dfw

I've done a few group rides with the local club in my town, but those guys are pretty much out of my league. All of the guys are in good shape and two of them are pros. They average well over 20 mph and I can usually only stay with them for 10-15 miles before they drop me.

I was about 10 miles into a long solo ride this morning when a large group of riders passed me going the other way. I noticed their group was made up of older guys, big guys, and some pretty lean women. I'm carrying a few extra pounds myself so I thought here's a group of guys I should be able to hang with. I turned around and caught up with them. I started chatting with one and found out they were 20 miles into a 50 mile ride. I asked if I could ride with them and they all welcomed me. They were from a town about 10 miles to the east of me.

The ride was awesome. It's really nice riding in a group. I pushed myself much harder than I would have on my own. I'm no spring chicken at 38, but some of the guys were quite a bit older and fatter than me, so I made up my mind I wasn't going to get dropped by those dudes. I was pretty suprised at how good they were. The group was a great bunch of folks. They did a couple of regroupings to pick up those that got dropped on some of the hills. I always thought I sucked on hills, but I did better than most.

I averaged just shy of 18 mph after 40 miles. I had to ride the last 10 miles solo, but kept my average the same and finished up with 50 miles. I know where I'll be next Saturday.

SDRider

Excellent! I need to find a group like that around here. I might start doing group rides and I'm actually planning on doing a century next summer which should give me plenty of time to get in shape for it.

johnny99

I'm sure there are lots of recreational bike clubs in the San Diego area. Ask your friends or ask at local bike shops. Most of these clubs have rides at different difficulty levels, several times a week (if not every day).

Be careful if you show up at a ride and everyone else is older than you. Some of those retired folks ride almost every day and are much fitter/faster than their children. I know some grandmothers who can easily hang with a 20+mph pack and I know some 70+ year old guys who can lead that pack for miles at a time.

trayer350

Re: What a difference the right group makes.

Good story. You are right.

glassman

You are exactly right. I joined a local bike club 2 weeks ago and really enjoy riding with them. It does make you try harder but thats why I joined...

JavaMan

The title says it all, dfw! Congratulations on finding a good group.

In case anyone around the Irvine, CA area is looking for a good group, I would recommend the Orange County Rebels. www.ocrebels.com

dahvaio

I agree... the OCRebels are a great group... They have all group levels and the rides are well planned out...

simplyred

You're right in joining a better group suited to your intrests - ie. riding and not training for UCI points.
I try to ride the fastest group ride in Toronto. I get PWNED everytime - but I love it.
I keep up with them for like 15 miles and then BAM! - dropped like last week's meatloaf.
Humble pie just makes me work harder everytime & keeps my ego to a nice minimum.

But - in your case, I know that you just want to get our there and ride with a group.
Glad you found a group that takes care of their riders.

Happy Riding
-Peter

cuda2k

DFW, sounds like you had a good ride in and probably good shape for the Cotton Patch next week. After yesterday's ride, I'm a bit worried about my long distance endurance but maybe that was just because I took nearly a full week off with school and a trip out of town last weekend. Glad to hear you found a good group to ride with, and I agree, it does help! Any time you're in for a good chatty ride, feel free to send me a PM and we'll meet up some weekend. My usual ride partner seems to be a bit lazy to get his rear out of bed at a decent hour on the weekends.

spingineer

Wow, there's another thread on this forum with a completely opposite side of this. I basically posted in there the benefits of riding in a group. I'm glad you found a positive side to riding in a group. Group riding definitely pushes you more than you would if you were riding alone.

geneman

It's always great to find friends with the same goals/riding style. Congrats!!

No spring chicken at 38? My 47 year old break away partner tried to hand me that line of BS after I beat him at the line at our last training race. That was his second break away of the day and he took down points on both prime laps. This guy is tough as nails and he got no sympathy from this 34 year old. 38 ... pshhaa!

Mark