Riding alone

[SJL]

As most of the posts stated. I ride when I can, regardless of other peoples schedules. I love riding with my buddies, but, we all have kids, jobs, etc.. when i am able to go, I go. Even if its just for half an hour or so. Life is a risk. You gotta take care of your responsibilities, but you have to live too. Ride smart, But, RIDE

[springer28]

I have more fun riding with friends we all ride in the same class so we are constantly racing each other on single track pushing each other we are all very competitive but we have tons of fun. I ride by my self some times but I do thank it can be dangerous where I ride at if something happened you probably want have cell service and it's 5,500 acres just safer and more enjoyable to me

[wildeman78]

Out riding alone right now. I have cell service and a couple people know where I am and when to expect me back. I also have a well stocked tool kit.

[arnego2]

While its without question that riding with mates is more fun it also cost way more time. 

Alone I ride 90 minutes from exit to return and do about 80 of the riding. With one mate I ride 90 minutes and I get 60 minutes of seat time. 

3 or more and the trip exceeds 2 hours of which 1 is for riding and 1 for talking. 

[used2Bfast]

95% of my rides are alone. Like today in a remote area high in the NC mtns.

[Doggitter]

I ride alone a lot more than I should probably, but I seem to get a lot more out of my riding when I do. I "usually" lower the speed and cut out some of the nastier stuff, but I find I pay attention to, and retain more of what I'm doing when I'm not riding with others. In the area I ride I usually find more cool places to ride and it's easier to stop and check them out, instead of feeling like I need to continue on with the others along. 

 

[malignity]

I prefer to ride with friends. I've had 3 instances where riding alone has bitten me pretty hard, and two were this year.

 

I'll start with the first, way back when. I was 14, riding my YZ250. I was doing a steep hill climb, and hit a fallen log. It ended up sending me over the side of the hill and down the bank. Over the other side of the bank, my bike had landed and pinned my foot in an awkward spot and I couldn't get the bike off me. I laid there for what I can only imagine was a couple of hours trying to get the bike off me, and finally was able to get it free. I don't recall how, but I recall it being pretty terrifying being trapped under my bike in the woods and being helpless to get it off me. 

 

The next two both happened this year, both alone. One was the 4th of July, one was about 3 weeks ago.

 

4th of July I was hitting up local trails as all the weekend warriors went home. It was 5pm on a Monday, and my trails are only legal to ride on with a license plate, so they see the occasional truck but nothing more. Wife texted me it was time to eat, so I started booking it home down a fire trail. I came around a blind corner only to find two SUV's racing side by side leaving me nowhere to go. I had to choose to either hit steel at 50 or hit the ground at 50. I chose the ground. Though I wear all my gear all the time, the impact to the ground still caused me to dislocate a rib. Luckily they stopped to see if I was okay, but there so many horror stories of people not stopping. I had to creep 15 miles home. 

 

Last event I was out finishing up a 70 mile loop on my local trails and came across a pretty muddy hill on a truck trail. My wife was at a work conference 200 miles away, and I was out alone where noone knew where I was. I wasn't planning on doing a super long ride and was only as the crow flies about 15 miles from home. Anyway, this hill... It was either circle back 20 miles or climb the hill and finish the loop and be on my way. I went for it despite my better judgement, and got stuck. I'm not talking about like a little mud here, I'm talking about a 30 foot long 16" deep clay mud hole that sucks you and your bike in to the point of no return. After about 45 minutes of literally dragging my bike with all of my strength and utter exhaustion, I got the bike on the bank and decided to skirt the hill and just ride the bank. 

 

Wrong idea. My mud caked rear tire slipped down the bank, causing me to then endo the bike, having it land completely upside down in the mud I just spent 45 minutes to get it out of.

 

At this point I was out of water from my camel back, it was about 95 degrees with 400% humidity, and I was about done with life. Then I saw it... my gas started leaking out of the gas tank being upside down. 

 

Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Now I'm on the clock a second time with much worse circumstances. 

 

Needless to say, that was a pretty horrifying moment. I realized then that A.) No one was there to help me. B.) No one would be able to get to me even if they were, and C.) I may very much have had to leave my bike and may never find it again in the woods if I did. 

 

I got home and I literally looked like Swamp Thing. Head to toe in mud. I had to dig, claw, drag, fight, slip, fall, you name it to get this thing out, and I did. I wisely circled back too. 

 

I honestly don't like riding alone. I am overly cautious when riding alone, but there are still lapses in judgement, saying "ah well, it's not that bad" (even after 28 years of riding) and there are times where situations are out of your control. 

 

I ride alone only if I have to, not because I want to. I wish there were cheaper alternatives to the SPOT GPS locator system or an Android alternative. It'd make me feel a bit more safe when doing so. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by malignity

[arnego2]

Hm when riding alone caution is petty important. Racing down a fire road believing you are the only person riding this trail is not what I'd call cautious.  

[CDNSXV]

I had a stupid and minor fall the other day and ended up with my foot trapped between the bike and a broken branch. Felt stupid needing my buddy to free me but that is why I ride with a buddy.

[Piney Woods]

 Speak for your self please.

 

 I ride solo frequently, often in untracked terrain. I frequently get off the bike and walk a tricky or obscure section before riding it.

I understand what you are saying. ?  But, if we were smart we wouldn't be out there alone.

[motovita]

I understand what you are saying. ?  But, if we were smart we wouldn't be out there alone.

