Wow, this sounds exactly like me when I started riding with a group this summer. All the other guys in the group that meets at 5AM(worst part about the ride) are hard core bikers, racing every other weekend, and just insanely better than my beginner ass, ie: one guy was two places away from the 72 or 76 olympics for the ITT if I am not mistaken. Anyhow, I got dropped after 12 miles of the 24 mile ride, and never caught back up. But the guys waited at the end and were very encouraging. So I kept showing up at 5Am and now I am able to hang with the lead group at about 21-24 mph avg. I still get dusted when the sprints come around at 35mph+, but playing catch up the whole time has definitely made me a stronger rider. Anyhow, I actually like having to catch up and so forth, and now that I can hang and take a good pull, it always feel good as you drop back when someone going by tells you "nice pull" or something along those lines. Anyhow, if you enjoy the biking, stick to it, and before you knwo it, you will be right up with the first group. At least thats how it worked out for me.