Over the past few years I’ve noticed a trend in my bicycle riding. No, it’s not the fact that I’m getting weaker and slower (although I’ve clearly realized that). Lately, I find myself riding alone. More specifically, I find that most of the time I prefer to ride alone.
I first started seriously riding when I lived in South Georgia. I was riding road bikes exclusively because it was flat and there were no mountains to be found. Since it was the south, being a cyclist made you different; therefore we had a serious club that rode regularly. Consequently, my first few years of riding were always with at least a half dozen people.
After moving back to Pennsylvania I was able to ride both road and mountain bikes. While there are a greater number of people that ride I the SC, the organization pretty well sucks and people are very specific about whom they ride (or train) with. Fortunately I had a few people that I could count on to ride with me on a regular basis. It was nice because I didn’t really know my way around the roads or the trails so having local guides was very beneficial to my overall survival on the bike.
As the years past I became more comfortable in the woods and on the country roads. Also, I found myself working more and having less time to participate in any semblance of an organized ride. When the opportunity arose, I would head off by myself to get in any miles I could. More and more, this became comfortable and easy. I would go at my own pace, when I had time, and on whatever route I wanted. I would throw in my iPod to keep me distracted which helped immensely.
Riding solo seems to be the norm for me now. Sure I still like to ride with people when I can but that’s not always easy with an irregular schedule. Often when I set out sans people I feel like I’m channeling my inner Jimbo. For those of you who know Jimbo, you might agree that he would probably be appalled by this notion since he doesn’t tend to like people or aspire to be anyone’s role model but is awesome at riding alone.
I first started seriously riding when I lived in South Georgia. I was riding road bikes exclusively because it was flat and there were no mountains to be found. Since it was the south, being a cyclist made you different; therefore we had a serious club that rode regularly. Consequently, my first few years of riding were always with at least a half dozen people.
After moving back to Pennsylvania I was able to ride both road and mountain bikes. While there are a greater number of people that ride I the SC, the organization pretty well sucks and people are very specific about whom they ride (or train) with. Fortunately I had a few people that I could count on to ride with me on a regular basis. It was nice because I didn’t really know my way around the roads or the trails so having local guides was very beneficial to my overall survival on the bike.
As the years past I became more comfortable in the woods and on the country roads. Also, I found myself working more and having less time to participate in any semblance of an organized ride. When the opportunity arose, I would head off by myself to get in any miles I could. More and more, this became comfortable and easy. I would go at my own pace, when I had time, and on whatever route I wanted. I would throw in my iPod to keep me distracted which helped immensely.
Riding solo seems to be the norm for me now. Sure I still like to ride with people when I can but that’s not always easy with an irregular schedule. Often when I set out sans people I feel like I’m channeling my inner Jimbo. For those of you who know Jimbo, you might agree that he would probably be appalled by this notion since he doesn’t tend to like people or aspire to be anyone’s role model but is awesome at riding alone.
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