Originally Posted by p8rider
Thanks for everyones comments. I just take the event as a lesson learned. I won't try to ride with that particular group again. I may try another, but in the meantime I will continue to ride solo. I was surprised by this group becuase my own regular performance at distance is okay (usually 17.3 - 17.6) for rides over 40 miles and when I had checked with the shop and they told me the parameters of their normal ride I thought the timing/distance sounded right.
+1 on checking other clubs in your area. I like to ride at about your speed, and I find I'm between the preferred speeds of the two main clubs in my city. One is a pretty hardcore racing club, which can drop me like a bad habit. The other is recreational/social oriented. Some members can drop me, but the group rides at a slower speed than I prefer. The upshot is that I do a lot of my riding solo, too.