30 mars 2006

Scott Martin

Is it better to ride solo or in a group? Tough call. Hence this handy list of pros and cons.

A. Group Ride

Pro: The thrill of going 30 mph in a big bunch.

Con: The agony of going 30 mph in a big bunch.

Pro: The social interplay. Catch up on all the gossip: who's fit, who's fat, whose carbon stem broke, who's sleeping with whom, who's too overtrained to sleep with anyone.

Con: The social interplay. Six-foot-three, 200-pound ex-Olympic sprinter announces your 4-second pulls ain't cutting it.

Pro: The fun of giving police a fake name when they pull you out of a pack of 50 that ran a stop sign. "Sorry, officer, I'm not carrying any ID. My name? Levi Hincapie. I live at 5311 Paree Roobay Lane."

Con: Getting Tasered by cop who's sick of smart-alecky, scofflaw cyclists.

Pro: Improve your pack-riding skills.

Con: Get taken out by guy who needs to improve his pack-riding skills.

A. B. Riding Solo

Pro: You decide the start time and route.

Con: Nobody forcing you to make that start time and do that route. Or get off the couch at all.

Pro: Chance for precious alone time.

Con: Already spend plenty of time with self. Actually find self kind of boring.

Pro: You set the pace. No waiting for slowpokes or getting dropped by speedsters.

Con: You set the pace. No lording over slowpokes or bragging to chums about the speedsters you would've hung with if only your bike was lighter.

Pro: Honest workout; no drafting.

Con: Honest workout; no drafting.

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Scott Martin wrote feature articles for Bicycling magazine for 12 years. You can e-mail him at scottmartin@roadbikerider.com

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