Originally Posted by
TiHabanero
In my glorious past I lead a weekly group ride. At one point it was 2 a week, however I lost interest when I stopped racing and found no need to go hammer myself into the ground. I really, really like riding alone, and almost always do so. I do ride with my daughter whenever possible as she is a great companion to ride with and is a very conversationalist and uninterested in riding her brains out.
This is about where I am with it.
Years ago I rode with a core group of 8-10 experienced riders on frequent training rides, and it was fabulous. That was numerous moves ago, and came to an end in 2001.
Since then, I've primarily done commuting and mountain biking, and have only recently returned to road riding. I'm hesitant to get into any of the local group rides for many of the reasons others have stated, and honestly prefer the solitude of riding on my own.
I did a recent local "sportif" - the short 35 miler, since I'm just getting back on the bike after a 5 year break - I quickly found myself riding solo between clusters of the faster riders, linking up occasionally with groups of 2-3 before moving on. I didn't mind that. However, the group start and first few miles reminded me of why it is best to ride with folks you can trust. So many squirrely riders that one has to be aware of (and avoid).