Touring- solo or in pairs or more?
- Thread starter Oldhippy
- Start date
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Let's say our weekend 'activities' do have a high casualty rate. Broken bikes twice, broken body a few times, especially the off road ones. I wasn't on this year's road tour, but it ended up with a broken body again. We are doing something wrong.... all fun though, come back next time. I was 'out' this year recovering from a broken pelvis (yeh riding a bike again).
Just need a little river tour, in the sun, nothing techy....
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
You’ll probably ride into the river and almost drown…
I’m sorry to hear about you mishaps but I’m not sure how relates to my mentioning other posters social avoidance. 🤷🏼♂️
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
It's not mishaps, it's the adventure. The riding together etc - these were quite hard off road routes - KAW, Pennine Bridleway etc, that are marketed as easy - they are not. It would possibly have been a nightmare on your own TBH.
The KAW was a challenge. We did it September last year, been relatively dry before hand. The caulk was a nightmare with slight overnight rain on gravel tyres - very different from the Peaks where I ride. First day, nearly lost it when we bogged down. It was worthy of a comedy sketch. Wheels didn't move, scrambled off a 6 foot plus embankment to a field where we bogged again. Over 30 minutes to do 50m. Anyway, we did it. Got piddled before it, didn't really touch much in the ride, got piddled after it. It was hard.
wakemalcolm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ratho
I have some great conversations with people when I'm traveling in my own, and I'm not just talking to the voices in my head. During my last trip I kept on bumping into people who wished they were touring and wanted to share tales of the road.
Psamathe
Über Member
Solo.
Maybe selfish in that I cycle the distance I want at the speed I want to the destination I want, etc.
I tour without any plan and without any schedule, deciding each evening where to head tomorrow. Generally a couple of months each year normally into France then round through Belgium and/or Germany into Netherlands then home.
But reality is the cycling is solo but interact with loads of others. I camp and much of the time campervan folks seem to want to chat, make me coffee, even once had somebody bring me over a plate loaded evening meal in case I was hungry! So solo but very sociable (far more so than life at home).
Maybe selfish in that I cycle the distance I want at the speed I want to the destination I want, etc.
I tour without any plan and without any schedule, deciding each evening where to head tomorrow. Generally a couple of months each year normally into France then round through Belgium and/or Germany into Netherlands then home.
But reality is the cycling is solo but interact with loads of others. I camp and much of the time campervan folks seem to want to chat, make me coffee, even once had somebody bring me over a plate loaded evening meal in case I was hungry! So solo but very sociable (far more so than life at home).
I'm lucky in that I have two of the best cycling buddies for when we go touring. We've done multiple tours of Spain and France together which have been fabulous.
It seems to work very well for us. Especially me as I'm a social rider and dont belong to a racing cycle club..
On tours, at times we ride together having a good old natter, chewing the fat and marvelling at the passing scenery, at others, cycling in our own space and at our own speed but always stopping to regroup.
If someone wants to stop for a beer, food, photo op, to have a nose at something or just to have a rest, its no problem.
It seems to work very well for us. Especially me as I'm a social rider and dont belong to a racing cycle club..
On tours, at times we ride together having a good old natter, chewing the fat and marvelling at the passing scenery, at others, cycling in our own space and at our own speed but always stopping to regroup.
If someone wants to stop for a beer, food, photo op, to have a nose at something or just to have a rest, its no problem.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Id want the peace and quiet of going alone and only having to watch out for myself.
wakemalcolm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ratho
You sure it's not because nobody wants to tour with a man who uses his y-fronts as a safety flag?
PaulSB
Squire
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
I have always toured solo but I am now 71 and have had a couple of serious, life threatening, health scares in the last ten years. I'm fully recovered.
Age and possible health issues have persuaded me solo touring is no longer a sensible option. I ride regularly with two very good friends, we have much in common and similar attitudes to life and cycling. We've tried to plan a couple of tours but life keeps getting in the way.
I do have a plan to go on cycling holidays with a company like Saddle Skedaddle in the future. My understanding is the group often splits in to 2s and 3s or even solo with a backup vehicle. That would work for me.
The key to successful "private" touring with others is everyone in the group must be roughly equally matched from the cycling perspective. All rubbing along well and being of a similar outlook would be a good idea.
By "private" I mean organised between a bunch of friends.
Age and possible health issues have persuaded me solo touring is no longer a sensible option. I ride regularly with two very good friends, we have much in common and similar attitudes to life and cycling. We've tried to plan a couple of tours but life keeps getting in the way.
I do have a plan to go on cycling holidays with a company like Saddle Skedaddle in the future. My understanding is the group often splits in to 2s and 3s or even solo with a backup vehicle. That would work for me.
The key to successful "private" touring with others is everyone in the group must be roughly equally matched from the cycling perspective. All rubbing along well and being of a similar outlook would be a good idea.
By "private" I mean organised between a bunch of friends.
