When I ride with someone we talk about this beforehand - what to do if one person wants to ride faster. We usually agree that's fine, but set rendezvous points where the faster person will wait. If this isn't agreeable then it's better not to ride together. Why annoy someone?

We've pretty much given up on "group riding", everyone is "faster" than my wife and even if they "list" the approx. speed, it's ALWAYS 6-8mph faster, the "training" mind group, can't get out of the "mode", even if they are suppose to be doing a "SOCIAL" ride! We will stay members to support the "advocacy/government" stuff but their will be VERY few rides with the club in our future. When we ride by ourselves, we seem to SMILE a lot more so we totally understand where your coming from, ENJOY that solo ride! :D

Hey fellow riders. I've got a another lean on 'group riding'. In larger groups, say century events [I only do metrics], I always feel 'guilty' when I find a group I like and then find myself 'drafting' behind them. It's usually too chaotic to see any organized effort to exchange drafting chores...so, I just accept the good wind and enjoy my ride. But I do often feel selfish...and I wonder if perhaps I might be annoying other riders [but they usually don't even know I'm there]. The tandem riders are the best pullers, LOL. Is drafting a big conscious thing with most riders? Usually, I'm just trying to survive, ha.

+1000 to that. I seldom ride any significant distance with my younger friends. It just isn't worth it. There is a danger factor also.

Drafting is about the only way I can stay with the two riders I have just given up on. But even then there comes a point when the effort in just trying to stay with them is going to ruin my ride.

And drafting a Tandem---I ride a Tandem and it is easy to lose any hangers on. Just 5 seconds explosion on the pedals and you will lose every one on the flat. Just wish it was the same uphills.

This is mostly true of casual and rec/some enthusiast riders. Folks who pile the miles and have decent fast twitch muscles will be limpets all day long. The successful tandem ditch usually comes about with a pre-arranged signal to go full gas for some amount of time to see if the wheelsuckers are still back there. IMO the best way to lose freeloaders is to find the closest (up)hill :D, and make sure you crest it w/o company, except maybe another tandem so you can trade pulls once it goes flat again. There's nothing like a tandem on a descent, it's a real thing of beauty.

Hey stapfam, maybe you should get one of your mates to ride the tandem with you?....and the two of you can spend the whole ride trying to (secretly) ditch the other guy. :)

You think your last group ride went bad? We got back from our Sat. ride and the a**h*** manager at the GetGo where we have parked many times had all our cars towed and it cost $200 each to get them released. Too upset to go into the details of this but my new passion is boycott GetGo.

Pretty much all my riding is solo, and for all the reasons stated here.

There are only two reasons I can see for riding non-solo. One is to enjoy a social occasion. That's a good reason. But if people separate then it is no longer sociable.

The other reason is to go faster by drafting. But that's like always starting at the top of a hill. Sure you can go faster but it doesn't prove anything. If you aren't racing or trying to catch a train then it's a moot point how fast you go.

I tried a group ride last year, quickly realized there was no group. I understood then that biking is a solo, contemplative activity.

I normally ride solo but I also ride with a bike club the second and third Saturday's of each month. The riders are generally over 50 and many of us are over 60. We take in any rider of any age with any type of bike and do between 15 to 20 miles per ride. The ride is paced to the slowest rider and it is just a fun ride. No competition, no race, no showing off, no being in a big hurry. If someone starts showing off or doesn't abide by the club safety rules, they are asked to leave and don't get invited again. They're just great rides with great people.

I find this really hard to believe - especially if the pace of the slowest rider is 10-11 mph average. Would they really respect that?

I don't know that club but I know myself and what I would do. I've ridden with people who wanted to ride slow, and I've kept company with the person who took up the end of the line simply because it didn't seem right or safe to run off far ahead. It doesn't take much to slow down and enjoy a slower ride. All it takes is intent.

My club has done many rides where this would not have been a problem at all. Not all rides are like this, but when a ride is publicized as a beginner, no drop ride, that is exactly what it is.

I;ve been on "no drop" group rides where the Type A leader just could not go at the slow pace, and it was me and my wife who ended up being the company for a couple of newbies, falling far behind the leader of the so-called "no drop" ride.