Pinkbike Poll: If Every Ride Was Solo, Would You Still Mountain Bike?
I'm pretty sure that the phrase 'social distancing' would have sounded like an insult only a short time ago. ''He's one of those social distancing types,'' might have been something you'd have quietly said about that odd duck you've seen on the trails for years who's always wearing definitely-not-comical-to-him mismatched riding gear and headphones. And always by himself, of course. He's not even listening to anything, by the way. Those cords are only there to dissuade any unwanted attempts at conversation when the trails are busy. It works.
If you're lucky enough to be able to ride your mountain bike during these strange times, you're probably doing your own version of social distancing. Maybe that means staying out of sweat and spittle range when riding with a friend, or maybe you're sticking to those solo missions until being told that the world is safer. Either way, mountain biking has become a much more solitary activity than many of us would prefer, which got me thinking: What if you couldn't ride with anyone?
I'm talking forever, not just a few more months.
One of the ways I've thought about different types of riders is to break it down into two distinct categories. There are those who love the social aspect of mountain biking; most of their singletrack time is spent with other people, often in groups, and the banter runs before, during, and after the ride ends. They probably need two hands to add up the buddies who're ready to head out at a moment's notice, and is it even a weekend if they didn't squeeze in a silly road trip that involved too much riding, too much alcohol, and not enough sleep?
For them, the social aspect of mountain biking can bring just as many smiles as the trail itself.
One of the ways I've thought about different types of riders is to break it down into two distinct categories. There are those who love the social aspect of mountain biking; most of their singletrack time is spent with other people, often in groups, and the banter runs before, during, and after the ride ends. They probably need two hands to add up the buddies who're ready to head out at a moment's notice, and is it even a weekend if they didn't squeeze in a silly road trip that involved too much riding, too much alcohol, and not enough sleep?
For them, the social aspect of mountain biking can bring just as many smiles as the trail itself.
And then there are those that think that all that sounds, well, not terrible, but also not that much fun. They don't mean any offense, and they're probably not an a*shole, for the most part. But they're definitely not serious when they say, "Yeah, give me a shout and we'll go for a ride,'' while slowly inching away. They probably have one or two a*shole-ish friends they roll with sometimes but not all the times, and they're more concerned with having a good ride than having good friends along with them. And they didn't hear you say hello because of the headphones that aren't plugged into anything. No offence.
For them, it's the riding itself that brings the most smiles.
Yes, mountain biking is, of course, not the least bit important during these surreal times of social distancing, shelter-in-place orders, and the actual pain and suffering that's happening. But let's not pretend that it isn't very important to all of us, regardless of if you're a social butterfly or if you've been social distancing for last few decades.
So, in a worst-case scenario, one where necessary social distancing is enforced to the point where your rides had to be solo from here on in, do you see yourself still riding years and years, even decades, into the future? Or does no riding buddies mean no riding?
309 Comments
but then again, I was raised by wolves
I mostly ride alone or with a dog. My dog never argues about route choice, he’s always happy to ride, and he’s funny as hell
So yeah, riding with buddies is cool, but I rode alone 90% of the time.
Now If the question was sex, for sure it’s good to have company, now we’re talking!
And I get to eat it all the time!
I've been wanting to do that everytime I see your name--haha. Man I miss Baseball season.
Seriously, I’m looking around thinking what the hell, then here she comes with a flower in her hair!
Come on, it’s a mountain bike ride, not a damn garden show!
I bought her a bike for her first birthday after we were married and she's good at riding streets and the paved bike paths now but it'll be a while before she's up to even moderate XC trails. I'd be happy of she was able to make it through, and I know she'd stop for flowers, but what the hell... that's one of the things I like about her!
I have four dogs, two still ride with me, two are retired. Healer, two Aussies, and an English Shepherd.
Over the years I’ve had more than a dozen dogs, they ride until they can’t, then they hike until they can’t, then it’s laying around until they’re ready for a long nap. I got an Aussie who is 18yo and he still goes on short hikes.
I’ll have a dog until I’m ready for a long nap.
Your best friend? Or have to Make a choice because their quality of life? Have some respect.
Hope yours lived a long/full life !
I think it's very sad that some people can't have love for animals and I think it says alot about their character.
Frankly, i've never met someone who has taken your position (i.e. dogs are simply animals, treat them as such) in business/my personal life that wasn't either a total piece of shit, or simply a waste of space.
I've tried to become more tolerant of others as I've gotten older, but honestly f*ck you.
I am giving you a benefit of doubt, because you too may have been raised by wolves
As a father of two (22m & 3m) 90% of my rides are solo sunrise rides right now.
Did this once in a while before fatherhood, but now it's the best was to keep shredding. And tbh: I love it! Get up at 4:50, leave at 5:00, pedal up and get a clear mind watching the sun rise. Shred down and be home at about 7 when the kids wake up. Doing this 2-3 times a week ans it gives me back more energy than it costs.
Do I miss regular riding with buddies? Sure as hell, but I still manage to do it once in a while!
Do I enjoy the silence and "only me" time without someone Else? F*** yeah!
Those early morning rides are a great way to start your day, asks less of your partner, you can still get several hours of ride in and I come home a ball of sunshine/positivity for whatever the day/kids throw at me.
Now, my 10 year old is pretty fun to ride with. So, I will ride with him and my wife for whatever loop they are up for, then I head back out solo for whatever I can fit in. My twice a year guys mountain biking trip has faded out as all us dads have had near impossible time aligning calendars.
