Hey, at least these people talked to you. The group I started riding with this summer dropped the division of fast riders and slow riders. Men, women, newbies all ride together. Most of the time if there is a flat (there were only two this summer) a few will stay back with the person who has the flat. I prefer to stay back because then it's a smaller group and the paceline was a little faster with the small group! The other flat happened to a guy who is a total jerk.....do I need to say what happened to him? The leader actually called for everyone to keep going!

It's very hard to believe that the people you rode with didn't know what a DH bike or suspension fork was. These people weren't green with little antennae were they?

Give them a chance unless you have other alternatives. Try as many groups as are available. Group riding is great for your riding skills (among other things).