Cycle with a partner or a friend?

When I was younger I used to cycle quite a bit with friends, but as I've grown older I've grown to cycling on my own. I have always been a bit of a loner so it was always going to a be a thing to happen I think.

I did have some fun cycling adventures with my then friends when we were kids though. I'll probably always remember the days of making makeshift ramps for our bikes at an old abandoned dockyard. Pretty fun times.

I still have to experience cycling with my best friend. When I was in college, my chums and I would take an overnight trip to a resort for bonding. I can imagine the thrill if the 4 (sometimes there were 5) of us would be riding on our way to a nearby resort. It would really be great. However, that is only an imagination because at my age, my friends would just be laughing at me if ever I would suggest that.

I like to ride alone. Cycling for me is a solitary activity and maybe I'm just a "loner" or whatever, but I prefer it that way. Have ridden (rode?) with friends and family and in large groups and with my girlfriend at the time, and that's all really cool, but in the heart of it, I prefer riding alone.

I'm very much like you, bykster. I prefer to ride alone a lot and riding alone means I can go at my own pace and also just ride with no real destination in mind.

Some might find it boring but I've had some great adventures and found many interesting things on my travels alone.

Me too. I prefer riding alone. I enjoy the piece and quiet. That said, if your partner is into cycling then riding together several times per week I guess would be very enjoyable. Also depends on whether you ride for pleasure or are into some serious training. If you're into serious training for events / races then training alone is best in my opinion.

I would cycle with friends simply because my partner does not like bikes. We can certainly do other activities together but not cycling otherwise I will have to do a lot of explaining

I like to ride alone. I have taken long bike trips with family, and it was fun, but overall I ride to be alone! I can go at my own pace, pick my destination and change it on the way if I decide to go on a different route. Love the feeling of the wind, pedaling fast and hard, just being by myself. I can stop along the way to take photos with my camera, and not be distracted with other people riding with me.

tlspiegel said:

I like to ride alone. I have taken long bike trips with family, and it was fun, but overall I ride to be alone! I can go at my own pace, pick my destination and change it on the way if I decide to go on a different route. Love the feeling of the wind, pedaling fast and hard, just being by myself. I can stop along the way to take photos with my camera, and not be distracted with other people riding with me.

Gee, you seem to be a loner. It looks like you prefer to ride alone than ride with your family. In fairness to you, riding alone gives you the freedom of pacing by yourself. However, I cannot imagine myself riding alone for a distance because it would be lonely on the road and boring, yes, that would be a boring ride when I am alone so I sometimes join riding groups even if I do not know any of them.

No, I am NOT a loner! And, I don't have that family nearby anymore, so I couldn't ride with them if I wanted to. The husband passed away, and my children are grown and live very far from me.

I prefer to ride alone. I also like to run or jog by myself. But, I like to hike with my friends or neighbors.

tlspiegel said:

No, I am NOT a loner! And, I don't have that family nearby anymore, so I couldn't ride with them if I wanted to. The husband passed away, and my children are grown and live very far from me.

I prefer to ride alone. I also like to run or jog by myself. But, I like to hike with my friends or neighbors.

Sorry for your husband, and that your kids are far away. Last night I was thinking about how one day when I get married I would leave my parents behind, and that made me so sad. Then my dad will cycle alone, since mum does not cycle, and I cycle with him. I am his company.
Well, cycling alone is not actually bad at all, you do not have to wait for anyone, you do not have to set your speed to match theirs, too.

mayasupernova said:

Sorry for your husband, and that your kids are far away. Last night I was thinking about how one day when I get married I would leave my parents behind, and that made me so sad. Then my dad will cycle alone, since mum does not cycle, and I cycle with him. I am his company.
Well, cycling alone is not actually bad at all, you do not have to wait for anyone, you do not have to set your speed to match theirs, too.

Thank you mayasupernova for your kind words. Cycling alone has it's benefits, as you said. I never get bored when I am alone, whether it is bike riding or just staying inside my house. I learned a long time ago, to enjoy my own company! Being alone is not the same as being lonely. Being lonely is a sad thing for someone to go through.

