Am i a saddo who rides on their own?

Surf-Matt

We have a baby boy but both ride a lot so share the riding/looking after. Then we get my mum to look after him at weekends so we can both ride together!

Just done a 13 miler on my todd. I enjoy the solitude, time to think, and in some places the twinge of fear!

Thewaylander

So we have come up with the point alot of people are saddo's

elPedro666

And the collective noun for a large gathering of saddos is...
Forum, obviously

mounty

I use to ride alone 99% of the time, but now I ride with different people from one ride to the next...

Although I do still ride on my own during the week as everyone else tends to be working...

I find riding trail centres fun with other people, but I can ride whenever and with who ever..it makes no difference, as long as I am out riding...

fred1star

I left all my cycling buddies in kent... I do a lot of cycling on Dartmoor by myself... I do wonder what would happen if I took a nasty tumble.. Hope the sheep know 1st aid

dave_hill

fred1star wrote:

I left all my cycling buddies in kent... I do a lot of cycling on Dartmoor by myself... I do wonder what would happen if I took a nasty tumble.. Hope the sheep know 1st aid

Just carry cyanide pills.

fred1star

Cyanide pills... don't like the sound of that.. will leave my fate to the sheep...

salsarider79

I much prefer riding in a group. The you always have someone to laugh when you get it monumentally wrong, or give you someone to laugh at...
That said, I often ride road on my own. Thats mostly because I have no friends here. I can't stand Bath.

FSR Si

Ive always ridden on my own up until a month ago when the wife and bro in law started riding, So i cut back on my own rides and went out with them. Anyway a month later i have put nearly a stone back on through riding a lot slower than usual. So i have stopped riding with them and am now in a battle to shed this weight, Yesterday i put in 36 miles xc in 3 hours and lost a few pound. Today i went for a bimble with my dad and put in 17 mile.

Northwind

I'm slower than most of my mates, so riding together for me tends to bring out the best in my riding, but also leaves me a ground-up human wreckage

Si78

I ride to work with a mate who lives around the corner, luckily we are on the same shift.

I ride everywhere else by myself, just getting as much practise in as I can before I start going to Llandegla with a group of lads from work. They go regularly, and are fitter and a bit braver than me...one used to jump out of planes for a living lol...not quite ready to embarrass myself in front of them yet!

Si

SpinningJenny

Not a saddo at all! I went out on my own when I first got back into cycling (non MTB to start off with) just to get back into the feel of it and avoid making a complete *rse of myself in front of others. I made a complete *rse of myself on my own, and the only people to enjoy the spectacle were me and the street cleaner out at 6.30 in the morning. I have seen him since and he always gives me a cheery wave now!

First outing with others may be this weekend - \0/

.blitz

LAW4778 wrote:

Hey everyone just wondered if i am some sort of saddo because i ride on my own, not through choice but none of mates are interested in MTBing

Pretty much the same here - plus I've wasted too much riding time hanging around for people who don't turn up.

dynamis_dk

I'm riding on my own at the moment as the chap i normally ride with is away for the holiday season partying away in spain till the season dies off so i might have someone to ride with around sept time.

I don't mind riding on my own but i'm a naturally lazy person so i find riding with others helps push me to keep going that little extra where i might just turn round and head back if i'm on my own.

topsey_turvey

.blitz wrote:

LAW4778 wrote:

Hey everyone just wondered if i am some sort of saddo because i ride on my own, not through choice but none of mates are interested in MTBing

Pretty much the same here - plus I've wasted too much riding time hanging around for people who don't turn up.

I once fixed up a ride with a moderator from on here. He kept me waiting for three hours then sent a text saying he'd gone somewhere else. No apologies or explanation.

.blitz

Topsey Turvey wrote:

I once fixed up a ride with a moderator from on here. He kept me waiting for three hours then sent a text saying he'd gone somewhere else. No apologies or explanation.

