I do both. Mostly if I'm riding alone I start from home. But about once a week I drive my daughter to the stable where she rides a horse, and I get to start my ride over in some pretty rural country over by the Wisconsin border.

About 1/3 to 1/2 of my rides are club rides. If I have the time and the starting point is not to distant, I'll ride to the starting point. But those two criteria are not always met.

To digress some, many of you who club ride seem to do so chiefly on the weekends. Here in the Twin Cities, I'm lucky enough to be part of a giant club that, in warm months, offers about 50 different rides/week, with different starting places, distances, and paces. If I have the time, I can do a club ride most any evening after work, but not all the starting places are that close and I may not have time between work and the 6 PM start time to get there. So I might drive then.

Oh yeah, if I skip work, I can also go on a club ride most any day of the week with the retirees. This is why some of the old guys are so strong and fast! I can't do very much of this at all, but the little taste here and there sure makes me dream about retirement...