Susimi said:

I'm very much like you, bykster. I prefer to ride alone a lot and riding alone means I can go at my own pace and also just ride with no real destination in mind.

Some might find it boring but I've had some great adventures and found many interesting things on my travels alone.

Yeah, I totally understand you. That feeling of freedom to just go wherever you feel like is truly awesome in my mind.

bykster said:

Yeah, I totally understand you. That feeling of freedom to just go wherever you feel like is truly awesome in my mind.

It's a really nice feeling to go alone.

In a group if I found something I wanted to take a closer look at I couldn't because I was in a group and it would have been selfish to alter course all because my curiosity got the better of me. When I'm alone I can do just that if I wish to. It's really great.

Largely alone nowadays as being a car-free utility cyclist doesn't lend itself to beiing social. And if I do a purely fitness ride it's always solo.

There is a good friend with whom I would ride quite frequently years past. We would do 80-100 mile fixed gear rides at night on the Natchez Trace Parkway in TN. I lived .5 mi. from the Trace by mile post 423 and once in awhile we'd ride south to the Alabama border and back. Never at night though. Not enough battery time for our lights. One night we DID ride w/o lighting as the moon was SO bright we didn't need any. Except for rear blinkies of course.

In the spring and fall we had a couple other fixed gear riders with whom we'd ride a city course on Nashville's MUPs. Going out was a pleasure as we'd start very early. Coming back was always a PITA dodging walkers, runners, baby carts, roller bladers, etc. All in a day's outing. lol Then there was the occasional roadie who'd go blasting by that we would inevitably re-pass on climbs. 🙂

For a pretty solid length of time my ex and I rode together frequently. Then she got bored with it and sold her bike. But, it WAS fun while it lasted.

Also, for a number of years I was a 200+ mile per week commuter. For 10 years I did between 8500-12000 miles per. Was riding everywhere. We lived rural so everything needed was at least 15 miles away. Had a trailer/mtb rig I would use for grocery hits. The supermarket was 17 miles away w/a 550 ft vertical drop/climb. More than once I'd go so long w/o driving my truck the battery would go dead. lol Goes without saying that commuting was ALWAYS solo.

Again living car-free doesn't allow for many social cycling forays. If any at all.

When I was a teenager, I normally had a crew of 4 or 5 friends that always rode with me. But, then we all grew up and went our separate ways. A couple of them still ride, but they do not live near me. I love riding alone, however, it would be nice to have my old friends come visit so we could ride together occasionally.

This one really depends on the route and the scenery. I love to go riding with my wife, but she does not really enjoy the more rigorous rides and going into the woods and all of that, which I like to do on occasion. For those I have to go with one of my good friends who we usually make a Saturday out of it or something, but its works out either way. I do like biking alone sometimes too though, some days certainly call for that.

[FONT=Georgia]Oh my goodness, I wouldn't want to cycle with my husband. He's just so competitive and would do anything to win, lol. I figure it would be great for a workout or to beat my record. But for just riding for fun, I doubt it would be fun if we're constantly wanting to out-win each other. Haha!

I think I would love to go with my best friend since she's quite a good listener. She can also make any situation light and fun because she's seriously a genuinely nice person. She is not competitive and would even find ways to make the ride easier for both of us. So yes, I'd definitely choose her as my cycling buddy as well.[/FONT]

My girlfriend isn't much a cyclist but she prefers to hit the gym for her exercise workout. I've got a buddy of mine who is also a cyclist, but just like me he has a tight schedule and we only get a few opportunities throughout the year to go cycling.

My partner (husband) is my best friend, so if I go cycling, I always go with him or with a large group of people, plus him. I never go out cycling alone for safety reasons, but I always feel somewhat uncomfortable when I am out on the bike, because people act like they've never seen one before. I get tired of being stared at as I ride by. I spend way too much time trying to figure out if I look funny/good, or if they like/hate the bike, or what the problem is. This makes it so I don't get as much enjoyment out of the ride as I should.