Who rides alone ?

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Partially inspired by k3n!f's post about his big off...

Who rides alone ? do you think about what would happen if you had a big stack ? Do you put off a ride if you can't round up some company ?

This morning I was stoked to have done a bigger (by my standards) drop off than I usually tackle. And then it occurred to me that I'm usually riding on my own, and if I had a bad stack that wouldn't be such a good thing.

Not gunna stop me but I've been so caught up in the enjoyment of riding and progressing on a new bike, that when it did occur to me I was like 'oh shit I haven't really considered a few things here'
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Yeah, I do, but it's more a product of where I live and commuting to work.

Mrs George takes a little comfort from my Garmin having a built in incident detector that sends her a message with my location if I don't push the buttons in time.

The terrain around here means I'm probably more likely to be bitten by a Brown Snake
 

Minlak

custom titis
So many options to protect yourself with alerts to concerned parties if you come off or can’t move. I’m horrible at doing any of it. My missus knows I am probably in the forest if I don’t come home.
Just the other day I left home at 5am and she started calling at midday ish. I just assume I’m coming home lol.
 

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
I ride alone all the time.
I kinda feel 2 ways about it.
On the one hand, like OP, I'm risking a big stack and no one around to help - I have had some decent stacks but always rode out bleeding & dazed OK (touch wood)

On the other hand, I really like riding alone.
I get my own head space.
I can ride at MY pace on that particular day.
I can turn around and ride a section again if I'm not happy with line choice or flow
I can call it quits if I'm flogged or have to be somewhere.
I don't have to accommodate someone's preferences/fears/habits/criticism/trail choice/equipment failure etc etc
.... And likewise I don't have to feel the guilt /regret of causing the same things to them.






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cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
I get my own head space.
This is the thing that I miss the most about not riding alone much anymore, but a few decent crashes including one KO and subsequent concussion a few years back started a train of thought that couldn't be ignored. I've been very lucky to find a couple of mates with similar riding abilities, fitness levels and interests over that time which kept the drama and faffing to a tolerable level.

On a slight tangent but still on topic I purchased a Garmin inReach mini the other day after watching that movie 127 hours and just imagining the conversations I'd have with myself if I ended up in a similar situation and had decided that I was too tight to buy one.
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I ride a fair bit on my own but tend to stick to popular network. Would love to do a bit more exploring but am conscious it could be a ong time before someone else comes across me. Probably wouldn't have that mindset if it wasn't for a crash a couple of years ago that broke a few ribs, and punctured a lung. Was fortunate to have someone come behind me (guy I was riding with was at bottom of hill already) after less than 2-3mins helped me get out and ambulance called etc, if I was on one of the less ridden tracks I would have been in a lot of trouble.
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
and I second all of this:

on the other hand, I really like riding alone.
I get my own head space.
I can ride at MY pace on that particular day.
I can turn around and ride a section again if I'm not happy with line choice or flow
I can call it quits if I'm flogged or have to be somewhere.
I don't have to accommodate someone's preferences/fears/habits/criticism/trail choice/equipment failure etc etc
.... And likewise I don't have to feel the guilt /regret of causing the same things to them.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Several years ago I got paranoid about riding alone in 'forests' where there are only MTB trails. Got myself a Spot2 Tracker mainly for a snake bite. I used to put it on 'track' and If the missus actually cared, she could see where I was ~10mins previous.

After 2 years I cancelled it as the yearly subscription was a rip off.

These days I ride local trails where there is phone reception, if I'm going somewhere remote, there is usually more than just me.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
What @born-again-biker says resonates with me too. Used to almost ride alone exclusively but have a few people I can ride with now. Not having someone to ride with won’t stop me going out though, as my main motivations for riding are exercise, the head space and enjoyment.

I will ride a little more conservatively when I’m alone though, perhaps take a few more B-lines than usual and that sort of thing to reduce the likelihood of a bad stack. Always have my phone with me too, and we run the “Life360” app (works on iOS and Android) which is a free GPS tracking app, so at least my wife knows where to find me - it shows if I’m moving or not, but doesn’t have any man down alert AFAIK.
 

Jpez

Down on the left!
I occasionally ride on my own. Mainly at the You Yangs.
I won’t ride the two double black DH trails alone because they sometimes rarely see anyone on them.
If I have an off and can’t get out myself I’m on my own. At least on the other trails I know someone will come past.
A fella tragically died about 2 years ago on one of the trails I mentioned.
Riding alone. Was found the next morning.

Still don’t know if he had a bad off or a heart attack or something but I often think about him and the possibilities.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Usually alone. I love it, its my time out. I would have been committed by now without that escape. I do like riding with others though when I'm feeling sociable - which is not all that often but I''m getting better at it.

The big OTB stack at Buller recently however made me ponder riding solo when way out there though. Even at Stromlo on a quiet Tuesday afternoon I wondered how long it would have been before someone came along after messing up a drop out the back...
 

Art Vanderlay

Hourly daily
Most of my rides are alone. Like others, its just a nice time to myself.
I did have a good stack 2 years ago while out riding alone. No memory of the crash and the next few days were pretty hazy as well. Someone found me, called an ambulance. Only damage in the end was a bad concussion, broken nose and a few stitches.
I still ride alone and still love it.
 

Elpho

Likes Bikes
About 75% of my rides are alone, I just usually try keep to the more popular areas when riding by myself now ever since having a very close encounter with a tiger snake, and also use the livetrack feature on my garmin so the mrs can see where I am if anything does happen.
 

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
On the other hand, I really like riding alone.
I get my own head space.
I can ride at MY pace on that particular day.
I can turn around and ride a section again if I'm not happy with line choice or flow
I can call it quits if I'm flogged or have to be somewhere.
I don't have to accommodate someone's preferences/fears/habits/criticism/trail choice/equipment failure etc etc
.... And likewise I don't have to feel the guilt /regret of causing the same things to them.
Strongly agree with all the above, the trails I've been riding are popular but being in the south west of WA our population is spread pretty thin compared to the East Coast. On a weekday there might not be anyone else on the same loop as me. I've come to take it for granted having my own head space, fishing/boating is another opportunity for that but after all that time in the NT fishing can be pretty lame here, I'd rather go for a ride.
 
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