Two months ago I met a guy on a ride who was shunning the car and only riding his brand new road bike or walking. Yesterday, I saw the guy again and we chatted for a bit. First thing he told me was, 'Hey, I rode 450 miles last week!' (his work commute is 25 miles). By the improvement in his speed it was definitely quality miles. He was cruising at 25 mph and I had to pretend that it wasn't hurting me. He asked me about racing and I told him he should enter but then stopped myself; he's never ridden in a pack ever. I implored him to do the Saturday rides because once he gets some decent pack skills he'll be a force.