Originally Posted by
Racer Ex
"Best" is subjective, but I'd say the quickest way for a beginner to get faster is structured training plan if the person has a coach or some training knowledge. Anecdotally I've seen much more improvement from people using this path than I have from people who do the group ride thing. Certainly that was the case for me. And I still do very few group rides, the ones that I do are mostly to reduce boredom and when I'm working on TT and bridging efforts.
Even structured training "gods" like Friel recommend not starting structured training initially, that a certain amount of base "riding around" is desirable before going the disciplined structured route. Ok, so best is subjective of course, but for someone just starting out (a "beginner"), I think just going to a group and getting hammered into submission is going to provide better motivation than trying to follow a training plan without any kind of experience.
I was not necessarily referring to the OP, who has some experience and is familiar with structured training from other sports, but a pure beginner.