Originally Posted by
travelerman
Anyone else have difficulty with slowing down the pace for a more casual ride?
Some of my riding partners - like all of us - are getting older, and I have struggled on group rides these past few years to keep from getting out ahead of them... I am BY NO MEANS a racehorse - I average from 16.5 - 17 mph on longer rides in our hilly neck-of-the-woods (my highest average last year was a century in a flatter part of the state - about 18.2 mph average).
I know a longer, slow ride is good for training, but I really struggle to not hammer it out, especially when the hills require a little momentum going down to keep a good pace going up.
I have the same problem and I really want to ride with my group of friends. Our group can number as high as 15, normally 8-12. Seems about half the group is itchy to pretend we can still be fast and will jump out for a few miles. We always establish a meeting point and then regroup. And no, I am not going to find new "friends." I have other groups of "acquaintances" I can cycle with, these guys are my friends.