Why ride with people?

[Cassandra_Cain]

Sooooo, I was having a chat with a fellow TE'r recently. Actually it was in the midst of a nice cross-town ride here. I had asked about her experiences with bike clubs in the area, etc.

This sort of broadened into a more general question...

Why ride with others?

Is it to be around a group of folks who like to drop the proverbial hammer and go as fast, or close to it, as they can? See who survives, who doesn't? Conversation discouraged, grunting/huffing/puffing encouraged? Competition heavy?

Is it the opposite....less effort/moderate pace, more conversation, socializing, talking, chit-chatting, sight seeing?

Why do you ride with others and what do you want out of those rides?

Thankfully, I rode with someone who was on the exact same wavelength as me.

[SadieKate]

I ride for all of the above. Just depends on what my personal goal is for the ride that day, even solitary rides. I like to mix it up (shaken not stirred).

[KSH]

Well, I go on different rides to get different experiences.

For example, if I want...

1) A slow ride where I get to chat- I ride with my Sunday group.

2) To hammer it some- I ride with my Tuesday group.

3) To go the distance and not get dropped- I ride with my Saturday distance builders group.

4) To go the distance and rest every 10-12 miles- I ride with my Saturday no drop ride.

You get the point.

I know that I can't do one type of ride all the time. I change it up often, so I can stay interested and challenged.. and it keep it's fun. If I ride with groups where I get dropped all the time... that is NOT fun.

[greenmachine]

Well, I go on different rides to get different experiences.

I know that I can't do one type of ride all the time. I change it up often, so I can stay interested and challenged.. and it keep it's fun. If I ride with groups where I get dropped all the time... that is NOT fun.

This describes me as well. I have to mix it up too. Different routes, different types of rides. And, I don't like riding alone...I wish I did.

There is always something to learn from riding with other people; training tips, etc., but that doesn't mean that I'm always chatting on my rides.

I really enjoy group riding, but I'm often riding by myself within the group as the group spreads out.

If I had to name a perfect type of ride for me it would be a ride with some hills and beautiful scenery, wildflowers, stuff like that!

[yogabear]

I think it depends on my goals

[Eden]

I have a hard time not hammering if I ride on my own. Don't know why, but its hard to not treat a solo ride like a personal TT for me. Riding with someone else and chatting helps me keep myself in line when I know I need to be doing a recovery ride.

[KSH]

And, I don't like riding alone...I wish I did.

That's a challenge for me too.

I have been riding alone lately though... on a 24 mile loop/bike path... and it has taught me how to keep my average/speed up without someone pushing me.

It's been a good learning experience.

BUT.... I refuse to ride the city streets alone. I'm all about safety in numbers.

[DDH]

I mostly ride by myself, mainly because I don't have others to ride with, but also I enjoy being by myself and reflecting. I am not sure I am ready to ride with others anyway, I would feel like I was slowing them down. I already feel like I slow DH down whenever we get to ride together, which is not very often. It kills me, no more often that he rides and he can still get on and leave me.

What is a recovery ride?

[SalsaMTB]

Different times, different reasons...

I mainly ride with DH. When I say ride with DH, I mean drive to the trail together, start trail together, he drops me, we meet up at the end. If it's a longer trail, he'll wait for me every few miles.

I enjoy this because I know someone will be know if I get hurt, someone is there to motivate me when I'm tired, someone is there for the pre-ride talk and the talk on the drive home. When he rides behind me, it helps push me to take the downhills a little faster.

Also, I would never ride offroad at night by myself. That feels way too unsafe to me. I don't think I would even show up to a random group ride at night unless I personally knew someone on it.

I like to ride with other people (not DH) sometimes to compare myself, sometimes for social rides, and also to motivate some of my friends to try riding.

[pyxichick]

The groups around here run the gamut from hammer down all the way, nothing so much as an introduction to everyone in the group, to social, 10-12 mph. 25 mile rides with a rest/coffee stop halfway and dinner afterwards.

