i’ve been wondering this for awhile… are you guys (i mean ladies) comfortable with riding and running alone? How often do you ride or run alone… etc?
I tend to ride alone a lot in the summer/spring and for the most part, am very comfortable with it. However, my parents always hate to hear when I’ve been out on the road for 3+ hrs by myself. I’ve also had guy biking friends tell me it’s not smart for a girl to ride alone. I can totally see where they are coming from as I’ve had a couple of decent crashes and car run-ins. I have also been known to bring my bike with me, when I travel for work. I’ll ride really early in the morning or after work by myself in some obscure city/town that I don’t know quite as well as I should.
It’s hard to always find someone to ride with and who wants to do the same type of ride. If I want to go hard, I call my guy friends who will push me…if I want to ride easy…I call my girl friends who tend to like to chat while riding. And when I just want to do my own thing, I go out alone and ride and love it! I’m 23 and live alone, so it’s not like I can tell a roommate the general direction or duration of the ride. I would feel ridiculous calling someone just to tell them that I’m going out on a ride and am way to “independent” to do so.
I do ALWAYS ride with my cell phone and can manage the basic bike mechanic mishaps. However, last summer I realized when I was riding up the north shore of lake superior and was watching the sunrise at 6 am (I was LOVING the view/ride) that I was riding on pretty empty roads and was 20+ miles away from my hotel room, very far from family and friends, and had spotty cell service. The ride was not the best decision I had ever made…in terms of safety. To tell you the truth though, if I had to do it again, I would…it was an awesome ride!
So, I guess I am also wondering, as females, do you feel like you sacrifice your safety in order to complete a solid ride or run?
Yes. I train at times when most people are working, so it’s really my only option. I actually enjoy the time alone, although, I have to admit, it would be nice to find a group to ride with at times.
I also train most of the time alone. Both running and biking. Although when running I do have my dog with me and she is kind of big and scary looking. She isn’t but we don’t let anyone know that. I bike alone about 95% of the time due to schedule. Like alot of people I carry cell phone, bike repair stuff and pepper spray and luckily have not had to use any of them in the last 3 yrs (knock on wood).
I do most of my running/riding alone, and tend to prefer it that way - it’s just easier than having to coordinate with others, though I do like group rides with the girls at times too, or riding with a friend where we both go our own pace and then catch up to each other at a predetermined time/place.
I don’t really think about the safety factor most of the time - though there was the one time I was running in some woods in MO and came upon a swarthy guy carrying a big stick (we chatted and he had been practicing his tai chi), or when I was running in a wooded area in CA and started thinking about the fact that technically that was mountain lion territory. To that point - I come across so many interesting things when I’m out and about that I’d rather keep doing that and have that small safety risk than alter my habits. I’m like you - I wind up in the middle of nowhere, enjoying the sunrise or birds chirping or whatever, and accept that it might not be the smartest thing to do.
I do a lot of my running alone, but sometimes with another friend or my dog (when I’m on the trails).
I rarely ride alone, although I do occasionally. If its on the road, I only pick routes where I feel the area is safe. I live in a small town and all my road riding is out in the county roads, it can be a bit remote. I rarely ride alone on my mtb - too risky if you get hurt that someone won’t find you.
Now, I will say that I used to ride on the roads alone more often than I do now. Cycling is a HUGE sport in Bloomington, IN (think the movie Breaking Away). Motorists are used to seeing bicyclists all over the surrounding counties. BUt there are a lot of rednecks and some just plain scary people. 5 years ago one of the female collegiate cyclists was riding alone, she was accidentally hit (by some folks high on drugs), her then-alive body was taken and left in a remote field. It was discovevered a year later by hunters, obviously she died. Female cyclists around here are a lot more conscientous about not riding alone anymore. Why take the risk?
Be safe out there if you do ride alone. If you can find a riding partner, I’d highly recomend you do it.
