At least from what I see on paper, I really admire the Western Wheelers' rides, they have a whole rating system for speed/hilliness/distance, and one the slower rides they have planned stops and wait for all stragglers, and on the faster ones it's more competitive, the assumption I"m sure being if you can handle a D ride, say, as opposed to an A, the easiest, you're able to fix a flat, and can find your way around or back to the start etc. Not saying they don't stop for mechanicals etc even on the D and E rides, but it's not, it looks like, as "required" as on the A/B rides. The A rides, for instance, sound more "warm and fuzzy" as rides go, and that's what a new rider needs! But it might take a large, established, and well-run club to have things set up this way.