Sam rides alone sometimes even though she doesn’t like it

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Tracy said, “I felt sad for you as soon as you said you were riding alone! Not like you at all.”

And it’s true. I hate riding alone. I write a lot about the joys of riding with other people.

• On running and riding with friends
• Riding slow and riding fast
• Riding the Friends for Life Bike Rally at a friendly pace
• A feminist fitness bloggers’ century ride to Port Stanley!

Yesterday David and I had a nice coffee ride, like the kind Catherine blogged about here.

But Sunday was different. David was put off by the thunderstorms in the forecast. Nat didn’t have it in her to go for a bike ride. Jeff was busy singing Beatles songs with the Karen Schussler Singers.

So it was just me, my bike, and cars on the road.

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I stopped a few times to wait out bad storm clouds. Luckily I got in before this, “At 4:41 p.m. EDT, Environment Canada meteorologists are tracking a severe thunderstorm capable of producing very strong wind gusts, up to nickel size hail and heavy rain. The thunderstorm is located near Parkhill and is moving southeast at about 40 km/h.”

When I’m riding my myself I like to have a destination so I don’t just get disheartened and turn around. I decided to ride the long way to my office. It’s about 45 km rather than the usual 7 km. (The linked map is to the nearby Starbucks. It’s another 4 or 5 m after that.)

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I don’t like riding alone but sometimes you have to do it.

What are the circumstances that make riding alone necessary? Well, one is when you need to get a ride in and can’t find company. Better to ride alone than not ride. The other is when you need to do a specific thing, like a ride in a certain heart rate zone or with intervals. Your pace is sometimes dictated by training needs, not the company you’re keeping, and then it’s often best to go it alone.

The one thing that was striking on my solo ride was the number and gender of people out there riding alone. I saw about a dozen guys. But I was the only woman riding by herself.

How about you? Do you ride alone or with others? Do you ride alone because you like it better or for training reasons? Any advice for me to make it feel okay?