For short rides (2 hours or less), I don’t think it’s a problem. I’m not THAT far from home. I ride pretty much the same loops from my house so I wave and smile to every person on foot/in a car that I can (this goes for running too). I feel that the “neighbors” know me and would help me out if I crashed or had a mechanical. I always ride with a cell phone, pepper spray, and bike repair stuff (duct tape and a multi-tool are priceless).
For longer rides, I’m pretty squirrelly about. I’m afraid of a hit-and-run in the middle of nowhere. As a result, I rode with other riders who were slower than I and that compromised my training. The reality of it is that the chances of a hit-and-run are very low–much lower than the chances of getting tangled up in another cyclists wheels and going down.
As far as being attacked/raped/kidnapped, I think the chances of that happening are also pretty low, but I carry pepper spray anyway. I thought about getting a pistol permit and carrying a gun, but my bf who is a cop says that I won’t be so accurate with it with my HR in Zone 3 and above. The chances that we would be harrassed by a dog (vs. a person) are much higher and better dealt with pepper spray.
I do a great deal of my running alone. If I’m running somewhere I’m concerned about (like remote trails) I take my dogs with me. (Like another poster, one of my dogs looks big and scary, though he’s a total bone-head, so I like having him with me.) Portland is a pretty safe place, with a lot of other runners, so I’ve never felt nervous about that and take reasonable precautions, etc. I get more nervous doing long bike rides alone, more because of worry about being hit & run with nobody around, but there are sections of town that I don’t necessarily think it’s smart for me to be riding along by myself. I can usually get my husband to ride with me, but it sucks having to rely on that.
I used to run and ride alone when I was in my late teens. My parents never seemed to be too worried about it. It wasn’t until I moved away that I realized how many people thought that this was dangerous.
Now I prefer not to run at night alone, although I will on busy and well-lit familiar routes. As long as there isn’t heavy traffic and a decent shoulder, I’ll ride just about anywhere by myself.
I do both alone - though often have medium sized cute friendly dog with me.
But I live in Boston so people everywhere, if I run after dark I stick to main streets.
both riding and running I carry cell phone, license (ID) and either cash or credit cards or both.
I run and ride alone. A good chunk of it is that I can rely on a sort of herd protection- the common exercise routes always have other people on them, and I live in an area with a lot of Air Force special ops types, and their presence discourages the wrong element from coming into town.
Since we moved here in 2001, the only violent crime I can remember reading about in the police blotters (weekly newspapers run them) that did not involve a domestic violence situation in my area was one gas station robbery.
My wife and I ride together quite a bit, but she does ride solo also, especially when on the tri bike. We live in a rural area where there isn’t a lot of traffic, but I still worry a bit when she’s riding by herself. She almost always runs by herself.
yeah, during the week I have to due to scheduling and, I have had a bike incident at 6:15am: had a car pull up beside me super slow, right outside of a neighborhood, guy rolled down the window and then proceeded to show me what he had goiing on in his seat(pants down to knees, driving w/one hand, the other hand on his d**K!!! I grabbed my phone out of my jersey as he pulled slowly in front of me, I couldn’t brake, I couldn’t dial 911- took freakin forever as my HR was up and I was hitting adrenaline… I finally dismount, he drives on slowly, I dial but in that time ANYTHING could have happened- the police took 15 minutes to respond and I was oh, 5 minutes from the main substation- all cars were out at the time… VERY SCARY! on my runs it’s never the same time of day, never the same route or same part of town but we have had 2 guys that would wait to ambush runners along the river trail mid morning- you would be suprised how very little time it takes to make a successful attack-
While the chances of a hit and run are lower than the chances of lots of other bad things happening to yourself, you still minimize risk. You could get easily hit by a car stepping into a street to cross a road. But you look first to make sure a car is not coming. So, the chances of many things happening when you are riding alone miles from town (hit and run by a car, leaving you hurt or worse; hit and attack by a whacko; hit a squirrel, wreck, hurt yourself mildly, but your bike badly and having no transportation to get home until you sit on a roadside alone waiting for someone to come get you, what if you are out of cell phone range; hit a squirrel and go down, and you are seriously injured, and you have to lie and wait for a normal person to come by and help you; flat tire going down a hill, crash, same scenario as above. Its much easier to have the support and assistance of someone with you. If you can find just one person who is driven like you are, ride with them. They can push you on hard days, help you back on recovery days. Be your friend. Be your assistant mechanic when you have a mechanical that either of you aren’t completely sure of, be your 5 minute ride to cell phone reception when you are in a valley out of range and need help. Be your roadside company while you wait for help… The list goes on and on. I had a flat less than 10 miles from home, and while I was fixing it, some guy in a pickup asked if he could help. It freaked me out. I said no, I was just about ready to get going again (I lied I had just started fixing the tire).
