Do you mountain bike alone?

[ny biker]

Honestly, I have to be careful about road biking by myself too, even though I do it all the time. I'm single and my nearest family lives 300 miles from here, so if I leave a map of my route and the time I should get home, no one will see it and no one will notice I'm missing until I fail to show up for work the next day (or the following Monday if it's a weekend). And if I do have a mechanical or other problem far from home, I can't call anyone to come get me. So mostly I have to stick with routes close to home that are heavily traveled and close enough to take a cab home if needed, even though that means dealing with more vehicular traffic and stopping at frequent intersections. It makes it hard to train for the hilly 70-mile charity ride that I need to get ready for, but that's just the way it is.

[7rider]

I used to mtb alone at a state park up in MA. It was close to my house, not too technical, and fairly well-travelled by others, so I felt reasonably safe there. I have not mtb'd by myself since moving down to MD, again..for the reasons you cited. I will (strangely?) road bike on my own, however, although get bored to tears with anything longer than about 35 miles.

[indigoiis]

The few times I have been out so far, with the exception of one, I was alone. In two (separate incidences) of those cases there was a creepy dude walking on the tote road where I was riding.

Makes you ride faster.

I used to hike and climb before I got into biking. Same rules apply. Go out prepared for the worst.

[shootingstar]

I don't mountain bike but for several years I did cycle commute daily in non-snowy weather to and from work (16 kms. 1 way) where over 10 kms. of the ride was very early in the morning, quite isolated with blend of paved paths plus woods in a series of interconnected ravine parks. Admittedly I would be riding quickly.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I am like another poster that doesn't have many friends or people around that would notice if I was ...well...in trouble.

The Findmespot thing looks like a great idea for people like me, especially now that I'm going to be traveling a little more and a long ride across the USA. That way I can have people check on me and if I'm not moving I might be in trouble. Pretty cheap for feeling really safe.

[sundial]

Go out prepared for the worst.

Sage advice! I do wear my Road ID, carry my cell, and the Spot.

[bounceswoosh]

Pretty much what TahoeDirtGirl said, but --

I do ride alone, and in fact have come to enjoy it. I like being able to go my own pace and do my own thing. That being said, when I'm alone, I go to trails that I know well and that tend to be pretty busy.

I haven't really ever worried about creepy people; since I try to go to places where there's a lot of traffic, I would expect that to be a deterrent. Or if someone did actually approach me, I would expect another person to encounter us shortly.

I bring just about every tool I can fit in my Camelbak; if I can't fix it, I figure someone else will. This also helps my bike karma, since I can let others on the trail use my stuff when they get stuck =)

I also always bring my cell phone; it may or may not work out there, but it's worth a shot.

Even if you don't live with people who would notice your absence, I would imagine you could set something up with a co-worker or friend -- tell them where you'll be and tell them you'll call them by some set time.

[brigitte]

I usually ride alone. I will only do trails I know, so if there is something new to try I will wait for a riding buddy to try it with. I always carry a cellphone - even if reception is spotty you can sometimes get a text message out. I always carry a snack and H20. I too am single but will let someone know (neighbor, family or one of my daughters) approximately where I am riding and an estimating return time - I will even say "if you don't hear from me by "X" time then I am in trouble." I then make sure inform them of my return. If there is no one around to tell, I have left a note on my dining room table that explains my whereabouts.

I ride conservatively when I am alone. I am a nurse so relatively simple injuries I can handle by tearing a jersey as a tourniquet or to wrap a wound. I have a small set of tools/repair kit with me with a pump and ALWAYS take daylight into consideration.

Don't let being alone stop you!... some of the best stuff I have done was when I was alone, there is obviously no one to compete with besides yourself and I have found that to be liberating. Plus, you can zip along fast because your not chatting as much as you would if you had company.

good luck!

[Miranda]

What a good thread. I could have wrote the same post.

So far I have a combo of scheduling conflicts, to being a performance scardy cat to ride with anyone else. Both trail and road, I'm alone.

For injury on the trail (& I do have some first aid w/me), if I question that I can do it, I don't. I would rather ride than rehab.

Mechanical, I carry a multitool, but figure if worse, I could hike it out. I do now own and carry some form of light with me. I try to have the map, but bought a cheap compass as well.

RoadID has some folks in their company that I love. I just have a basic wrist ID after a near Jane Doe road kill one day at dusk. I own their FireFlys too and a new one I received broke when putting it together. No problem, they sent me a new one even before receiving the broken one, return postage paid envelop "at my convenience". My cell phone also has an ICE # (In Case of Emergency). Responders are trained to look for this.

OKAAAYY... it's the twin brothers of Charles Manson that worry me the most. On my road bike, I feel like I can pedal away faster from Chuck. On the single track... not so. One of my favorite places is SO isolated. Thus, it's beauty. The parking lot is not even visible from the main road. I always take note of any cars in the lot. Me, only vehicle with a bike rack on it, says yep, bike chick. I once road the trail another way back into the woods with this vibe that the Mason hiker was lurking by my parked vehicle.

This is still giving me a chill... last time I was there, I had this gutt feel to take my bike out onto the lake's pier. Normally, I leave it on the trail. My inner voice said, "Miranda, take the bike with you". I had NO idea that this guy hiked up behind me on the pier. The lake frogs were signing like crazy, he had on very quite tennis shoes, and around I turn to see this man two foot from me. Just standing still... staring... speechless. I politely said "hello", mounted my bike and road the he$$ out of there as fast as I could without killing myself.

One of my friends said I might take note of the license plates when I am out there (in an effort to ID the Manson family). I was alone in the lot that day when I started. Still just creeps me out.