yep, regularly

feel safer on my own tbh …..

tend to end up racing downhills when out with friends and usually feel compelled to watch out for their safety and bikes as well as my own.

Other than that – tell folk where im going , take enough kit to get my self out of where ever i end up if im going remote or unknown territory(quite rare in this country tbh) – food , an old nokia mobile , a map , a bivvy bag, some extra layers and some matches in a waterproof bag.

70/30 in favour of alone. I’ve been on the big group rides, and they don’t do it for me – too much inertia / prevarication / group dynamics on the actual ride. Although post-ride the social side in the pub or cafe is obviously better than solo. Lucky to have the occassional ride partner to break things up.

Really it boils down to who you are, and the social / work circumstances of you and your buddies. Accept that sometimes you’re a Billy and just get out there when you can. Often though if you ride alone you are more approachable out on the trail or at cafes, and I’ve had some good conversations with total strangers this way.

Also riding alone tends to be more about being introspective and finding new trails and getting happily lost, where being with others I personally tend to push the risk side of things a bit more. OK accidents happen, but the only time I’ve ended up in A&E has been on a group ride showing off.

The magazines must be tied by their insurers as they do tend to be negative towards solo rides, but bet anything that their staff are as varied in social make-up as we are on here.

Am I bucking the trend here?
Probably 80:20 with friends:alone.

Yes it’s great to have a day out going at my own pace, choosing my own route and only stopping when I want to … but for the most part I’d choose to ride with like-minded idiots.
If alone, I know I’ll tend to back-off and won’t go-for-it when faced with a section that’s remote, exposed and/or at the limit of my technical ability. I can’t help but feel annoyed with myself when that happens and see it as a bit of a failure, whereas I might have a crack at it knowing that someone will arrange my evaluation if it doesn’t go to plan.
When I can, I’ll ride with someone who’s a better rider than I am as I like that implicit “If he can do it, then I can too” challenge.
Wouldn’t have ridden or even found half of the good stuff if I was on my own!

[Edit] It’s not about showing off, it’s more about enjoying a bit of competitive pressure [/Edit]

The world is divided into introverts and extroverts, but the extroverts make more noise so the introverts end up questioning whether what they do is normal.

This. +lots

Ride more on my own than in a group, sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of banter, even if that does come with the inevitable faff trade off.
It’s also good to get that iPod on and HAMMER!

The world is divided into introverts and extroverts, but the extroverts make more noise so the introverts end up questioning whether what they do is normal.

Completely agree

I have woken up in A&E when riding on my own! Last thing I remember is getting pumped from watching mtb vid on youtube, then locking the house, then hospital. Still dont remember what happened to this day.
Some rambler found me wandering in a field and phoned the ambulance apparently. Couldnt even remember where i lived!
Then, last week on my own i got attacked by a dog!

I stick with people these days…

Ride almost exclusively on the road these days. From being a regular club rider, ever since having a child nearly 2 years ago, I’ve never been on a group ride.

When I was commuting, I was doing the best part of 200 miles a week on my own, often entirely in the dark. Loved it.

Now I’ve got back on the bike, I’m out earlier and back earlier to avoid losing too much family time. Might join a club, but without the same commitment as before.

99% of the time solo, all of my mates now have small children so group rides appear to be almost impossible to ride. More likely to solve the current economic crisis or world peace

I have designated ‘pick-up’ zones at my local woods and have walked my wife through some of my more popular runs.

Both of my serious accidents have been solo night rides after work.

Coming around lying on your face with a busted collar bone/ribs is not a nice situation to be in….

Mostly on my own these days, when I started out very rarely – always had a nagging doubt in my mind, god I’ve missed out on some rides.

Always make sure Mrs knows where I’m going and carry a mobile.

None of my close friends ride so I go out by myself most of the time. Then once every so often I meet up with a riding buddy. Push myself more (as I can make all sorts of odd sounds on the climbs) and dont feel embarrassed when I catch my wide bars on both sides and go over the bars.

Usually solo, I’m fat, slow and have no friends. Son’s been joining me recently, but he’s eleven so it’s only a matter of time before I’m too slow for him.

Mrs edlong occasionally joins me but rarely. I tell her where I’m heading when I’m going off solo.

Love it

99% of mtbing and 50% of road rides are done solo. It’s good to have company on the road, chatting away as the miles pass 🙂

Mostly alone. I go out often during the work day for ‘lunch’ so can’t ride with mate. At the weekends, if i ride locally, it’s alone… Trailcentre stuff i ride with mates though.