Originally Posted by CliffordK

I wonder if this is all a very basic communication breakdown, likely in multiple places. Assuming what the others desire, or are feeling rather than talking about it.

You've apparently ridden hard with some of these guys, so perhaps the assumption was that you liked to ride hard.

So, if they told you that they were going for a hard ride-or-die hammerfest... or that the "normal group" was too leisurely, and that they wanted to go a bit harder, then joining their mini-group would have been up to you.

On the other hand, if you expected a long social ride, then that would have been entirely different.

Perhaps they made some assumptions based on prior interactions. So, if you were one to dive into every break-away with gusto in your normal group rides, perhaps they simply assumed you wished to do a harder ride, and failed to confirm that your goals were what they had anticipated.

I still think it is odd to leave someone behind with a small group, but perhaps even that was poorly communicated, and they felt you simply wished to go home rather than realizing that slowing down 2 MPH or so would have kept the group together.