Why are cyclists so fond of “loops?”

[XXtwindad]

I know I am.

I’ve been mapping out some possible routes in the South of Italy and France (Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Puglia, Calabria) and good loops are very often hard to come by.

The routes I’ve been considering are mostly out-and-backs. Mildly disappointing. I wonder why many cyclists are so pre-conditioned to favor loops. Maybe it’s a sense of completion, or the expectation of seeing something new.

That particular fetish won’t fly for many climbs I want to do in Italy and France. Apparently, what goes up must come down…the same way.

[eddief]

you get twice the bang for your buck cuz they look completely different.

[Turkle]

I don't mind out-and-back rides at all, particularly when exploring a new part of the country! The way back looks totally different in the opposite direction, and if there were any really pleasant areas it's nice to see them again.

Anyway, I've never had a hangup about it. I think here in NYC like 90% of my long rides are out and back 9W...

[dolface]

It feels like back-tracking to me, like I've somehow wasted the riding I did on the way out.

Totally illogical I know, but whatcha gonna do?

(I will and have done out-and-backs but strongly prefer loops).

[Toeclips]

For me there is a discipline to doing loops, whether it's biking or walking and yeah you can reverse the loop for variety

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Turkle

I don't mind out-and-back rides at all, particularly when exploring a new part of the country! The way back looks totally different in the opposite direction, and if there were any really pleasant areas it's nice to see them again.

Anyway, I've never had a hangup about it. I think here in NYC like 90% of my long rides are out and back 9W...

me too

https://abovecategory.com/blogs/jour...here-mt-vision

[mstateglfr]

Loops are just more interesting. You have some wind with you, against you, and to your side. You also aren't seeming again what you just saw.

[rzthomas]

Loops look better on strava.

[mcfarton]

I have the same predisposition. However with running I am way faster to accept an out and back. And I am totally cool with going nowhere on the trainer


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[El Chaba]

You can also properly refer to a loop as a “Ronde, Giro, Vuelta, Tour, or Circuit” …. If the weather holds, I will be doing the “ Ronde Van Hillsboro” this evening….

[marciero]

Reasons to prefer loop:
1. "loop" sounds better than "out and back". "This route is a loop through the rolling hills of ...." Out and back has no Giro/Ronde equivalents*
2. Can be used as a verb. "This route loops through the rolling hills..."
3. Not just a loop, but one that encloses a large area. Out and back on adjacent parallel roads doesnt quite count. Maybe because circles, which maximize the area for a curve of given length, are aesthetically pleasing. Maximizing areas is also a thing in other contexts, eg, roc curve in classification problems
4. Takes in all the compass directions as headings
5. Looks nicer on strava*.
6. Route planning on rwgps doesnt confuse outbound and inbound.
7. Gps less likely to get confused while riding.

Reasons to prefer out and back:
1. Only one control needed on brevet.
2. Get to ride the same terrain in reverse. Like two routes in one!*
3. If windy, possible to avoid headwind.
4. Ranges farthest from the start for a given distance.
5. Only route the outbound section on rwgps and use "back to start along same route" on garmin. Half the work!
6. If you cut the ride short, the quickest way back will be on the same route. Easier for search party to find you??
7. For quick ride in a strange place with no gps, is easiest not to get lost.

*Nods to eddief, rzthomas and El Chaba.

[avalonracing]

Out and backs are only good when out is up and back is down.

[jvp]

It's like George C Scott in Patton: " I don't want to pay for the same real estate twice"

[verbs4us]

Years ago I read that if you gather a group of people and ask them to arrange themselves in a circle, and walk in a circle, nearly every time they will walk counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise for our British friends). I don't know if it goes the other way south of the equator, but it raises the question: Is your loop ride mostly clockwise or counterclockwise?

[bigbill]

For Sardinia, I lived there for a while and my routes were out and backs to loops on the north end of the island. I would have preferred loops for the entire ride but often the geography limits me. When I lived in Texas, my daily route was an out and back with outbound into a predominate headwind. My daily ride here is on a mountain bike that includes climbing but like Sardinia, it is an out and back to a loop.

I just want to ride my bike without overthinking it.