Originally Posted by
Machka
The "why" is this ... the assumption is that just because a person is slow, they are also unable to cover distance....
I'm a slow cyclist ... and I'm OK with that. But I can cover the distance. As long as I can maintain the randonneuring 15 km/h minimum, that's all I need.
Well, OK. But I don't think it is unreasonable to assume that most of the people riding slowly will be beginners, or compromised through age or whatever, and therefore unlikely to be up for a 50 mile ride. Quite apart from anything else, a 50 mile ride at 15kph is going to take over five hours, and most clubs aren't going to find a group that wants to ride for that long at that pace.
Of course, as a randonneur, distance is your thing. But randonneuring doesn't readily lend itself to club runs, it is almost by definition more of a solitary/small group affair.