Anyone Cycling on your own-what are your routines?

[geocycle]

I prefer riding on my own, mainly as it gives me the head space I don’t get most days. I always thought of this as a bubble before bubbles had covid connotation. Where I go is a function of wind direction and rain. I tend to move between lakes, dales and Bowland. Motivation is a mixture of cake and endorphins. However the your ride today community here helps as does the 50 mile challenge this year.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

These days I tend to ride all the way out to some random train station somewhere on the network that my town's lines serve (maybe 30-40 miles away) and then get a train back, or I do it the other way around and I get a train somewhere random and then ride home from there. The route nearly always varies and I see new things and new scenery. I like exploring and stopping for pics of interesting views and places rather than destroying mileage records or thinking about numbers.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I spend a lot of time planning my routes. They have various destinations and themes. Sometimes a climbing target, sometimes a place or a thing as destination. Sometimes a track that draws a picture. Collecting place names A-Z. All kind of daft pointless excuses. I always like to have a planned route.

I do one 100 mile ride per month for the CC imperial century a month challenge. Other rides emerge from whatever daft route planning exercise I've set myself.

Today I've been working on a route that visits the Ham/Sandwich road sign in Kent.

 

[baby-boop-boops]

I tend to stick to the same coastal route myself, its about 27 miles, occasionally I will do more of a detour back home and make it up to a straight 30 miles. I wish I knew how to do the wind thing I hate head wind 8 to 10 miles is really good. My garmin watch tells me how many hours recovery to take, on these days I should go for a more gentler ride. I need to train myself for recovery rides ( I find it hard not to push myself) I also do alot of walking. I sometimes take a coffee and a sandwich with me!

 

[Alex321]

Virtually all my rides are from home (Commutes counting as one round trip with a 9 hour stop ).

During the week, when working from home, they will be either immediately after work, so setting out about 4:40, or I'll wait until after dinner and go out about 7ish. I try to make most of those rides something between 45-75 minutes, so usually between 12 and 20 miles. I also have a few 9-10 mile routes for when my wife says "don't be too long".

Normally two days a week I'm in the office, and that is a 15 miles each way commute, normally by bike unless there is significant risk of ice.

Weekends or other days off, when not too busy, I'll try to get in at least one 30+ mile ride, not usually much over that so far. The longest I've done to date is 41.1 miles.

For my weekday rides, I have about 8-9 main route choices, with each of those having a few variations. And every now and then I'll just decide to explore a road I haven't tried at all before.

 

[cyberknight]

I just get up and follow my nose , very rarely set off with a complete route in mind , I just make it up as I ride .

i get lost at the bottom of my road i need to plan.

 

[biggs682]

i get lost at the bottom of my road i need to plan.

Shame on you , it's great just following your nose

 

[night cycler]

I found these replies interesting. There were things mentioned that I can identify with. One aspect was 'incorporating an element of interest' in to the ride. The ride then becomes a day out. Taking a packed lunch, stopping at interesting places, looking forward to the cafe stop, taking photos, talking things through to ourselves, preferring to ride alone. Thank you for sharing this.

I like to incorporate little things too. I've planted a few Rowan saplings about one mile from home. The ground area is quite dry and sandy, and I take a few bottles of water in the bag to ensure they survive until established. Another thing I do is taking bread for a pair of swans on the canal. As soon as I prop the bike up and go to the edge , they come to the edge too.

I often find myself working through things as I cycle along. I ask the questions and am often able to provide answers in the solitude of the ride. I sometimes pray too. I'm not much of a singer but there is one thing I sometimes do. You may want to try this as described below. You can do variants of this.

I like to see if I can use a different part of the brain at the same time as cycling (preferably off road !) So for example, starting from 300 I count backwards by 4. So 300, 296, 292 and so on until you reach zero. It sounds easy, but have a go. Observe what happens when you need to negotiate something in front of you. Entering an underpass, coming to a junction, people walking towards you, uneven road surface like pot holes. Observe what happens to the backward counting as the brain prioritises.

