We all love a fast-paced group ride with friends, but a lot of us also enjoy riding soloโand Hank absolutely loves it! Solo riding might just be the best, and he’s here to explain why! ๐ดโโ๏ธโค๏ธ
โฑ๏ธ Timestamps: โฑ๏ธ
00:00 I love riding solo! ๐ช
00:19 What’s so great about riding solo?
01:11 Hank’s experience
02:26 Goal-setting
02:54 No restrictions & getting lost in your thoughts
03:40 Creativity
04:16 No group dynamics!
04:54 Epic challenges & resilience
05:55 Stress management
06:52 How many of us cycle alone?
07:26 Main takeaway
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Are you a solo rider? ๐ฅ What is it that you love the most about a ride alone vs in a group? Let us know in the comments! ๐ฌ
Watch more on GCN…
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๐ธ Photos – ยฉ Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & ยฉ Sirotti Images
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46 Comments
Are you a solo rider? ๐ฅ What is it that you love the most about a ride alone vs in a group?
I am primarily a solo rider and enjoy that flexibility. I would like to do more group rides, but finding even one person who can go the same pace is tricky. Go out with someone faster than you then you are blowing and donโt enjoy it and vice versa with someone slower.
Hi, where was this filmed please? Looks beautiful.
Loners have propensity to become psychopaths. Soon Hank will be – The cycle stranglerrrrrr. Hhhooohaahooohaaarghh
Solo female rider!!! I once took a colleague on one of my 211 KM rides. She suffered three high dramatic and terrifying mental breakdowns which only then made me realize that cycling alone especially long distance cycling requires a high percentage point of mental strength. It was my first and LAST time I took someone with me. LOL all !!!
I love cycling solo, been doing that most of my life. Personal freedom, meditation and adventure
From a safety point of view it's more relaxing riding solo also no stress with having to meet at a specific time, usually early in the morning Saturday or Sunday morning (which is sometimes stressful after a tough week at work).
Just be careful of the moped rats if solo in London
club rides or clubs in general aren't for me… I wouldn't want to be in a club that would accept me as a member
Same here
Does anyone know what the make of that storage box is on the underside of the down tube?
Couldn't agree more. Solo riding is the best, great for the brain โค
I always ride so, I've got no mates๐
I get completely peopled out with my job, hairdressing. I get talked at all day long! And mine and my wife's other hobby is open mic music nights. This obviously needs rehearsals with friends and other musicians. So it's noise and more noise! My wife loves it, and can play her guitar constantly, but I need a break. So cycling alone is an absolute tonic for me. I don't really think of anything, I just ride my bike, and enjoy the moment. Great video Hank.
When I first started long distance cycling, I was a solo cyclist. Being a teenager in middle school, no one else wanted to dedicate their weekend to long distance cycling. At the time I was ridding a hardtail mountain bike so I could go on any terrain I felt like. To me both road and mountain biking are freedom. Happy trails ๐ฃ!
Good to see you Hank
Iโm right there with ya
We need more Hank videos ๐๐
so-called freedom is a mere mental image or illusion๐
strictly solo rider here….half the reason i go out is to be left alone and the only competition i need is my own head
Hank stressed out from living in a 50 room Mansion
Solo all day !!!
Being in a bunch is good but not if you're the weakest
Hank is such a chatty monkey I would have thought he'd have preferred a group ride, nice to hear he gets some zen-time.
Hank I ride alone regularly.
Very cool, Jazz and ๐ด. The secret formula:)
I ride the vast majority of rides on my own, love it…. I do also enjoy sharing the experience with a mate though. I stay clear of "group rides" in general, as it is all abut maintaining a set speed, to stop at a set spot for coffee then return, well sometimes I like to stop take a pic or two, take in my surroundings stationary, and just enjoy the whole experience at my leisure.. There are days when I push it , generally alone, and days where I just enjoy simply getting out and ride at whatever speed and to an unplanned route that I desire..
