I met a boy today!
 

OK. I full-on admit it. I have a man-crush on this dude. I like his car, I like his house, I covet his garage and I am spellbound by his bicycle collection. I met him over a buisness deal (buying his leftover stuff on CL). He's one of the few people that I have met that is local, cycles and isn't a deuchbag. I would love to ride with him but he is SO out of my league I'm not sure that it would even be worth it for him (he was a pro racer in a foreign land).

So, should I ask him out? Do any of you other clydes ride with "regular" cyclists? PRO level cyclists?

I guess a better way of phrasing the question is: "what have been your experiences on with a riding partner who was at the far end of the specrum from you in fitness, skill and endurance"?

Depends on his personality. What I do know is riding with him would make you a better rider! He'd keep you out of your comfort zone.

One of my usual riding partners is of considerably more skill, power and speed than I and yet he still rides with me. Riding with him has made me better. He realizes that it is cool that folks just like to ride their bikes. He is a LBS employee and recently upgraded to cat 3. He is competitive there. I on the other hand would be dropped in the first mile of most cat 5 races. I say ask him to go on a ride. The worst he can do is say no.

Stalk him with your bike in hand. When he goes out for a ride, drop him like a hot potato. Or if he needs to keep his ego maybe let him drop you. :)

If you want to ride with him, just ask. If he says no then you will not be riding with him. If he says yes then maybe he will give you some tips to help you ride better.

It really depends on the person. If he is really a former pro racer from Europe then he probably has a different out look on training rides with slower riders. In Europe the fast riders are more apt to hang with the slower riders and actually help them ride faster. If he's been Americanized then he'll drop you like a rock. ;) If it's just a once in a while thing I don't see why you couldn't ask him if he wants to ride with you. One way to get faster is to ride with people who are faster than you are!

I went riding a few months ago with a fella who unbeknownst to me is the former state champion of California (mountain biking) several times over and is a damn strong roadie as well. I guess he road the mulholland century back in about 2007 as training for something else he was up to and set the damn course record.

he was pretty good to ride with. :) My speed really dropped off the last 10 miles or so because I was fried and I suggested he just ride on but he didn't.

http://app.strava.com/activities/49773499

I have a friend who is an avid cyclist who's daily rides can go 30-50 miles in a clip. He is always telling me to ride with him. He said he will do 20 miles before I get there and then help me build up. Maybe 5-10 miles the first couple times we ride but he doesnt care. I know I may not be as fast or fit but the fact he is encouraging me to come out and ride with him and his riding group says a lot. Everyone is welcome and if you have to pull over for a break or stop all together it's all good. Of course they will probably just keep going.

My strong riding buddies always hang with me. I always feel bad for holding them back. When the big hills come they just drop back and I feel a hand on my back. WEEEEE!!! Up the hill I go. It is still humbling, since my one friend is like 150 soaking wet. Another way I can ride with them is on their recovery days. They will try to stay at say 130 watts, and then I try to keep up. I usually fail, but it is a good workout. BTW - 130 for them is about 250-300 for my fat ass.

If I go riding with someone I know is a much weaker rider than me I accept I'm going to be going at their pace. It's not uncommon for me to do that because sometimes I want to just put down as much power as I can manage and sometimes I'd rather slow down and enjoy some company.

If I'm riding with someone I know is a much stronger rider then I'll try and keep my speed up but accept that I'm either going to hold them back or get dropped. If they have chosen to ride with me knowing I'm a weaker rider I figure they're in the same place as I am when I choose to ride with a weaker rider, and will accept they're going at my pace.

If I'm riding with someone stronger I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to pick up some tips on getting better myself.

This is a good strategy. If I'm going out with slower friends I'll ride over to their place - about 15 miles - ride with them for a couple of hours and then ride the 15 miles home. It means I can tootle along with them to be sociable, and still have 30 miles of the ride to go as hard as I want.

OP, there's no harm in asking. If he's an ex-pro he isn't going to be under any illusion that you can ride at his pace, so if he says yes you can be sure he'll ride at yours.

You will never know until you try. If he slows down to your pace, that could be a sign that he likes you.

I've got a friend who's a Cat 3 racer. I ride with him on his recovery days, works out about right.

Excellent piece of advice.