I'm one of those "Everything I've learned about cycling I learned from group rides." Not necessarily on group rides, but also from training so I could try to keep up on them. That's a big reason I still do group rides, just the same as some racers: I do it so I have to train so I can do it. The other big reason is that all these folks are now my good friends.

I got around the problem issues with group rides by happening upon a private club-like ride where the maybe 30 people who come out somewhat regularly are all friends and predictable riders. We have try-outs to bring in new blood as members age out.

The first thing I learned was that if one is TTing a route, one is faster taking the hills as hard as possible and greatly reducing effort on the flat. From doing that, I learned that one has to be in really good form to make that possible, and have one's nutrition and hydration nailed. From trying to do those things, I learned to train and to eat and drink. The first double metric I rode with them, in my second year of restarting cycling, my legs cramped so bad at the lunch stop that I had to slide down out of my chair under the table and just roll around down there with everyone's feet.

On the rides themselves, I learned where to position my bike, how to move up and down the group, how to most easily keep a paceline steady, even how to do rolling pacelines.

And learned really well how to get back to the cars alone after going off the back either exhausted or bonked or both.

Oh, and not just boys. Girls, too. I was in a paceline once with a new guy what asked me who the heck was up there pulling, as we were doing 26. It was just one of our female regulars.