (me included), might not be super careful with their maps/cue sheets if they believe the route is marked. Having helped mark routes myself in the past, I would DEFINITELY want to know if riders didn't think I'd done my job adequately.

To answer your original question, yes, most organized rides I'll start on my own. I'll usually find people riding a similar pace for a while, then there'll be a rest stop, etc. When I did the Lone Star Ride last fall, I was all alone for a good part of it (and since that route was also pretty poorly marked, it was a little bit scary).

Good job getting out there!

Thanks for the info. I'll go ahead and email them about it then.

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Originally Posted by Brandy

Great job on your solo ride!
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The more that you get out there alone, the more confidence you will gain. :)

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+1 You will become a far more adventuresome cyclist by learning to cycle alone on your own. Just imagine, one day soon you can lead a lengthy ride without problems. Seriously.

And this will increase the chances a great deal that you will stay cycling for the rest of your life without relying on another cyclist to accompany you. :)

I do all of my rides alone. None of my friends ride. I've driven to all of the surrounding states to ride organized rides. I drive alone, stay in KOAs and ride alone. I've always had to have my space anyway. This summer I'm planning on hitting Austin and maybe Utah. Alone.:D

I've only ever ridden alone, organized rides or not. I met up with a couple of people while touring in the past, but didn't stick with them for long--I prefer riding alone and setting my own pace and stopping when I want to stop. I also like traveling alone better than with people. I love my family, but sometimes I wish they'd just go away and let me enjoy new places by myself!

Sarah, Curmudgeon-in-training

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Originally Posted by sfa

I've only ever ridden alone, organized rides or not. I met up with a couple of people while touring in the past, but didn't stick with them for long--I prefer riding alone and setting my own pace and stopping when I want to stop. I also like traveling alone better than with people. I love my family, but sometimes I wish they'd just go away and let me enjoy new places by myself!

Sarah, Curmudgeon-in-training

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A soul sister! I have friends who just don't understand. My family does, however. Have you ever read Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto?

Wow! Inspiration all around here!! My dh doesn't ride with me and my dad lives 6 hrs away so I ride at home alone most of the time, but never alone on an actual organized thing before this past weekend. Now I know it's definitely doable and I plan on doing more as the opportunities present themselves.

All of my rides are alone, even my first tour, which was around the Big Island. Of course, once you get there, you aren't really alone, are you? There are so many others around, but you don't have to ride with them. :)

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Originally Posted by kjay

All of my rides are alone, even my first tour, which was around the Big Island. Of course, once you get there, you aren't really alone, are you? There are so many others around, but you don't have to ride with them. :)

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I think it was more along the lines of not seeing another cyclist for 14 miles that had me a little nervous. Kept checking my map to make sure I was definitely going the right way thinking I HAD to have made a wrong turn somewhere.

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Originally Posted by gingerale

I think it was more along the lines of not seeing another cyclist for 14 miles that had me a little nervous. Kept checking my map to make sure I was definitely going the right way thinking I HAD to have made a wrong turn somewhere.

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Nearly all my rides are alone. And yes, been there, done that. Missed a turn on one "organized, supported" ride, and ended up with an extra 15 miles, in the rain. When I finally got back to the start, not a car in sight anywhere, missed the lunch, and worse - the opportunity to go inside the ladies room and change into dry clothes. So I did that in my car. Ohhhh I was annoyed! Well I was more than that but I won't say that here.

My club sponsored the event, and I posted something in the regional section http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=30087. Too bad you didn't contact me, we could have met up. Maybe you missed it, but your map had an emergency number you could have used if you needed assistance. The fellow answering the emergency line (husband of our bike club pres) would have then dispatched a nearby sag to pick you up. There were markings on the roads, but not at every turn, more where there were splits between different routes. But detailed route maps and cue sheets were provided in the bags. I thought the route markings were adequate, with so many different routes offered each day it would have been impossible to mark every turn on every route.

I did the metric century on saturday. Great ride! You should have stuck around for saturday too. We did the eagle's nest. The first time I did this I had to walk for part of it, the second time I got up with mountain gearing and thought my heart was gonna pound out of my chest, and this year I sailed up w road gearing, passing others as I went. Cool.........

Thanks for the info. I didn't need a SAG to get me. I had the map and followed it and only took one wrong turn but somewhere at the end. Still not sure what happened on that one. I swear, though, I was looking for markings on the roads or something and didn't see more than a couple. But since it was my 2nd time to do this (and first alone) maybe I missed some, even though I was looking hard.

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Originally Posted by uforgot

A soul sister! I have friends who just don't understand. My family does, however. Have you ever read Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto?

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Sounds like a good book--I'll have to look for it the next time I'm at the library. Thanks for the suggestion!

DH and I are pretty much the same about liking our time alone, especially when we travel. It's nice because it means we can ditch each other for the day if we want and neither of us takes offense.

Sarah

I've just done my second 300K on my own. I'm not too comfortable riding alone after dark, so I just hang out with anyone else riding my pace, if there is. The first one, I was alone all night too, and the last one, I had to slow down just a touch, but welcomed the company. For the whole daylight part, though, I was on my own. I like myself, so I had fun.;)

I routinely ride alone.

The pack scares the living bejeezus out of me, so I hang back and start after they're all gone.

If it's later in the season and I'm fairly well conditioned by then, I'll overtake a fair number of the laggards. Usually I catch up to the main body by lunch, or at least not more than one stop behind them by then.

If it's early in the season or I'm NOT fairly well conditioned, I start at the back and stay there. On occasion I've been the last or next to the last coming in. On one occassion I was riding with someone who was even slower than me. The SAG finally took her in but I opted to ride the rest of the way in on my own - SAG was packing it up and they tried to talk me out of it, but the only reason I was THAT far behind was the person I rode with.

I did that last leg actually faster than any other, simply because I wasn't hanging back waiting for her. I decided after that that I do better on my own, not to be slowed down by a partner, and not slowing a partner down. I MUCH prefer to ride at my own pace. I can ride almost forever if I can go at my own pace.

I've done it both ways, and I think I prefer alone, too. I just got back from Cycle Zydeco where I went by myself. Met some terrific people and rode with some of them--when I wanted to. I loved having my tent all to myself and deciding when I wanted to leave and at what pace. There were lots of people on the route, however.

Yes, I do a lot of organized rides alone - mainly because I forget to check-in with friends the day before and ask if anyone is going... ;) and then often I meet a lot of people I know - or make new friends!

Wow! I'm so impressed! This is amazing, but you and i were in the EXACT same position. Both going to travel into Kerrville to the to ride with our dads. SERIOUSLY.

I was going to come down from Fort Worth, but my dad decided he didn't want to go. So i wimped out and stayed home. Now I am SO proud of you for going no matter what. You go girl!