 

 I'd say being smart is a requirement for riding alone. It's all about personal responsibility and awareness.

[andrzej]

Like many here, I ride solo and enjoy it.  I  tend to tone it down a notch when riding solo most of the time, and make sure someone knows approximately how long I'll be out for.  Full gear and full tool kit as well, including an epi-pen since I'm allergic to wasps, and a cell phone. I also ride in a County forest close to my home...and am never more than a few kms away from a road, so not like I would be stuck in the wilderness if I did get into trouble.

 

I'll typically skirt big obstacles (we have some wicked, loose rock piles) when solo, since it's easier to get squirrely on stuff like that and lose it. Better to have a buddy around just in case for such stuff.

 

Never have liked riding in larger groups. Too much of a rubber band effect as the group gets stretched out and the fast guys wait up front, then take off as soon as they see the last rider.  So the one in the back gets less rest, but they are the ones that need it most.  Max of 5 in a group is about it for me, and even that can be pushing it. Two or three riders of similar ability on tight single track seems to be my favourite. 

 

One thing I've noticed is I can get a lot more riding/distance in for a specific amount of time when solo. Much fewer stops and the stops are shorter.  Though the social aspects of riding with friends, where you stop and chat more often are fun as well. And then there is the recap, ribbing and stories over a few cold brews after the ride. Much more fun with buddies!

 

Hard to find guys to ride with during the week....so that is often when I do the solo thing and save the group riding for weekends.

 

I know guys who refuse to ride solo.  I don't mind it, and sometimes appreciate not having to compromise and focus just on my own riding, at my own pace, whatever that happens to be that day.

[motoxvet]

Like many here, I ride solo and enjoy it.  I  tend to tone it down a notch when riding solo most of the time, and make sure someone knows approximately how long I'll be out for.  Full gear and full tool kit as well, including an epi-pen since I'm allergic to wasps, and a cell phone. I also ride in a County forest close to my home...and am never more than a few kms away from a road, so not like I would be stuck in the wilderness if I did get into trouble.

 

I'll typically skirt big obstacles (we have some wicked, loose rock piles) when solo, since it's easier to get squirrely on stuff like that and lose it. Better to have a buddy around just in case for such stuff.

 

Never have liked riding in larger groups. Too much of a rubber band effect as the group gets stretched out and the fast guys wait up front, then take off as soon as they see the last rider.  So the one in the back gets less rest, but they are the ones that need it most.  Max of 5 in a group is about it for me, and even that can be pushing it. Two or three riders of similar ability on tight single track seems to be my favourite. 

 

One thing I've noticed is I can get a lot more riding/distance in for a specific amount of time when solo. Much fewer stops and the stops are shorter.  Though the social aspects of riding with friends, where you stop and chat more often are fun as well. And then there is the recap, ribbing and stories over a few cold brews after the ride. Much more fun with buddies!

 

Hard to find guys to ride with during the week....so that is often when I do the solo thing and save the group riding for weekends.

 

I know guys who refuse to ride solo.  I don't mind it, and sometimes appreciate not having to compromise and focus just on my own riding, at my own pace, whatever that happens to be that day.

I agree with everything you said.  You and I have the same views on riding alone.  I'm also in a "captive" are so as far as breakdowns are concerned, I'm within  a 30 min. walk of a county road. Another 15 min. walk and I'm at "home base".

[Trinity707]

I mostly ride alone.  I am looking to get a personal locator beacon.  Anybody use the Delorme?  I do not think the spot would work for me since I ride remote mountains.

[motoxvet]

I mostly ride alone.  I am looking to get a personal locator beacon.  Anybody use the Delorme?  I do not think the spot would work for me since I ride remote mountains.

There's been a lot of discussion of beacons and locators in the DUAL SPORT/ADVENTURE sub-forum.  See if you can find users there.

[malignity]

I mostly ride alone.  I am looking to get a personal locator beacon.  Anybody use the Delorme?  I do not think the spot would work for me since I ride remote mountains.

 

SPOT uses GPS satellite. It'll work anywhere in the world. Delorme is similar if I recall, but allows for more detailed messages to be sent. 

[CDNSXV]

SPOT uses GPS satellite. It'll work anywhere in the world. Delorme is similar if I recall, but allows for more detailed messages to be sent.

That's not entirely true. SPOT like any sat phone runs off one of two different systems and neither has total global coverage. Also down in a deep or steep valley it may not be able to see any satellites, especially when far north or south.

[Trinity707]

Does the DeLorme work better than the Spot in deep wooded canyons?  I read this somewhere on the web.  

 

I like the idea of the DeLorme because if i break down, I may be able to get some help from friends or family.

 

I read about this topic in the DUAL SPORT/ADVENTURE sub-forum.  Thanks motoxvet.

[dyrtmon]

Does the DeLorme work better than the Spot in deep wooded canyons?  I read this somewhere on the web.  

 

I like the idea of the DeLorme because if i break down, I may be able to get some help from friends or family.

 

I read about this topic in the DUAL SPORT/ADVENTURE sub-forum.  Thanks motoxvet.

 

It's like everything else: If something is blocking the signal to the satellite or repeater your going to have to re position.

[ModernRider]

Just like solo boating, flying, or hiking, always tell someone where you will be and when to expect a call from you. I ride 90% solo and really enjoy it.

I second that. Get a SPOT GPS and have a buddy who you trust check on your progress while he's playing video games and eating pizza roles. The buddy can use the app on his phone.