Why Riding Alone Is Fine — But Riding Together Is Better
The trike will get you moving. The people you meet along the way will give you a reason to keep going.
Riding solo is the way I like it most times — my own pace, my own route, no one waiting on me when I stopped to look at something. I still ride solo most mornings. But there are great benefits to riding in a group. There is a certain comradery. Not a leather jacket and matching tattoo kind of comradery, but people with like passions kind of comradery. I know you don't expect to care about the people, and I know you don't expect the people to care about you. You will be wrong on both counts.
How to find a riding group
Whenever I ride at an official trail head, not just neighborhood riding, the parking lot is generally full of people of all ages, equipment, and styles. Individuals in tight fitting riding suits and $10,000 road bikes stretching and hydrating before a ride. Families with mountain bikes, along with Tinkerbell, and Spiderman bikes, and a growing community of e-bike riders. Then there are the people our age. Some on pedal bikes, pedal trikes, and an increasing number of e-trikes. These are the ones to look for. You start talking the way you do when you recognize your own kind — comparing motors, complaining about battery range estimates, debating the merits of different trail surfaces. Then you find out that there is a loose group of older riders who met on Saturday mornings. No pressure, no pace requirements, no one gets left behind. So you show up the next Saturday mostly out of curiosity. Then months pass and you find you haven't missed a Saturday since. Feeling younger yet?
What a good riding group actually looks like
The size of a riding group will vary from week to week. You may have about twelve regulars and a rotating cast of occasional riders. Ages range from 61 to 79. There will likely be two knee replacements, one hip replacement, one pacemaker, and one member who rides with a prosthetic leg. Nobody talks about their limitations much, in fact, that kind of talk is quietly shunned — they talk about the trail, the weather, what they saw last week, and where there're going for coffee after. The pace is set by whoever is slowest that day, and nobody makes a thing of it. That's the whole secret of a good group: the slowest rider sets the pace, and everyone acts like that's completely normal. Because it is. Brunches along the trail, early morning shopping along main street, coffee at one of several local coffee shops, these are what makes riding at our age really fun and relaxing on the way to getting healthier!
"The slowest rider sets the pace, and everyone acts like that's completely normal. Because it is."
The safety argument nobody talks about enough
I tell people the social part is the best part, and that's true. But there's a practical argument for group riding that doesn't get enough attention: safety. When you ride with other people, someone notices if you're struggling before you do. Someone is there if you have a mechanical problem, a fall, or a medical moment. In fourteen months of Saturday rides, you may have two flat tires, one minor spill, and one member who felt dizzy and needed to sit down for twenty minutes before riding back. In every case, having other people there will make the situation manageable rather than scary. Solo riding is fine. But there's a real comfort in knowing someone is watching your back.
Finding your people if you don't have a group yet
Start at your local bike shop — not the racing-focused kind, but the kind that sells comfort bikes and e-bikes to regular people. This will also be the place you try before you buy an e-trike. They almost always know about local riding groups and are happy to connect you. Facebook groups for your city or region often have active e-bike or senior cycling communities. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has a trail finder and community forums. And if you genuinely can't find a group, consider starting one: post a note at the trailhead, put something in a local community newsletter, mention it to the next person you see at the parking lot with a trike. You might be surprised how many people are looking for exactly what you're looking for.
What you'll get that you won't expect
Expecte exercise. Expecte fresh air. Expect to have people who text you when you miss a Saturday to make sure you're okay. Expect to have a standing coffee date every week with people who understand exactly what it feels like to be this age and still moving. Expect for rides would become the social anchor of your week in a way that nothing else has been since you retired. The trike will give you back your body. The group will give you back something you don't realize need — the feeling of being part of something.
Ways to find your riding community
- Ask at your local comfort or e-bike shop — they know the local groups
- Search Facebook for "[your city] e-bike" or "senior cycling [your city]"
- Check the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy trail finder and community forums
- Post a note at your regular trailhead — others are looking too
- Reach out through this blog — I'm happy to help connect people
You don't have to ride with anyone. Solo riding is genuinely wonderful. But if you've been curious about group riding and haven't tried it yet, I'd encourage you to show up once. Just once. See what happens.
Part of the community?
Share your story, ask a question, or just say hello. This blog exists because of the people who show up.