Longest solo rides

[Keith A]

Almost all of my rides these days are with a group, and I don't spend much time riding solo. This weekend I traveled to visit with my mom, and there is a great Rails-To-Trails nearby called the Palatka to Lake Butler Trail. I started from my mom's and rode to the opposite end, and then rode to the other end to meet my daughter. We did an out and back together for 20 miles, so this wasn't completely solo, but I did all the pulling I then rode back to my mom's and she drove there in her car. I ended up with 72 miles total. I realize this isn't some huge number, but it was the longest ride I have done essentially alone is a while. It was a great day, all except the last 5 miles into a stiff headwind and no fluids left.

I think I need to do this more often, and skip the group rides sometimes.

[Joxster]

My longest was a bonk training exercise, I made it too 487.63Km before I blew my tits. We had to ride at hr 165Bpm until you blew

[skiezo]

I love my solo rides. It gives me some much needed time to mentally regroup.
I only really ride with 2 or 3 others anymore.
Last year I did a few 70ish mile solo rides and really enjoyed them.

[spiderman]

And very steep and slow at the start of the season...
I was passed by a guy as I was preparing to merge
Onto the highway and the 10 % grade who shouted out
“Cmon man — you can ride faster than that!”
42 miles as I cut off the last section and lost
My strava connection

[sipmeister]

Most of my road rides are solo. I head out when I want to and go at whatever speed I want to. I like it that way.

[Clean39T]

Vast majority of my rides are solo too. I do sometimes enjoy group rides, but more likely if I'm going to be out with others, I prefer it to be just one or two folks who are out for the same experience. 70-mi group rides that take 8-hrs because of stops and all that can get to be a bit much.

It's also a better workout to ride solo. Just you and the wind.

[asindc]

Rode the last 50 miles of a metric with 6K of climbing by myself.

[owly]

270km recently, dawn til dusk. Just exploring around on the gravel bike.

Need to keep things interesting in the last 100km or so, or I find myself getting bored a bit.

[Bradford]

I've always liked the solitude of riding by myself, and I've always liked long rides, so I guess this has always been part of my life.

The longest I've done is 500 miles from Jackson to Steamboat after my companion for the first 500 miles hoped on a plane to get back to the real world. Living in a tent and riding alone for 6 days is a wild experience, especially in Wyoming where you don't see a lot of cars or people. You get lots of time to think. I also rode about 225 miles from Rhode Island to Maine once to go to a wedding. Did 105 the first day, about 75 the second, and coasted into the wedding around noon on the third day.

In one day, I've been doing 75 mile loops on mixed surfaces for a while, long before I heard the term gravel grinder. Riding alone is nice, riding along over a dirt mountain pass in the woods is even nicer.

My problem these days is finding that many hours in a row where I can be away from the family, but the riding alone is easy and my preferred way to roll.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by Joxster

My longest was a bonk training exercise, I made it too 487.63Km before I blew my tits. We had to ride at hr 165Bpm until you blew

That's nuts...and impressive.

[m_sasso]

Longest one day solo ride 183 miles, longest consecutive days solo ride 2300miles+ dune while touring.

[joosttx]

I did a solo 200K rando and ended up doing an extra 25 miles because of a wrong turn. I think it was called "the Gippity Gap Rando". There was one other person on the ride but he went ahead of me and I never saw him again. He ended up blowing up. The ride consisted of riding up and down 6 gaps in Virginia or West Virginia. I was like 95F and cloudy and super humid. It sucked.

[Matthew]

Last summer I did the Ride Around Torch Lake here in Michigan. 102 miles, virtually every mile solo. 5200 feet of climbing. Very warm and humid. Forgot how hilly northern Michigan is!

[flydhest]

I am in the opposite situation. All of my miles recently have been solo because of work/family demands. A few hours alone isn’t awful, I mostly like myself, but I yearn for the time when I had a whole passel of riding partners and group rides to choose from.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by flydhest

I am in the opposite situation. All of my miles recently have been solo because of work/family demands. A few hours alone isn’t awful, I mostly like myself, but I yearn for the time when I had a whole passel of riding partners and group rides to choose from.

I hear you. I do enjoy my group rides and it certainly helps me get up early before work in the dark knowing that I have someone there to ride with.

BTW, you guys have some impressive solo rides