Intrinsically my wife and I ride to be alone. For almost 50 years it's been that way. We take secondary routes and avoid the freeways and interstates when possible. And we avoid the group rides. Yeah, we've been on them but to us they become boring. Pretty soon we find ourselves playing to the whims of the crowd following the rut. Other riders often split off also for those same reasons. We ride for the enjoyment of being with one another and sharing our experiences, which I view as invaluable. We've found ourselves from time to time alone on the open road with a 360-degree view of the beautiful world with no one in it but us. Rarely an epiphany moment, that simply can't be recovered. Sorry for being stingy but we only go around once, there are no do overs.