Thanks all for the advice. I am going to check in with my local LBS, but I live in a small town (<30,000) and I can't imagine the groups are large. BTW, I don't mind being "dropped". When I was a runner the last 5+ miles of a long run were always "every man for himself". I see how long it takes to get my average on this 40+ mile loop to 16 mph which should be respectable. There is also a variant that adds 6 miles and about 1000 ft. of climbing (when you live in a valley although the good traffic-free rides are up and down).