Going solo - Billy no mates

[pistonbroke]

Guilty as charged
Looks like Borderer has been appointed guardian of grammar.
Strangely, the wrong use of an apostrophe jars more than misspelling. The their,there,they're misuse gets my blood pressure rising more than anything.

[RIP]

where/were, of/have etc

[jameso]

The their,there,they're misuse gets my blood pressure rising more than anything.

Go for a solo ride, relax, let it go...

(some people have levels of dyslexia, some are similar with numbers, etc.)

[whitestone]

where/were, of/have etc

then/than/that And yes I know they aren't homophones so quite how they get mixed up ...

[dlovett]

I’m starting to understand why you ride solo so much

Guilty as charged
Looks like Borderer has been appointed guardian of grammar.
Strangely, the wrong use of an apostrophe jars more than misspelling. The their,there,they're misuse gets my blood pressure rising more than anything.

[NorwayCalling]

back on topic:
Some people in life a not blessed with a large pool of friends and especially, friends that share the same interests. I am one of them. With this in mind... 99.1% of my riding is solo. Everywhere, all round the world (as they say in the US - domestic and international) its normally just me....

The major disadvantage of riding almost exclusively by yourself is not as you would expect... its not the mechanical's, falling off and getting injured in the middle of nowhere, when nobody really knows where you are,,,, it none of that.

After a while, Its riding with other people.

The more you ride by yourself, the harder it becomes to ride with others. There is a huge gulf between the two mindsets.

Solo - you and you alone set the pace, open gates, select the place to stop or get off and push and when etc. You also only have the voices in your own head to deal with. When riding with others you have to interact in so many other ways, put up with others "habits" and then there is the snoring/farting etc to put up with, which if you have not become accustomed to, begin to "grind ones gears".

Conversely you get the "shared experience" when riding with others and I am always glad I was there for the "Golden Sands Experience" a few years back.

I would love to ride with other people on a regular basis - I just don't have the contacts, working in Norway does not help either.

My advice to to others - do not be me. Don't become used to being alone, it kind of sucks.

[RIP]

A good point well made NC.

The 'GSE' was indeed a classic. It might still have happened for a 'solo' rider (*) but because there were several of us the tide of silly cameos and words kept rolling in waves which interacted and crashed into each other. Any lull in the insanity was broken by two of us glancing at each other causing an explosive laughter crack-up behind our hands, followed by stuffing buffs into our mouths and tears rolling down our cheeks. A priceless experience - as a group. We really should recount the whole visit on tripadvisor .

(*) one thing that might still have happened solo was my favourite moment when I'd ordered my chips and was just about to pay, and I then had the afterthought of a cold drink from the chiller which was directly within reach behind the counter lady. Cue an enormous sigh with raised/dropped shoulders, a glare, a roll of the eyes, the banging down of her ladle, the sheer herculean effort, the terminally exasperated expostulation of "well I've got to go and get THAT now then haven't I" as if she had to trek to Everest base camp to get it, even though all she had to do was rotate her body and open the chiller door. I'm stuffing my buff into my mouth right now in delicious recollection.

Things like the mass meeting of boners in A*g Woods that midnight was also something you might not experience on a solo ride. Another example of group laffs might be last Dec's Salop bivvy. On a different note, with the Salop caper maybe being in a group kept morale up too and meant we just carried on with the madness rather than bailing which might have happened solo.

So, I think I've gradually clarified that for myself at least: in a group I'm convinced you have much more of a laugh. And that is priceless. We should have a GSE Reunion, NC .

Good philosophical thread this one.

[Borderer]

one thing that might still have happened solo was my favourite moment when I'd ordered my chips and was just about to pay, and I then had the afterthought of a cold drink from the chiller which was directly within reach behind the counter lady. Cue an enormous sigh with raised/dropped shoulders, a glare, a roll of the eyes, the banging down of her ladle, the sheer herculean effort, the terminally exasperated expostulation of "well I've got to go and get THAT now then haven't I" as if she had to trek to Everest base camp to get it, even though all she had to do was rotate her body and open the chiller door. I'm stuffing my buff into my mouth right now in delicious recollection.

That made me laugh.

[Trackthighs]

Cheers Guys (& Gals?)
I like a bit of both - which I guess is why I posted.
My first packing trip was Bishops Castle/Welshpool/Rhayader in the summer solo over nighter - (First weekend in June, you know the one with the storm - peeeed down for 2 days) I really enjoyed it as well. I I think like people have pointed out snoring and farting aside - We do this for fun so a giggle and a bit of support when it all goes a bit sideways Is always a bonus!!
So does any one fancy the second city
Divide in the spring??

[Bearbonesnorm]

Solo - you and you alone set the pace, open gates, select the place to stop or get off and push and when etc. You also only have the voices in your own head to deal with. When riding with others you have to interact in so many other ways, put up with others "habits" and then there is the snoring/farting etc to put up with, which if you have not become accustomed to, begin to "grind ones gears".

I think it largely depends who you're riding with and haw familiar / comfortable you are in their company. I know that Chew and me can ride along for hours at a time and not feel the need to say a word. I appreciate that might sound awkward but it's just the opposite.

[RIP]

Aye, absolutely get that too Stu - "companionable silence". Bit like being really comfy in a pair of mega-old slippers that you've had for ages, know all the lumpy bits but love 'em despite those, wouldn't chuck 'em out for the world, etc. Oh, erm, not that I'm implying that you and Chew look like a pair of mega-old slippers obviously . I'll get me coat...

[psling]

I'll get me coat...

Would that be the coat you've had for ages, know all the lumpy bits but love despite those, and wouldn't chuck out for the world...?!?

"companianable silence" is a very nice place to be with someone, a certain compatibility that cannot be forced and probably reflects true friendship