I paid to join just because I don't know enough serious riders to find a large, faster group for free. I ride with about 10 people I know semi regularly. Sometimes it's 2 of use sometimes 6 or 8 at at time but I'm a much stronger rider then most of them. Not saying I'm anything special, I just ride a lot more consistently so when I ride with my friends I have to ride a lot slower than I ride solo and stop to wait at tops of hills etc. I would like a more serious group where people my level and stronger that can push me. If I have to pay a reasonable amount of dues for that, I'm fine as long as there are rides. I have looked into other local clubs that charge about the same in dues as the one I joined and advertise at least 1 ride per week not per month. The main reason I chose to join the club I did was location and convenience of getting to the rides for me.
And yes, by asking the question I know my own answer but I've only been riding road for about 2 years and this is the first club I've joined so I wanted to make sure my expectations are appropriate.