Cycling alone or with a friend? Some people prefer the alone rides, but with cycling, people often prefer to ride together. I am not ready to ride in groups yet (too much risk of falling) but I do know I prefer to ride with a friend.
This is why:
- Last week I planned to do a 65-kilometer ride. I ended up doing 100 km, because I took the wrong turn and got completely lost. This would not have happened if I had been cycling with somebody else. One of the advantages of not cycling alone: Not getting lost.
- My fastest rides are always when cycling with a friend. The moment I want to give up, he goes on, and vice versa. Riding with a friend advantage: Go faster.
- During a bike ride my brain is always on another level of thinking. More creative, more random, more focussed, all this time to crunch on a single thought or idea. It’s great to talk about these thoughts having a break, and crunch on with some new insights. Advantage here: New insights.
- When riding alone I tend to check my phone more often, is there a message, a tweet, anything? – in order to take my mind off the endless route. This is more difficult with a friend, because of the tempo. This makes me more susceptible to my surroundings and makes me appreciate the ride more. Advantage: Offline time makes me focus more.
Looking at my phone doesn’t make it any faster!
The weird ride of a roadbiker getting lost…
Oooooh a view! Must take picture! Again, not good for the average speed…
The moment the road stopped and I realised I must have taken a wrong turn. Again!
This being said, the hours and hours of Iron Man training is mostly cycled alone. So I have to be creative and think of ways to enjoy them to the fullest! I feel a new blogpost coming, something to think about during my next bike ride!
Coming up next: the advantages of riding alone!