We all will still ride alone sometimes. But we should minimize our risk. You are at risk if you ride alone. Do what you can to minimize your risk. My first choice is always to ride with other people.
This is one of those instances where it must stink to be a female. My wife and I both do triathlons, but she does not feel safe training in the same places that I do. (I’m 6’ 5", she’s barely 5’) I never give this sort of thing a second thought and have had some of my best workouts in places and at times where/when she couldn’t go on her own. Thankfully, our kids are getting old enough that we can leave them home alone for a while (or with a neighbor) so that my wife and I can train together. We don’t go the same speed (she’s faster in the water, I’m faster on land) but we’re both happy to accommodate just so we can train together from time to time.
I run alone always but use well traveled and safe routes. Riding, on the other hand, is a challenge. I usually email one of my kids or girlfriends to state my route and expected time of return with promises to leave a message upon my return. I also wear a road ID.
I’ve asked some of my guy friends if they realize that when they approach a single female runner and no one else is around, that she is probably on guard and nervous. I even check back a few times to make sure that the same person is not coming back up behind me. For the most the part, the guys were totally unaware.
I do almost all my training alone. On a rare occasion I will will ride with a friend, but 98% of the time, it’s just me.
I use common sense, stay alert, carry ID and a cellphone on my bike. And I typically let someone (er, my DH) know that I’m going and when (roughly) I will be back.
I do both…ride and run alone. And while I understand your independent spirit, tell someone, or leave a message! Two horrific example from my hometown, Atlanta.
A mom out for a 50 mile ride on a multipurpose trail, the Siver Comet. She never came home. Since it was her habit to do this ride a couple of times a week, her family knew where to start looking. They found her van at the trailhead, and they found her body about 16 miles in. They caught the guy who killed her.
The second example is the missing hiker, Meredith Emerson. She went out on a popular trail…blood mountain in north Georgia. Went missing…because she left a note with her roomate, they started the search almost immediatly. Lots of sightings of the suspect who grabbed her. He kept her alive for three days before killing her. They almost got her in time.
I hope there’s someone you can check in with. It’s a really small thing, but it has the potential to spare a lot of people a lot of grief.
I do both - bike and run alone. I never run alone if it’s dark. I’ll do the treadmill if that’s the case.
biking is a bit tougher - I’m too slow for my husband (but he’s crazy fast) and he just gets frustrated riding with me. Also, my local club rides on Sun. mornings and that doesn’t work for me - and I like to ride on Saturdays. I have a group of people that I email each week to see if someone wants to ride with me but most of the time the answer is no or once in a while it’s just 1 person who wants to go.
For both, either riding or running I make sure hubby knows my route and how long. Biking I carry a cell phone. For my long runs I just got a cell phone carrier to attach to my fuel belt, so I’ll be all set there - and I try to make sure I don’t run anywhere that’s even remotely sketchy.
I bike alone most of the time, never had a problem (in 7 years), I always carry a cell phone, ID & my road ID. I also mountain bike alone in some pretty remote areas (not always wise, but never had a problem there either), same goes for running & trail running.