Bike Forums - The Intermediate Phase

I've been cycling on and off for a few years but have got more and more serious over the past year. The fun bit is, I'm getting stronger and stronger. And even if Im not as strong as I want to be I can see myself getting there.

The thing is, I like to push myself and to try hard but I'm not actually racing or anything. So I'm falling between two stools with the people I ride with. There are "daytrippers" (no harm in that) who go out for a few hours, say, MTB-ing. I find this a bit frustrating now as I can keep going , I don't need to be waiting around. Then there are people who are really serious and really good. The reason I don't like to out with these folks is I don't like holding them up. They are seriously training for events in different disciplines and Im just there to see if I can keep up with the serious cyclists.

I recently went on a spin with some (to me) serious cyclists and happily I could pretty much keep up but being my first road spin with a group I was all over the place, to their annoyance. I don't blame them. For me what was a great achivement that I could keep up with them turned a bit sour for me cos I felt I was out of place. I just did not enjoy it.

Im maybe not articulating for well but I want to train as hard as the serious cyclists but I don't really want the seriousness. Does anyone else feel like this?