Riding alone most of the time, do you?

[NotSoBigBen]

If I had a dollar (no not a ZA rondt) for everytime I've heard 'you must be mad the amount of riding you do alone, it's not safe' .... My wife says I don't play well with others and that's why I prefer it 😝

I'm well aware of the risks and I do try to be as safe as possible knowing that's no guarantee.

I know I'm not the only one since here and there I do see other riders out on their own.

My question is are there other hubbers that ride alone most of the time despite the danger?

[AkwA]

I ride alone, probably about half the time, but pretty much exclusively in more closed off places.
My watch has a crash sensor that phones my emergency contacts, I dont try anything new or stupid when alone and not super scared of a robbery as everything is insured.

[Sepia]

I only ride alone.  Always have.  I also think I am crazy but I cannot tolerate idle chatter and the "race" a social ride eventually turns out to be.

[BaGearA]

7 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

If I had a dollar (no not a ZA rondt) for everytime I've heard 'you must be mad the amount of riding you do alone, it's not safe' .... My wife says I don't play well with others and that's why I prefer it 😝

I'm well aware of the risks and I do try to be as safe as possible knowing that's no guarantee.

I know I'm not the only one since here and there I do see other riders out on their own.

My question is are there other hubbers that ride alone most of the time despite the danger?

 

I ride alone most of the time

 

But 90% of my riding is within controlled areas 

 

The few road rides I have done as of late I have left my phone in the car , this whole banking app kidnapping thing popping up has had me worried. 

 

I do carry a burner phone with enough airtime for a few calls and an emergency num displayed as the screen saver/wallpaper 

[Jako De Wet]

We normally ride in a small group (2-5) people.

That said, I do ride alone some mornings, but that would be in familiar spots like GSpot/Helderberg.
I will also never do any new features when I am alone, stick to what I know is low risk.

[Bike Dewing]

I ride alone most of the time.. around fourways, rivonia, kyalami and out to and around the cradle.. sometimes ride with a mate on weekends.. never had any issues, yet, touch wood..😬

I’ve always kind of just done things on my own.. skating, surfing, golf and very rarely in groups.. played a lot of team sport in school but always struggled with it.. 

[Danger Dassie]

Touched a sore point for me, people often get so shrill and irrational when they hear someone rides/runs/hikes alone. NEVER GO ALONE! Jesus man, calm your farm and take a breath. 

Often out on my own as well, because sometimes I just like to zone out in my own space and missions. Plus not everyone has the same work schedule/life commitments, so it's also a case of practicallity. 

I'll practice basic outdoor code, if lost back to a point where you're familiar with the surroundings. Know your route and times, share them, wether it's a live location or with someone you know. Try and practice situational awareness of your surroundings and know ahead of time if there are hotspots and/or dangers. An emergency button/app is a great help. 
If in a group, DON'T just ride your mates off and leave them, keep them in sight. Not just because of crime but also mechanicals or a crash. 
Again, this is just basic outdoor code stuff, which too many people ignore unfortunately. 

[RobertWhitehead]

I used to ride alone around 95% of the time, now I also ride alone on the trainer . I just can't see why I need to ride outdoors, especially here in PTA, all the routes have been cycled a billion times and the new added dangers on top of that just doesn't make sense anymore. 

[Shebeen]

37 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

If I had a dollar (no not a ZA rondt) for everytime I've heard 'you must be mad the amount of riding you do alone, it's not safe' .... My wife says I don't play well with others and that's why I prefer it 😝

I'm well aware of the risks and I do try to be as safe as possible knowing that's no guarantee.

I know I'm not the only one since here and there I do see other riders out on their own.

My question is are there other hubbers that ride alone most of the time despite the danger?

 

All the time. 

[The Ouzo]

I ride just about exclusively alone. I know the risks, try and avoid hotspots and try and time my rides when there is less traffic.

My wife gets an email everytime I start my garmin (when the damned feature works) and she can track me on my rides. But if I'm mugged and my cell taken then that feature is useless.

