The Unattended Group Ride - Hypothetical

For several days I was the only person signed up for a bike ride. Last night it went up to seven people, and then this morning it was down to three people, including me. I arrived half an hour to fifteen minutes early. During that time I had the opportunity to think “What if no one turns up, would I still ride”. My reaction was “of course”. I was already at the meeting point, ready to cycle.

I am fine with cycling alone. I ride with people, becauuse for half a decade I spent almost all of my time in solitude and the time came to end that solitude, through hiking, and then cycling. I have had the course on my “head unit” for several days now and I considered doing it as a solo ride a few days ago. I didn’t, because I had misread the guidance instructions.

Eventually another person did turn up, so we discussed riding as a group or two, before a third person turned up. That’s as big as the group got. It’s the second time that I ride with a group of three. At this time of year people are less motivated to ride in the dark, and when it is cold.

Today I wore the usual three layers but I chose to wear a fourth layer. The fourth layer is a windbreaker and that kept me nice and warm during the first part of the ride. It might not seem like much, to hold. It makes a big difference in terms of comfort.

This thin, light, layer, kept me warm this morning, so if I do ride solo, in these conditions, then I will dress as I did this morning, because it kept my core warm.

I suspect that my core was cooled because, as with petrol scooter rides, zips let in cold air. The faster you go, the more you feel that zips have limited usefulness. That’s why you layer, and that’s why you find layers with good, windproof zips. That thin windbreaker fits in a pocket, once you’re warm, but it keeps you comfortable until then.

If people don’t ride, because of a lack of lights, that can be resolved without spending too much. If people don’t want to ride because it’s cold, then that can be resolved by experimenting over a few rides, until a solution that works is found. As to turning up to an event that no one else turns up to, it hasn’t happened yet. When it happens I will just go for my usual ride with the chosen route.

And Finally

Whether group rides are organised, or not, I think I will still cycle. I don’t need to go far. Today’s ride was short. Today’s ride was fine.