Solo rides are the best but sometimes i also join club rides.
Imagine being so depressed and you're scroll on YouTube then saw the thumbnail of this vid ๐
30% of my rides are alone, and the peace and quiet and freedom is amazing. I still like company though so a mix is perfect!
Iโm 69 and been solo sine I was 18. Ride with friends, small group 3-5 once or twice a month, event rides with big groups throughout. All you said here is true for me. Iโm also a people person. I found the formula that works. Enjoyed your perspective. ๐๐
because of various mental health conditions I have no friends to ride with etc BUT everything Hank says is so spot on and ridden 100's of thousands of KM solo and audaxes
I always ride solo. I enjoy the freedom and peace
I do love solo riding, for all the reasons you mentioned.
For many years I've only made one day ridings; in 2021 I found the courage to try my first solo bike travel (a 7 days bikepacking tour in the Alps, whose main goal was climbing the Stelvio Pass) and since then, every summer I explored a different part of the Alps, just me and my bike. For next summer, I'm planning to go and ride in the Swiss Alps.
Travelling in this way, as you said, makes me appreciate the feeling of absolute freedom and the awesome beauty of Nature in the alpine landscapes.
This guy inherits a Manor, and suddenly doesn't need to be seen riding amongst the peasants any more ๐. Shocking!
Even royalty needs some alone time on a bike
I'm retired, so I ride solo more than I ride in a group, but I like riding in small groups, with a few people I've gotten to know. The social aspect of a group ride is something I appreciate. However, group rides are more complicated, but that's fine too. Riding solo, and in a place away from the city, is fantastic. I can stop if I want, snack, take a picture, explore at a slower pace, check out some interesting details, etc. For me, it's a balance of group and solo rides. Both have something different to offer.
I do 80% of my riding alone with a sunday ride with a mate. Initialy stated riding to help fitness now I use it to unwind from the day/week.
I like to mix it up. Particularly if tired like just aimlessly going out alone and letting my mind and legs wander.
However sometimes I find my mind relaxes more if it has something like group to focus on – how to position myself optimally for wind terrain and corners. Making cycling a cognitive challenge forces my mind to clear other garbage for a while.
Iโve only done two group rides in my entire adult life. Iโve ridden with a friend about half a dozen times. Going out solo is just the way Iโve done it since mid-teens (prior to that, we rode around in a small herdโit was the 70s and was a common thing to do)
One part of solo riding I like is being able to stop at a scenic spot and explore or sit and relax. Or travel slowly while eyeing various plants in bloom or looking for turtles or birds by a wetland. Itโs a nice way to connect with nature
Well, my wifes just told me that she dreamt she was riding with the GCN crew and Hank had a puncture, so you all waited for him, then my wife had a puncture, and you all rode off and left her. Shame on you GCN!!
The only group rides I do is on Zwift. ๐
Hank, you've hit the point(s). In cycling I can decide which route I take, be spontaneously, stop for the scenery, photos, a museum or a coffee. It's like a cocoon for my mind. I don't have the drill of pacing with others, maybe slower or faster in my own tempo and satisfied after every ride.
I ride alone cause no one want to ride with a deaf handicaped person… But I think riding alone makes you stronger than riding in group. Maybe is funny in group but I accept that it is not when is with handicaped. I don't mind, but I ride alone and enjoy, and it makes more independent.
All of my cycling is alone. Iโm 55 and everyone I know is an old fat drunk. Plus, people shit me.
Solo is my favorite. My mood, physical ability, WO ideas, weather, time I want to ride donโt impact anyone but me. I can change things up at any moment and no one will complain. I can turn left when a course has me going right because the road may be sloppy, or the views may be better. One good thing about riding alone, Iโm always pulling, so when I do ride in a group, that draft is next level awesomesauce.
Solo cycling is a great option. It offers flexibility and a chance for your mind to breathe a to speak.