There are some groups that actually ride their advertised pace, and make sure not to drop any riders accidentally. They pause at turns or hills, and either count the riders or wait for the "sweeper" rider that stays with the back riders.
Some group rides are at a casual pace. There's two local rides that have an average speed of around 12 mph, so they are probably riding 14 mph on the flat roads. They usually ride 15-20 miles. And there's another that just says "will ride at the speed of the slowest rider"
But it's hard to find ride leaders for these groups, since experienced riders tend to get faster than when they were new. And, unless the group is very small, two ride leaders are really helpful. So there aren't too many of these rides. But check at bike shops, or maybe there's a local ride posting email list.
It's good to contact the ride leader to find out their typical flat road speeds, and their no-drop policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The opposite extreme is the rides that follow the same route every week, and have mostly "regulars" that know the route. These tend to fragment into small sub groups, maybe 1-5 riders, all at different speeds. And the speeds pick up during the year as riders get more fit. So it's not the best intro to a group ride.
Last edited by rm -rf; 05-11-12 at 08:47 AM.