This weeks realisation: I think I’m a bit of a loner.

I didn’t think the post would gain this much of a response, and some polar opposite views!

@cookeaa @mudfish, live in Hastings, Bedgebury is my local riding spot.

I took my youngest with me today, he also got a new bike (Giant ATX). He’s 7, and apparently forgot how to ride over the winter. Literally peddling backwards at first! He’s buzzing though, despite binning it a few times, the pedals that came with it are shocking! Didn’t make it more than a few hundred metres along the blue route, as he liked going up and down the hills. Red route come the summer, for sure!

Always too many extroverts telling introverts they need to come out of their shell and not enough extroverts being told to quieten down.

This.

Though it’s not really a surprise, is it?

Same here, but no wife or kids.

I’ve moved a few different places with work over the last 20 years and lost touch with most people. My best friend lives over in Kenya but we chat a fair bit on WhatsApp. But I have very very few friends, and due to money issues have basically given up all hobbies until I can get my finances in order. Luckily I’m a massive introvert and don’t mind my own company, but do often wonder if it’ll be like this for another 40 years or so.

Life is shit.

Have a read through my thread on avoidant personality disorder. See if really fit the profile or actually you would like to have a balanced group of friends but for whatever reason you don’t.

Because I liked to get out on my own, bivvying, long rides etc family and friends thought I was perfectly suited to being alone. This reality was that, yes I was but because I had people to come home to.

When I lost my wife 18 months ago having that situation forced upon me was a completely different experience. Time alone became something different and altogether less pleasant.

I think I’m adapting, currently on my own in a rented cottage in France for a week where I may not speak to anyone until next weekend…but I’m ok with that. But I do wonder about getting older and less active and still being alone. It’s not a prospect l’m looking forward to but weirdly like Mr Overshoot up there, I’m not sure I could live with anyone again.

Sympathise with @scotroutes. I have hearing loss as well. I find it difficult in social situations, can’t follow conversations, hard even to distinguish words in peoples speech. So I try to avoid social settings.

Since CoVid lockdown in 2020 we have almost stopped going out so have lost contact with the few friends I still had kept in with.