Ah that's bad. Another thing is when you fix up a ride with a bigger group - half of them don't turn up and the rest have such varying abilities that some go home, some clear off in front and you're left wondering why you bothered :?

gaz047

ride on my own a fair bit, work shifts so its good to get out there when there aren't many ramblers about walking in extended line taking the whole track
ride with a couple of mates at the weekend and sometimes with work mates after a night shift.
as mentioned if your on your own ride within limits and have enough gear so that if you do fall badly then you'll be warm eg survival blankets cost/weight is minimal, woolie hat etc etc
also take your phone and leave a plan of your route if possible.
you'll be fine mate, enjoy 8)

scotto

I used to ride in a group of 6, it was fairly regular and at the time having been an ex-smoker and overweight I was pretty much the slowest every time.

Interesting that I kept at it and started going out on my own in the week inbetween.

I got fitter and lost 2 stone, I was then riding close to the front most of the time.

One week I dusted everyone on a hill, not to show off, just that I wanted to get the hill out of the way, it was noticable a few had the areshole about this.

Since then we are down to 2 or 3 of us and nine times out of ten they don't show now, despite arrangiong rides nearly every weekend !

So I ride solo 95% of the time, but I still love it and if other people out there think it's weird, then that's their problem not mine.

cgarossi

I usually go out in a group, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays and sometimes Fridays after work. I'm lucky to have plenty of MTB mates who usually are up for a ride at short notice.

However if I do go riding on my own its only locally and where there are people around, so if I do come off theres help available soonish.

flanagaj

I much prefer riding on my own. I am with people all day in the office and with the family the rest of the time so going out mountain biking in the middle of no where on my own is sheer bliss. Plus I can go at my own pace without worrying that the poor unfit mate I dragged along is going to drop dead on me :evil:

im first to die

going out for my first ride with a group on sunday only ever riden with my wife before (on the road she does not like to get dirty or the flys you get off road) any hints on what to do whats good manners etc dont want to them to think im a knob

Mickey Eye

I ride with my friend who is a hell of a lot better than I am but very patient. Pushes me to try things harder than I would if I rode alone and I think I'm better off for it.

elchenuk

I can see the merits in both, sometimes its nice to share experiences with others but unfortunately most of my friends aren't into mb'ing.

badhand

I know one other person in the area who owns a bike - £3000 carbon full susser - but he only uses it once or twice a year. So am out on my own.
To make matters worse I have been training hard for the London to Brighton so I put slicks on and I've been doing big miles on the road. Off road I don't mind being on my own but on the road I feel like a saddo.

Could join a club but what? Roadies laugh at my stumpy trying to be what it's not...

elchenuk

£3k bike and it only gets used twice!! thats criminal.

Ive done some rode cycling in the past especially when the tour is on and to be honest I prefer riding on my own. Its hard to chat on the road because of the noise of the traffic and you're always either in front or behind someone otherwise some impatient car driver bips the horn at you.

Cheshley

flanagaj wrote:

Plus I can go at my own pace without worrying that the poor unfit mate I dragged along is going to drop dead on me :evil:

And from the other side of the coin, I go out on my own so that I'm not worrying that I'm holding people up, although it's nice to be with other people because it pushes me to ride harder than I would on my own.

badhand

+1 elchenuk. I wouldn't mind but he constantly calls my bike crap cos it only cost half and is a hardtail... :evil:

Suppose you're right about the road riding - just gets a bit dull after about 3-4 hours

elchenuk

Stumpjumpers are not crap bikes! I've just bought a 2009 version and I love it. I guess it depends what your happy with, I've had bikes at half the price I paid for my Stumpjumper and had absolutely great times riding them. I know someone who gets into sport purely as a fashion statement, i.e. has to have the best snowboard, best bike etc, I don't think he even enjoys any of those activities!

badhand

+9 Stumpjumper.

Think we have the same mutual friend

mikey0303

Im riding on my own at the right now having only had my new bike for a couple of weeks.

Im just trying to get some fitness back at the moment and Im using the old railway tracks/cycle network around Parsley Hay and Hartington for that purpose even though its fairly flat.

I dont mind riding on my own, but it would be nice to have someone else to ride with if only for the fact that you tend to push each other a bit. I will also need somebody with local knowledge of more varied rides in the near future I guess.