swaustex

I did my first group ride today and even though it was far colder than expected it was a blast. Starting in August I began to ride my old 1992 GT Avalanche around the neighborhood for exercise. A month later added a two year old in a trailer to the back of the bike and starting climbing the hills in my Southwest Austin neighborhood. My daughter became my coach with her yelling at me to go faster so I did. I bought a road bike on Nov 11th and started riding that as well, heading out the the Veloway and doing the same neighborhood route after work. After training on the road bike for about 230 miles, I tried my first group ride and wow. We went 40 miles round trip from downtown/west Austin to Creedmore and back again. I actually did not suck and spent most of the ride near the front. Now I'm kinda kicking myself because I could have been doing this years ago.
Bike forums Rocks! Its been a great help in helping me get my old mountain bike up and running and with buying my road bike.

And if you're in Austin this web site rocks: https://www.austinrides.org/ridedev/

txvintage

You have some seriously fast Roadies down your way who are nice guys. It's a total opposite of what you would expect from some of the fastest racers in the State.

You have a great riding area to wander around in. Heck, throwing teh bike on a rack and driving no more than an hour gives you some of thE better riding areas in the Southwest unless you're looking for mountains (which is nutz).

gapwedge

I am finding riders will start out together but eventually everyone begins to train at the own pace. Thus, newbies like me get dropped a lot. It bothered me at first, but they are not out to impress anyone with their speed and are only encouraging me to get better. I train alone most of the time, so eventually I will be in the pack. I look at it this way. My total weight (bike and me) will only get lighter by the month and most of them will be at the same weight. Glad you experienced a good group to ride with.

mkadam68

This is the truth. Online, many of the roadies can give off an air of smugness or arrogance. But they're not really like that in person. They just ride their own pace. If someone else can keep up, fine. If not: no big deal either--they're not trying to intimidate.

Most of the racers I race/train with love it when a new rider shows up to race. They want to encourage as many people to do it as possible. Even if you get dropped on the first lap! (They do demand, however, that for their own safety, the new rider/racer follows expected group riding etiquette. And yes, they might even yell if s/he doesn't.)

I don't think I've yet met the snobby roadie I hear so much about here on BF. And I tend to ride with these faster groups.

Doohickie

I ride in a "No Drop" group. We do Saturday breakfast rides at three different paces: Cruisers (10 mph), Pacers (15 mph) & Swifties (20 mph). I generally ride the pacers with no problem, but sometimes I ride my Raleigh 3-speed and hang with the cruisers. Anyway, I was on my road bike last Saturday and as luck would have it, ended up near the rear of the pack after we finished breakfast. There were four of us- the one in front had ridden with the cruisers and she was going REAL slow. The other two riders in the group passed her with the idea of getting in front of her so she could draft, but they pulled away. So I was "stuck" with her since we have a No Drop policy. I tailed her about halfway back, and boy was she slow. Eventually I asked if she wanted to draft me and she said yes, so I pulled in front of her, but kept an eye on her so she didn't slip back. And boy was she slow.

The point of all that, is I now know what what of these roadies feel like when a newb shows up. If not for the No Drop policy, I would have left her in the dust and not worried about it. It wouldn't have been malicious; it wouldn't have been about her at all. It's just that her pace was a lot slower than I'm used to riding.

TboneZX11

Find your local cycling groups & organized ride "directors" - they will point you in the direction of local rides where no one is left behind. All areas of the country have different terms for this. But essentially, there is a person(s) designated to never leave the side of the slowest rider.

A great way to feel included and to become part of the scene & meet some fun new people, regardless of how fast (or slow) you ride. Doohickie's explanation feels like someone is taking pity on you, but most of the time (in my area) these rides have a designated slow rider that's slow by nature (and a great person wh0 loves to talk, etc) and will NOT feel put-out slowing down for you - that is their whole purpose for the ride...to include a new rider to the world or cycling...with no attempt for a work-out, etc.

When I do this for a couple of our rides in town, I've ridden my fixed gear bike so I have no desire to be in a hurry or feel the need for speed (well, that's not true, but know my purpose in life, blah blah).

I hope you enjoyed your ride & continue riding. I am serioulsy jealous of your area, but that's a whole 'nother story

mkadam68

Exactly. Once a month, our club does an "Orientation" Ride--introducing new riders to our club. The designated ride "coach" is to stay with the new rider, not necessarily anyone else. I often serve in this capacity and enjoy meeting new riders and helping them where I can. It's great. And I certainly don't feel imposed upon when riding at a slower pace.

swaustex

Austin is great when it comes to cycling, but I have an added bonus. I live on This Street surrounded by these trails and This Swimming Hole. This is why it took so long for me to try road riding. If your in the area mountain biking https://austinbike.com is a great resource.

youcoming

There's nothing more exciting or fun than riding with a good group. I to wish I had started long ago. It's hard to believe I'm heading inot my third summer. One of the riders I go out with has raced for years and has said to me you've come a long way in two years and just think, most riders don't really hit there peak for 7 years. Not sure how true that is but I will say you will get a lot stronger as months go by. Wish I could ride all year, You lucky dog.

</intolerance>

I want to start riding with a group, but I am also trying to increase my distance. Unfortunately the majority of rides these days are about 30 miles. I am trying get up to 65 by Feb. Maybe I should hit an early 30-mile ride and a late 30-mile ride

Pinyon

That works very well for me. Especially early in the season, when I want to increase the amount of time in the saddle. Sometimes it is very hard to find a single 2+ hour block of time to ride each day, especially when the days are shorter. Being able to split the ride into two halves, one before and one after work, really helps.

It is not as hard as doing a continuous ride, and you don't have to pay attention to hydration and food as much, but it definitely gets you used to spending that many hours per day in the saddle.

I usually end up riding hills or intervals in the morning, and then a steady-pace in the afternoon. Unless it is a recovery day, and then I do steady-pace in the morning (not too many hills, and no intervals) and a recovery ride in the afternoon.

Play with it, and see what works for you.

mkadam68

+1

Also, riding in groups: groups usually go faster/harder, so a 1-hour ride in a group may be the equivalent of 75-90 minute ride solo.