Lone Ranger

Blog Post Written by: Kristie Sandquist

Mountain Biking by Yourself: It’s a Good Thing

It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. You have a day, afternoon, or an evening off and there’s nobody to go biking with. What are you going to do? Sit at home and wait for one of your buddies to miraculously have some free time? Or maybe, just maybe, you could try riding by yourself. I know, I know, it seems scary right? Wrong! Riding by yourself can be very rewarding and you can learn to love it. I’m going to tell you why.

No Pressure, No Judgement, Just You

First of all, there’s no pressure. As in zip, zero, nada. If you want to ride slower than molasses in January, feel free. Want
to stop and take a bazillion pictures of a really pretty flower? Do it. Nobody is going to tell yu to hurry up or make comments about your unnaturally strong love for flora. It’s your ride, you call the shots.

Biking Alone Builds Confidence

When I ride alone, it makes me feel like Superwoman. Yes, I get nervous, especially if it’s a new trail, but it’s all part of the experience. Push yourself past your comfort zone creates a braver and stronger you. Doing things alone is extremely empowering. You learn to rely on yourself and don’t always need other people around to help you. Getting lost or blowing a tire are scenarios that might happen. Knowing you can deal with them means you will be better
able to deal with life in general. Plus, it sounds super bad ass when you tell people you shredded a mountain by yourself. Go ahead, try it.

Make New Friends

When you ride in a group, you talk to the group. When you ride by yourself, you talk to everybody you come across on the trail. Mountain bikers are crazy friendly and love to talk about their bikes, the trail, the weather, whatever. You already have something in common so don’t be shy! If you’re downhill biking, the chairlift is a great way to make friends and find out about the trails if you’ve never been there before. You also avoid that awkward elevator-like scenario where nobody knows what to say and you all just stare off in different directions for 10 minutes.

We All Need Some Alone Time

Sometimes we need to recharge and this is nearly impossible to do around others. Stressful day at work, kids, significant others, we can all feel like we’re being pulled in a million different directions and at some point you just have to say enough is enough. Get on your bike and go. Maybe you need 20 minutes, maybe you need 2 hours, or maybe you need a weekend. Take it and enjoy it. Therapy comes in all forms and spending time in nature is one of the best and the cheapest. The people around you will thank you for it and so will your mind.

Biking alone is amazing. You get a feeling of freedom because there’s nobody there to tell you which trail to ride or how fast to do it. You can explore at your own pace and have experiences to share when you return. It is just another way you can enjoy mountain biking…..like you needed another reason!

Happy Riding!

Kristie!