Wouldn't bother me at all. There's more important things in life to get upset about than the speed of a bike ride. If it's not what they said it was going to be, just don't go back again.

Yup. I will head out there next Wednesday, hoping there are some B riders. Otherwise, I'll do what I can, finish the ride, and find a different Wednesday group. No worries

actually it is kind of tempting in a sick saddle sore, back throbbing, hands hurting, neck pain kind of way.

Welcome to group rides, the group I ride with isn't that fast, maybe average 18mph at best, in the rides I go on, but wow is it a humbling experience. I get to see and learn roads I'd never see on my own, and push myself as hard as I can do to catch up with the group. I'd say just keep going to the rides, they may have been going faster than advertised that day just to pick on the n00bs, I'm sure it varies.

superdex

Come up to King George and ride with us slow folks. -

Joe

Doesn't RABA have a Wednesday ride? I think they'd be much more relaxed in pace.

That's what I'd be doing. While it can be good training to ride with a faster group and see how long you can hang on until you get dropped, it can also be damn frustrating. Finding a larger group that consistently offers two different paces would be good. That way, you can ride with the faster group and get dropped when you feel like testing yourself, and if you're not feeling up to that you can ride comfortably in the slower group.

Or come on out C-ville way. You can spit me and a few others I know out the back end like a tree branch in a wood chipper. You'll look good and look good doing it.

They do, https://raba.org/rides_August_Weekly.html --down in Chesterfield (ironically, right near where I just moved from). I may try that one in a couple weeks.

There's a small group forming to ride 10:30am Saturday (13 Aug) leaving from West Creek (over by Capital One), and I think one can surmise what kind of pace it will be from this thread , y'all are welcome to join us, PM me if you're interested (so far it's jitteringjr, myself, maybe a couple others) ....

go back and go back. 18-20mph means an avg.
i got dropped from every single group ride 3 years ago. every single one. then i learned about the mental part of riding and how to ride smart.
now i am out front, pushing the pace. some rides i feel good, others you just hang in the middle of the pack.

the only way to ride @ 25mph is to train @ 25mph. if you start with them, last as long as possible (learn as much as possible) then continue with your miles, you'll do fine.

always take the opportunity to ride with better riders. be patient. begin hydrating 3 days prior (pee every 3 hours) and load up with pasta sandwiches, and really learn about yourself.

this ride seems like one big interval. you can go 18-20mph all morning, but haven't been trained to ratchet up the mph. if they are avg'ing 18-20mph and there are points where they go 27mph, then math will tell you that they slow up and cruise for a while in that ride. once you learn use intervals in your training, you will hang with them.

if this is the type of ride you want, then train at those speeds.

Sounds like me on one of those fix gear rides up to Nyack with Msngr and those other fixed-riders.

at least the guys you rode with were welcoming. I remeber my first realy climb ride (something I would consider challening even now). It was my first month on the road bike and I joined this "hardcore" group of climbers. Two of their members actually quit halfway and I was so far behind that I felt like I was on square wheels. I finished the climb, and the guys waited for me and it's pretty much fueled me to get better.

I have to agree with you...when I saw that line about getting to "32 - 33mph and staying there" I found it real hard to believe unless:
a) going downhill for a long time
b) massive tailwind on a flat stretch
c) the whole club is on the Pan-American cycling team training squad

are you kidding? hard to believe? it happens. consistently on some training rides. why is this so hard to buy? its not a superhuman feat.

After being a part of it last night and watching a small group (three or four) pull off in their own little paceline away from the main train doing 27, yeah, it happens. Amazing, isn't it?

OK...I'll defer to those that know....but obviously that isn't a normal club ride when the fastest guys inthe state show up for it.

But, last night in my group I set new personal records - for some reason my club is now into climbing....out of a 1 hour 50 minute ride I spent 1 hour 19 minutes above 80% of my HRmax (theoretical max is 181, I hit 179 and was in the high 170's for quite a while) and hit 42 mph on the backside of the steepest hill. Somehow the two minutes at 40+ mph didn't balance out the 20 minutes of climbing at 8 mph to me.

You rode 27mph for 7 miles?! You're a stud in my book!!! I would have gotten dropped after the first block!

superdex, great attitude and outlook on your ride; this will help you in spades.

"Now, the question is, do I go back out there next Wednesday, see if I can last 9 miles? "

DEFINITELY! Ask any of those guys on that group ride about their first couple of times out and they'll tell you the exact same story; that they got dropped big time too! The more you go out there, the faster you'll get and the longer you'll hang. Within 2-3 months, you'll be able to finish the entire ride with them and will be duking it out for the finish as well!

Here's what you gotta do, incorporate that ride into the middle of your weekly microcycle in terms of intensity AND distance. That means on one of your training rides, you gotta do more intensity than them. So one day, do a 10-15mile ride with 5 all-out 100% effort sprints, then go home. Another day, like on a weekend, do a longer ride than that group ride at an endurance 65-75% pace for 3-4 hours.

Within 2-3 months, you'll be completely amazed at how fast you'll improve.

If I were you I would return to the ride, but return without your computer. I'm 90% sure that the reason you got dropped was that you were flipping out over the 27mph pace you had settled into, not because you couldn't handle it, but only because you've never been there before. On my casual training rides i rarely exceed a 20mph average for the ride, but i can jump into races and group rides where *on the flats* 30 mph speeds are held for over an hour. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of confidence riding in a pack and really taking advantage of the good thing you've got going when you have other riders to bum pulls from. But 27 isn't that fast on a flattish road in a group.

Haha, nice post. I feel for ya too though. I think we have all been there at one time or another.

Maybe next time you could ask to use this with one of the stronger riders...

We've got a group here in Austin like that. I ride with them usually once a week. They're nice guys but I almost hate riding with them. Why? The pace is so blasted fast, its almost not fun. But I realize it makes me a better cyclist and I'm enjoying the challenge right now. I got dropped, btw, last week because I unclipped at a light and the others caught it without unclipping (or did track stands). In the time it took me to clip in they opened a gap I couldn't close, and of course you can't maintain that speed solo very long. There's no shame in getting dropped. It happens - no biggie.

Oh and it is very possible to maintain mid 20mph averages in a group like this. I shake my head in disbelief after I do it with them. Working in a group though you can maintain that.

BTW, Lance Armstrong apparently showed up for this ride a few months before the tour w/Ekimov (some of the guys said he did anyway). Darn it - I missed that night. Figures.

I was out faster than a fat kid in dodgeball.

Once again, I am right with ya here Hip...There is no way I would even join a group like that. I am still trying to find a group here that can keep around the 16-17mph pace. I ride to have fun and get some healthy exercise.

One of the best things about cycling is that there is a place for every kind of rider...you just need to find your niche.

I wouldn't have lasted that long!!

...speaking of spinning

It was rude of you to drop them by 1/2 mile on Patterson and not let them catch-up. It was their first outing with you.