 

[kingrollo]

This question is aimed at anyone that tends to cycle alone, as it is what I do. When I go out on the bike I tend to do the same route, occasionally varying slightly to get to the same destination.

If I reach my monthly mileage target before the month end, I do what I call 'top up' rides. These top ups are shorter distances but with more focus on hills, so almost like an HIT ride. I find these take more effort/energy. Harder on the cardio side for sure.

So, without the company/influence etc from fellow riders, what is your cycling routine like?

On my own I tend to stick to two or three routes.

I am in a club so hop onto there rides if It want a change or longer ride.

 

[nagden]

I am a lone cyclist. I prefer it that way. I set the pace and only have myself to worry about. I am spoilt by the number of routes available to me. I invariably cycle first thing in the morning and visit a local bar for a coffee and a chat close to home.

 

[cyberknight]

today i actually followed my nose sticking to old known rides as i wasnt in any rush so just enjoyed the sun and the downhills

 

[Mike_P]

I'm always a slow starter so usually have something to eat before setting off c. noon and take with me something to eat every hour. To get away from the same old routes I've been doing village (etc) nameboards in differing orderings, alphabetically, keyboard, 2nd letter, 2nd word.. etc. One particular long climb is the only one where I resort to counting, can I make it the top of the final ramp before reaching 100. Whatever route the app suggests (I usually use Komoot) I follow the unknown roads on Google Streetscene. One route earlier this year took me through never cycled before Pontefract and worryingly had a right turn on an uphill dual carriageway. Figured that by the time I got their on a Sunday afternoon it should be pretty quiet and indeed it was.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I found these replies interesting. There were things mentioned that I can identify with. One aspect was 'incorporating an element of interest' in to the ride. The ride then becomes a day out. Taking a packed lunch, stopping at interesting places, looking forward to the cafe stop, taking photos, talking things through to ourselves, preferring to ride alone. Thank you for sharing this.

I like to incorporate little things too. I've planted a few Rowan saplings about one mile from home. The ground area is quite dry and sandy, and I take a few bottles of water in the bag to ensure they survive until established. Another thing I do is taking bread for a pair of swans on the canal. As soon as I prop the bike up and go to the edge , they come to the edge too.

I often find myself working through things as I cycle along. I ask the questions and am often able to provide answers in the solitude of the ride. I sometimes pray too. I'm not much of a singer but there is one thing I sometimes do. You may want to try this as described below. You can do variants of this.

I like to see if I can use a different part of the brain at the same time as cycling (preferably off road !) So for example, starting from 300 I count backwards by 4. So 300, 296, 292 and so on until you reach zero. It sounds easy, but have a go. Observe what happens when you need to negotiate something in front of you. Entering an underpass, coming to a junction, people walking towards you, uneven road surface like pot holes. Observe what happens to the backward counting as the brain prioritises.

If I'm struggling I start at 1 and keep doubling the number, it soon takes your mind off what is causing you to struggle

 

[mustang1]

I have a few routes, just mix and match however i feel on that day. Sometimes road, sometimes mtb.

And sometimes jusy a random route here and there. Sometimes hills, sometimes flat. From my place ifg i head west, its all flat. In any other direction, its hilly.

I dont have a weekly mileage target - as long as i get out on the bike most days, i'm fine.

I tend to ride a lot less when the kids are on holidays as inwant to spend most time with them.

Nowadays i plan longer routes and give mrs mustang heads up a couple of weeks in advance.

Sometimes if i really want to go out and ride but i cannot, i dont fret about it.

In a nutshell, i go out pretty much daily and longer rides require a tiny bit of planning. I dont even know how to use gpx files, i just wing it on the day.

 

[FishFright]

When riding on my own just for pleasure I head out and see where I end up and then ride home.