Group v Solo Cycling - what's best?

When Bradley Wiggins took the mic at the Sports Personality of the Year Awards recently he began by saying that his apparent individual achievements were mainly due to the efforts of a much larger team - the coaches, the physios and of course his Sky and GB team mates.  While no one but him can physically turn the pedals over his public acknowledgement towards his background support placed no doubt on how and why Wiggo believes he had an extraordinary year of cycling.
 

Now I get the “whole is only as good as the sum of its parts” theory and indeed preach this to my team in the office on a regular basis however, for some reason group cycling has always held very little appeal to me.  I like cycling on my own.  I don’t consider myself a loner but I enjoy the solitude of cycling.  I like to get up and out early before the kids are up and the roads are busy.  I also like to be able to go where I want at my own pace.  And while I enjoy group fitness sessions, last year I entered sportives and a sprint triathlon without a team mate in sight.  So when a fellow twitter cyclist suggested I come along to his local club ride, despite my initial reservations that it will be all a bit MAMIL, mannish and serious, I decided to turn up and have a go anyway.

 

The Velo Club Walcot website describes it as a club running friendly group rides in the glorious West Country hills surrounding the City of Bath.  It also welcomes both men and women (good start).  The club as you would expect is home to a broad range of experienced cyclists of varying age who share in common a passion for cycling.  There is a fast bunch that, judging by the tweets, seem to relish a regular hilly route at a quick pace (not cycled with them yet but aspire to get my fitness close to this during  2013) and a new group called “Easy Riders” that enjoy a more leisurely pace and shorter route every other Sunday.    I joined the first outing of the easy riders group and there was a big turnout.  Most riders had not cycled with a club before and there were also a couple of other women in the group. The leaders had sensibly chosen an easy route with the exception of one long, reasonably gentle hill which gave everyone time to get used to the etiquette of group cycling.  Even although the pace was slower than my usual pace it was a really good experience and I have enjoyed repeating it since.  What I have mostly gained from the group is valuable advice from experienced cyclists for example; I now know how to get my chain back on my bike without ripping my fingers to bits and also the best position to get evenly balanced for a steep downhill.  It is a great way to explore new local cycle routes and the camaraderie and banter of the group is fun too.  The odd shout of ‘good work’ when you push on up a steep hill really does help to get you up the next climb.

 

While the group ride is fun, I still really enjoy solo cycling it’s valuable ‘me time’ that I don’t get otherwise and I find it helps me think.  However, I am gradually seeing the benefit of cycling with one or two friends.  I am certainly more motivated to go further, faster and up harder hills than I would if I was just out on my own.  It is also really handy if you get a puncture to have a second pair of hands.  Overall, I don’t think I favour one over the other having started out being very happy struggling with my own exertions I am pretty converted to riding two up and comfortable accepting invitations to ride out with new people.  So, if you have not tried a group ride yet, then I thoroughly recommend it. 

I am not big on making New Year resolutions but I am mostly keen to resolve to improve my cycling during 2013.  So I started my year yesterday with a glorious sunny solo ride, I am joining a friend this Saturday for a “tandem” cycle and I will most likely be back in the Group come Sunday.

With thanks to @nickreardon and @veloclubwalcot