The only way for me to find out how different groups operate was to ride with all of them and now I can pick my group rides based on how I feel that day.

I like to be somewhat social, but if people are too busy talking to realize that they are riding four abreast on a city road, then I get frustrated.

Last night I got spanked on a ride with a new group. But it was probably good for me.

[Cassandra_Cain]

This is really interesting, kind of a sub-thread emerging of riding solo or, not.

I ride solo 99% of the time, in fact this weekend was the first time I've ridden with anybody in about 7 years. I enjoyed it a great deal though as I said before, we were on the same line of thought for the ride.

Riding with others can be, I think, more rewarding but also, infinitely more work. The big issues alway emerge - riding style, pace, speed, etc - which can lead to frustration, anger, etc. Unless you are unusually similar, there is going to be some kind of compromise. It is a compromise that is rather challenging - if my experience (and others I've heard of) with groups is any proof.

When I ride alone, which is most always basically, I feel comfortable doing whatever. Whether an intense straight-up all climbing ride, or an easy spin as this afternoon will be.

[Kalidurga]

When I ride alone, which is most always basically, I feel comfortable doing whatever. Whether an intense straight-up all climbing ride, or an easy spin as this afternoon will be.

I've also always ridden alone, partly because I enjoy the solitude, partly for the same reason Cassandra gave above. The few times I tried to ride with the ex-BF, we were not on the same wavelength. Since joining the TE forum, I've made half-hearted attempts to hook up with other women in my locale, and I've thought about joining some of the group rides sponsored by various LBS's. I'd like to try riding with others to see what I can learn from it, but it's hard to take that step and give up my anti-social ways. When I ride, I don't necessarily want to make the compromises necessary to "fit" with others. I want to do what I want to do and enjoy it.

[Trekhawk]

I do the majority of my road riding on my own and I enjoy it. Its a time for me to unwind and enjoy the peace (three sons dont equal peace and quiet).
Its my form of meditation.

When I have ridden with others (really only on charity rides) I have enjoyed being with other riders and feeling that comraderie.

I always mountain bike with another rider but thats a different thing from road riding - no meditating on single track. I enjoy the chance to discuss the technical parts of the ride and how to nail them.

I would like to try club riding one day maybe when I go home as all the clubs around here are a little too fast for me.

[tomgrrrl]

I tend to ride solo most of the time as well. For one thing, it's easier...it's hard enough to manage my time (and my daughter's) so that trying to coordinate rides with others can be difficult.

I also tend to find that I enjoy the alone time. For me it really becomes a form of meditation. When I'm with another person (or rarely a group) I often spend a lot of time worrying about my pace, their pace, etc. When I'm alone I have only myself to worry about.

I would like to find more friends to mtbike with since when I ride solo on my mtb I keep to well-traveled fire trails. If I had a riding pal, it would be easier (and safer) to ride some of the more remote trails.

[makbike]

I ride 99% of the time solo simply because of where I live, my schedule and the fact that I've always been a loner. In fact, I've typically always ridden solo. I feel safe on the road when I'm by myself but I'm also aware that at anytime things could change drastically and I could find myself in a nasty situation.

I do ride with our LBC a 1 - 2 times a week. The advantage to riding with the club is I can really pushy myself and when this happens I typically find myself riding solo again. I'm not fast enough to keep up with the really fast group and I'm too fast for the slow group so I end up between the two. I may pass other medium speed riders along the way but I usually find myself out there pedaling all by myself. That said, knowing there are others out ahead of me or knowing there is someone behind helps to push me. The socal aspect typically comes into play before the ride or after the ride in the parking lot.

I find riding a large group has a tendency to frustate me as well. I hate to get caught in a group that is spread out across the road and moving slower than I like. I find that when my cadence is broken like this my only desire is to find an opening and move ahead of the pack. I find getting caught in this same situation climbing a hill really increases my desire to break away from the group so that I can climb at my pace and not waste a lot of energy speeding up and slowing down as we make our way to the top.