Riding Solo advice

I love mountain biking. When it works it is sweet riding down the trails with my bike feeling like it is on rails, surrounded by nature and the usual stress of daily life just disappears.

There are several trails I ride solo all the time, but my ride/fall ratio is still higher than I would like. As I get faster my falls are decreasing in number but get harder, which just proves the laws of physics are still working properly :rolleyes:

I want/need to ride more to increase my skills, but to do that I need to move up to other trails. The trails I've in mind aren't THAT more more advanced, still classed as beginner, but they are more remote and are longer. The length of the ride is fine, I've the endurance, but if something should happen that deep in the woods and I am solo then that could be a problem and my phone has very poor reception in the woods.

I am the only person I know at my mtb level, and I hate to ask people more advanced than I to ride because I know they have to really dial it back just to stay in screaming distance of me. What fun is that for them? I still do this once in a while, but try not to ask the same person very often because they need to get their ride on as well. Most women I know who ride have very busy schedules with few chances to ride at all which makes me even more reluctant to ask them.

I've pretty much reached the decision that I shouldn't ride more difficult (to me) trails without a riding partner....but that REALLY decreases my chances to ride. I can't progress without riding, but I also want to do this wisely. It seems a Catch-22 situation. There are group rides for women that are developing but they all go to the more advanced trails. I've suggested a beginners ride in a couple of weeks, hopefully there will be some interest.

Is there another solution that I am not seeing? I suspect I should have just waited a year or two to build more cycling experience, but I didn't :D

Have you checked meetup? Or maybe a mtb or cycling club that isn't gender specific? I suppose you could also create your own meetup.

Is there someone you can let know when you go out and ride? I always just e mail Thom when I'm going for a ride or a run off road by myself.

I have a friend who tweets (on Twitter) :p when she goes off on road rides by herself and tweets again when she gets back. She thought this option was less intrusive than calling or e mailing a friend. But still was a bit of a safety net.

Veronica

If you're just concerned about incapacitating emergencies, what about a SPOT device?

I have the Delorme inReach which is sort of like the spot. My partner got it for me because I am frequently out of cellphone range when geocaching in the back woods. It uses satellite communication rather then cell. You can send text messages from it, or, if you get hurt you can send an SOS and it sends your geographic coordinates directly to emergency services on a schedule until you are found. You can also set it to send your location to a map on a webpage that someone has acccess to. I send mine every 10 minutes when out.

These are good thoughts, and the group I mentioned is indeed on Meetup. I don't think there are any real beginners on the group - or at least not at my level. I've suggested a ride in two weeks so we shall see.

I neglected to mention an important part of the equation, the trails aren't local. They aren't that far, about an 80-90 minute drive. To me this complicates things. If something should happen, especially something like a head or back injury, I don't want to lie there for hours before someone finds me. Such things do happen, after the lasting consequences of my neck injury last fall I have to think about this, it is only wise. I don't know anyone local to the trails well enough to have them as my contact.

There was a case in this same park earlier this summer when someone fell, broke his back, and lay there for 3 hours :eek: THIS was on my favorite trail - but of course there is risk that is inherent to mountain biking.

One solution is to only ride solo on days the trails are busy - that would increase the chance of someone being in screaming distance, or would come along relatively soon after an injuring fall. I like this idea, so perhaps I need to stop avoiding busy weekends ;)

The Delorme InReach is quite attractive but that's not in my budget this year. This would be great for next year. I will put my thinking cap on about who I could text before/after who knows the area and would know who to contact to send help if needed. Texts don't need responses...I don't use Twitter and I actually don't know anyone who does.

Thanks for the ideas, it is appreciated.

Hey Catrin....I am a beginner myself and I would be more than glad to go with you mountain biking sometimes. Just let me know a few days in advance to make sure I can go.

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

Hey Catrin....I am a beginner myself and I would be more than glad to go with you mountain biking sometimes. Just let me know a few days in advance to make sure I can go.

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Thanks Giulianna, while the trail in question isn't the best choice for cutting your teeth on, there are certainly other trails there that you would have fun on :cool:

Don't be so hasty to put thoughts into the mind of others. Some of my fondest memories are of a being a beginner, and going out with my more experienced friends. Even now, I don't mind going out with beginners. If it was going to be my workout ride or my hammer ride, I wouldn't say, "sure, let's go!". I get total satisfaction with riding with beginners, maybe showing them something new, and seeing the smile on their face.

