Originally Posted by
prathmann
Have you actually gone to one or more of their easier-rated rides? I wouldn't just go by what some of the people at the meeting said about getting dropped if you don't have a road bike. Show up for a few rides and see for yourself. At worst you do get left behind and end up doing the ride by yourself - which is what you're doing now anyway. But you may well find that there are others riding at a comfortable pace for you.
This is the key option.
I'm not sure how your bike clubs are organised in the US, but over here, clubs are primarily for racing and hence club rides (not organised) are mostly for training purposes and the pace can be pretty hot, depending on who's along for the ride. It's funny to see people cringe when certain people turn up and many comments about them not being allowed on the front. On Sat mornings I ride with mostly club riders because I want to be pushed outside my comfort zone a tad. I race road and track with the club so I like the pace. However, on Sunday mornings, I like to recover and take a more sedate pace. On these mornings I have found a small group of older (50+) riders that I like to tag along with. Every so often they like to up the pace, but it still isn't comparable to the club riders/racers.
As pointed out above, just stand your ground and say that you will just hang at the back of the bunch and see how you go. You might find that some aren't out to break themselves and will be happy to drop off the back with you if the pace gets too hot. If you get dropped, you at least get a taste of what the pace is like so you know if you want to continue to ride/train to get better. You might also chat with some of the riders and find out about other riders who do their own thing. Chances are those other groups will contain friends of the riders in the club group, so think of it as a possible research project at least.
Most of all, have fun.