Why ride with people?

[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.

[Dogmama]

1. Nobody wants to get up at the crack of dawn to ride.

2. I hate having to watch other peoples' wheels and predict what they'll do.

3. I want to be alone, think, enjoy the scenery.

I am considering training for El Tour de Tucson, which means I'll have to start riding with a group on Sunday to refresh my group riding skills. Hmmm....

[Kalidurga]

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.

That's definitely part of the challenge. I hike, bike and kayak alone all the time and I take great pride in knowing that, whatever happens, I'll find a way to deal with it. Granted, I've been fortunate so far and nothing really extreme has happened, but the day I stop feeling capable and self-sufficient is the day I curl up and die.

This is a very interesting thread. In spite of my own comments, reading the comments from folks who do ride with groups makes me still want to give that a try. Is there a way to turn this into a poll?

[Tater]

I too, am a loner. Mostly it is because I haven't met anyone to ride with. Now that I have moved to a more populated area and found some weekend rides (thanks, Kano!), I may start riding with a group on a weekend or two. I don't mind my solo rides, though. I think that is because I have always run alone, and now I bike alone. It doesn't bother me.

[mimitabby]

I am a bit timid and though I have to ride alone sometimes, I like company. I find that unless I am commuting; when riding alone i tend to cut the distance
like; if i plan to ride 25 miles I will end up riding 21 instead...
with no one else there I am less apt to keep going.
Being smaller and female, I have no great joy in the solitude, I am very wary all the time. I was born the year of the rabbit, and damn, that's what I am.

[SadieKate]

Ha! Mimi, you made me remember that I wanted to look up my Chinese sign again. After reading the wonderful book about Christopher Hogwood, I wanted to check. Yep, I am a pig. Explains a lot about me.

http://chinese.astrology.com/pig.html

[Cassandra_Cain]

Ha! Mimi, you made me remember that I wanted to look up my Chinese sign again. After reading the wonderful book about Christopher Hogwood, I wanted to check. Yep, I am a pig. Explains a lot about me.

http://chinese.astrology.com/pig.html

Hey! Stop hijacking my thread!

Ok fine, be the way....I'm a rabbit http://chinese.astrology.com/rabbit.html

Back to riding....

[SadieKate]

Sorry! I do think that it is descriptive of why I ride with different people or even by my 'lil lonesome.