I mostly ride the same routes and take roughly the same time, so she know where to find me.

 

I have come to terms with the risks, made myself believe that I take the precautions needed to be as safe as possible, and made myself believe that when my time comes, I could just as easily be walking down the road or driving in the car.

 

Like the others above, I prefer to be in my own head and not have to deal with group chit chat / politics / egos.

[Bike Dewing]

2 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

Touched a sore point for me, people often get so shrill and irrational when they hear someone rides/runs/hikes alone. NEVER GO ALONE! Jesus man, calm your farm and take a breath. 

Often out on my own as well, because sometimes I just like to zone out in my own space and missions. Plus not everyone has the same work schedule/life commitments, so it's also a case of practicallity. 

I'll practice basic outdoor code, if lost back to a point where you're familiar with the surroundings. Know your route and times, share them, wether it's a live location or with someone you know. Try and practice situational awareness of your surroundings and know ahead of time if there are hotspots and/or dangers. An emergency button/app is a great help. 
If in a group, DON'T just ride your mates off and leave them, keep them in sight. Not just because of crime but also mechanicals or a crash. 
Again, this is just basic outdoor code stuff, which too many people ignore unfortunately. 

I hear that.! Also for me.. I’ve literally just got back from a two hour ride on my own.. who’s going to be able to join me on a Wednesday afternoon for that..?

I tell my wife roughly how long I’m going to be and if I’m longer she’ll contact me.. if I get knocked off my bike my garmin will notify her🤷🏼‍♂️.. 

I put in my AirPods(Spatial Audio on) and I just go.. I can still hear everything around me and from firearms/SD training my situational awareness is very good.. 

it’s my happy place..

[NotSoBigBen]

So I'm not alone 😎

I do use Garmin Livetrack which goes to my wife, my son and daughter in law ... As mentioned it works most of the time but occasionally 'drops out', loadshedding I'm sure doesn't help!

We also have a white board in our kitchen and I always write a short ride plan and what time I expect to be home since she's mostly still in bed when I leave.

[Underachiever]

49 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

If I had a dollar (no not a ZA rondt) for everytime I've heard 'you must be mad the amount of riding you do alone, it's not safe' .... My wife says I don't play well with others and that's why I prefer it 😝

I'm well aware of the risks and I do try to be as safe as possible knowing that's no guarantee.

I know I'm not the only one since here and there I do see other riders out on their own.

My question is are there other hubbers that ride alone most of the time despite the danger?

 

98% of the time. 

[Bike Dewing]

6 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

So I'm not alone 😎

I do use Garmin Livetrack which goes to my wife, my son and daughter in law ... As mentioned it works most of the time but occasionally 'drops out', loadshedding I'm sure doesn't help!

We also have a white board in our kitchen and I always write a short ride plan and what time I expect to be home since she's mostly still in bed when I leave.

I’ve never been able to get the garmin live tracking to work..🤷🏼‍♂️

[Frosty]

If I ride outside, during the week, it will be alone 99.99% of the time. Mostly because I ride/train in the afternoon; it fits my life schedule. All my friends are riding very early mornings before sunrise, or before brunch (some retired folk). Also, my needs to training will require that certain training is done solo.

I’ll ride in the suburbs only, mostly because help (if ever needed) is close by.

But, I do enjoy riding with my club, which will be weekends and public holidays. I enjoy both solo and group rides, and it wouldn’t be as good if it was exclusively one or the other.

[Stoffel76]

I ride alone often, but it's mostly on the green belts in southern suburbs to Tokai or over Kirstenbosch, or if we're away, the Hemel & Aarde trails in Hermanus so relatively safe from a crime perspective.  I will tell my wife my planned route.

 

Always ride with my cellphone which has ICE details on the lock screen, but then realised that is useless if someone finds you crashed and decides to help themselves to your phone instead of helping, so got an ICE bracelet as well.

 

My main concern is having an accident alone on the mountain, but I also take i easy when I'm by myself and the trails are quiet...

 

The brain defrag from the solitude of riding in the mountains by yourself is worth the risk, imo...