15 years later, my friend Shelly and I still joke about the zillion miles we rode when I was a beginner, trying to keep her rear end in view. "Follow me" was the matra of those rides.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

Don't be so hasty to put thoughts into the mind of others. Some of my fondest memories are of a being a beginner, and going out with my more experienced friends. Even now, I don't mind going out with beginners. If it was going to be my workout ride or my hammer ride, I wouldn't say, "sure, let's go!". I get total satisfaction with riding with beginners, maybe showing them something new, and seeing the smile on their face.

15 years later, my friend Shelly and I still joke about the zillion miles we rode when I was a beginner, trying to keep her rear end in view. "Follow me" was the matra of those rides.

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Good point Irulan! I know I would have been terrified of that particular trail a year ago, and I am just now able to ride a good portion of it. Of course, that is just my perspective. It is good to not put thoughts into the mind of others for then they become self-fulfilling prophesies and I shouldn't have done that.

I have a similar problem in that it seems like I am in a "no-man's land" level of sorts. I'm faster than most recreational riders but slower than a lot of the racers around here.

I have no problems going out on rides with people that are slower than I am. In fact sometimes I do it on purpose to recover mentally from the rides I do with the super fast fasties where I get my azz kicked. I really do feel like both types of riding are good for me. Those dialed back days are relaxed and fun. I regain my confidence and I finished refreshed. The other days challenge me, which helps me learn and improve but also leaves me very tired and drained.

This weekend I did the Trek Women's Dirt Series camp and I was very excited to find a lot of other women there with a similar skill level to mine!! We all had slightly different strengths and weaknesses but overall we were very well matched. I had a lot of fun, learned tons and felt like the atmosphere was very supportive. Is there a mtn bike skills camp that you can sign up for close to you? You would learn a lot and hopefully meet people at a similar skill level to ride with like I did.

It's possible if you go out on the trails at busier times, you might meet people to ride with.

Even though I am a beginner ...You will be surprise of my learning skills. This is my first ever Mountain bike but I used to do a little mountain biking when I was a kid on a bmx bike back home (Tropical rainforest..not MTB trails).....and there are some skills that stays with you for ever.
I know I have a lot to learn but I am a fast learner and I don't like to brag about my skills but I do have them (and good ones). So let's go ride... :)

We certainly will! That sounds like you had a lot of fun riding in the rainforest :)

Another option is to go riding "with" someone...and agree that you will meet back at a certain time for lunch, departure whatever...and if you can't stay with them they are free to zoom off, but someone knows to look for you on the trail if you haven't come back. I rarely keep up with my sons for a full day of riding, but love to follow their lines for learning and feel free to push it knowing someone knows I should be back at a certain time.....

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Originally Posted by tealtreak

Another option is to go riding "with" someone...and agree that you will meet back at a certain time for lunch, departure whatever...and if you can't stay with them they are free to zoom off, but someone knows to look for you on the trail if you haven't come back. I rarely keep up with my sons for a full day of riding, but love to follow their lines for learning and feel free to push it knowing someone knows I should be back at a certain time.....

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I do this with DH when we ride or when I go with riders of different abilities. We start together and plan to meet up at a certain time. I also ride solo during times when the trail is completely abandoned--I have a weird schedule. I'll text DH my exact route (and then I have to stick to that!), text him right before I roll out and text the second I roll back in.

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Originally Posted by tealtreak

Another option is to go riding "with" someone...and agree that you will meet back at a certain time for lunch, departure whatever...and if you can't stay with them they are free to zoom off, but someone knows to look for you on the trail if you haven't come back. I rarely keep up with my sons for a full day of riding, but love to follow their lines for learning and feel free to push it knowing someone knows I should be back at a certain time.....

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Good idea, thanks! Most people I know are more advanced than I so this is a happy median. I DO have someone I text when riding solo but she is usually traveling for business and is halfway across the country (but that doesn't mean she can't call for help). Still, someone knows.

I appreciate all of the suggestions!

On our trail runs we do an out-and-back. Everyone sets their timers for 40 or 50 minutes or whatever we decided on. When time's up, we all turn around. Some of us have gone a lot further than others. But we all get back to start at the same time--except that the fast guys always shoot for a negative split so they pass me before I get back. Then they wait for me, or send someone to fetch me because I got lost (again)!