It’s all good though. I still love riding now as much as ever and somewhere when I was training for ultra endurance events, I learned to love the long solo rides with the headphones ( really the only time I get to listen to music solo anymore outside the car, so it’s both my chance to either check out new music or enjoy old favorites).
In short, in my 35 years in this sport, I’ve switched to a group only guy to mostly a solo rider and whoever wrote this damn survey is some damn young punk who somehow thinks solo riders are a*sholes. f*ck him. Now, get off my lawn.
Hmm mid thirties eh? I’m only a few years younger and have infinite freedom and budget without kids lol...to each his own.
work + kids = go when you can, usually at random non-plannable times.
Missing option: oddball
Maybe offset a little by the first paragraph actually being an introspection/biopic.
I don't think I am one, but I can't be sure.
Sometimes I ride alone and sometimes I ride with friends, but I'm just glad that I don't have to ride with a*sholes who care about other people wearing matching gear.
Wtf? @mikelevy
My favorite thing about mountain biking is just how devoid of capital-C Cool it is. Think about it. There are less than 50 mountain bikers on the planet who would be seen as Cool by the rest of the Cool kids. It’s pretty much dorks the whole way down, which is what makes it so cool!
It is wholly adorable when anyone tries to pull rank in mountain biking—especially when they’re dressed in their matchy-matchy power ranger getup. I sincerely love it!
Looks like we’re easing back in to normal again at least. The familiarity of this post is comforting. Ahhhh...
I ride solo pretty much 100% of the time. I used to ride in groups relatively often, especially when I shuttled, but now I just prefer getting out on my own, at my own pace. I will be sociable if I run into other riders on the trail, but I don't seek out riding companions.
Happy to follow my nose on windy roads on a motorbike or get lost in a forest on my mountain bike. Darn some of those forest cutting machine tracks can be gnarly but so are Finnish Forests. When riding in Aus, I must remember to get out early before the snakes are awake.
I thought that wearing matching riding kit was a roadie or sponsored pro thing?!? If miss-matched kit stops you from talking to another biker ... that's unfortunate.
Never had a night or three when you should have left your clothes on ? My last bike ride with friends felt about the same...
And you can always get some quick relaxation solo
With nobody else
I ride alone, yeah,
With nobody else
You know when I ride alone,
I prefer to be by myself"
I live in a world, live in a world of my own creation
Live in a world, live in a world of my own"
*Disclaimer : in no lifetime ever is that possible but in my head.
They can keep up for the most part ha ha.
But they are faster on the DH - I find as I get older I"m not as fast as I used to think I was.
I almost exclusively ride hard when riding alone, but most other rides I try and do with my kids (who are solid riders but still young-enough to have a hard time keeping up). Same goes with the Snowboarding, but in that case I have buddies at my skill level I can ride with at least on one or two trips a year.
No similar skill riders in my friend circle so I ride alone.
I can't agree with you anymore!
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Working from time to time as trail guide is hard to ride solo,I ride along with hundreds of people. The people knows my bike and the pony tail,so it easy to meet a few people in every ride. Sometimes it feels like a little village when I go to the local bike park,turn a corner and chat for 20 min with someone over and over hahaha.
We still do ride together, but it's an effort to pull out the social graces upon encountering other riding/hiking/equestrian/ hunting groups. Usually a minimum of talk between the three of us, and maybe a bit more when meeting the real, social, groups.
But time goes by, one of us got dead, and now, the two of us still ride together a bit, but for for the most part, I ride solo. So does he. And we like it, "Jus' Lie' 'Dat".......
I´ll ride till i die of course and probably gonna build trails in my grave too. Just take care of yourselves so you don't have to go to ER in these times. Can be worse than ever. i feel for the nurses and doctors right now.
Last year I broke an arm while solo riding, and had to walk 1km to get outside the woods and reach the rendezvous point with the ambulance. Three months later I was up and running (awesome surgeon and physio btw!), solo riding again.
That said, I'm happy when I randomly meet other riders on the trails and join them.
Events? Good luck to us all. Would a promoter take the chance of holding one? Events of 20 riders per group, first group 10-12, next group meets 12:30-2:30, next 3:30-5:30. 30 minutes to disinfect in between?
Hurts my head when I consider the future.
"They don't mean any offense, and they're probably not an a*shole, for the most part."
Then the poll strongly shows that riding alone is what most of us actually do with no problem.
There are a whole host of valid reasons why folk ride alone without this making them bad people. As well as the reasons that are outside of their control, working hours, geography, lack of time etc. Or maybe it's to avoid judgemental people who look down those who are different in some irrelevant way.
Would you be up for changing “broskis” in the second question? This isn’t an accusation and I’m honestly not insinuating anything - it’s easy to oversee things and we all slip up ????
A little ironic maybe? Or can we only stand people when we don't have to look at them? Haha...
Meeting up with your pals to go riding, decide on a route ,have a ball..who cares if someone is faster/slower at the end of each ride,tales of sketchy jumps,roots etc..and a smile on your face
Coffee, cake or sneaky beer at the end..superb..
I personally have made friends for life biking, been to Canada, France, Switzerland, Wales, England and local to tweed valley biking with lads from all over the Uk and not once did I ever think " I wish I was alone " ..what is wrong with you werdio's ?
For example: they asked me if I am socially inept and called me a weirdo just because I wished I was alone. Couldn‘t hear their tales of heroism and far corners of the earth anymore. They didn‘t ride much, but they easily doubled their time away from their families by hanging out at the cafe...