My first group ride!
 

So i was pretty nervous, never having ridden with another person since i was 12, and as the group swelled to a good 20 or 30 strong, i knew i had gotten too deep.not only that, but most of the bikes cost more than my first car(which wasnt a beater)! Well, a few miles in, we're cruising easy at 17mph. then a hill, then another hill, then another hill and suddenly the climbs are the only 17mph part of the ride! jeeez. i knew i needed some practice, but i got dropped pretty bad. i figure i made it about 1/2 way through. 2 of the cbc racers stuck with me and another dropee, and we chatted home. I was pretty suprised how welcomed i was. one guy came up at the beginning and gave me the whole paceline 101, and several riders coaching me. i had fun, and im sad i came in at the end of the season.

oh, and today is the first time ive enjoyed a mans hand on my ass. got pushed up a few hills :)

Awesome! My first 3 group rides so far have ended this way too. Stick with it! It only gets better with time. Right? :)

I haven't had the courage to try a group ride yet. At 44 and a newish rider, I'm still building up endurance. But I'd love to try a group ride !! I just don't want anyone feeling sorry for me and holding back to stay with me. Too proud and stubborn, I guess... :)

Sounds like a good group of guys. Too many times I've seen that arrogant side of this sport with no one taking the time to talk to or teach new riders.

Stick with it. The best way to get fast is to keep showing up.

I rode a metric last weekend, no pace lines ... pretty much solo. Yesterday I rode the first half again and said I was going to see if I could do some of the climbs faster. Nope, both climbs I was faster with just the psychological push of riding in a group.

Having rode solo for nearly 3k miles, my first group ride ever was last Saturday and it was splendid. I did get dropped at the 45 mile marker, but I don't regret for one bit for showing up. I did not contribute to the paceline that day because I wanted to see what the group dynamic was like and it was fairly lax except for 1 Fred, who did not like it when I was mashing up a hill swaying left and right and not sticking to a straight line (I'm not a pro-goat, mkay?).
But, I'm not going to let one man's dismay rob me of a pleasant group ride experience. I returned the next day stronger than the day before and contributed about 5 miles at the front of the paceline spread out on 10 efforts. My only regret is I won't be going this weekend due to prior arrangements :( They will have to wait for next weekend!
Glad you met some decent people :) Stick with them and you will certainly grow with experience and fitness!

Most of my rides over the last five years have been solo...or with 1 or 2 friends. This summer I made it a point to get down to the group rides where I could ride to the start. I've really enjoyed the group dynamics of 30 riders all pounding together and have discovered some new biking routes. Overall it's been a positive experience...but I still enjoy my solo rides also.

Nice job. group rides are a lot of fun. personally, I dont really understand why so many people are in fear of group rides. ask questions if you are new and learn the signals and what you should do, hang in the back and watch and become better. simple really.

Congrats on your first group ride.. it's always a big event you'll never forget.

Have you considered that he wasn't saying it to be a jerk, but because what you were doing was potentially unsafe and he didn't want you knocking somebody down? I'm not saying that's the case.. but it is a possibility. And Fred's don't yell.. you're thinking of a poser.

It's not my intention to hijack this thread. I just thought that there was no need for another thread with an identical title.



Today was MY first group ride. I really enjoy riding solo and had been putting off hooking up with a group. If I had known how much fun it was going to be I would have done it much sooner.

First, the group was a fantastic bunch of people. There were no attitudes and everybody was friendly and easy to get along with.

The route itself was really great. We did just under 40 miles of rolling hills in about 3 hours, with one refreshment stop of about 15 minutes. My computer said we averaged 16.4 mph while moving.

Near the beginning of the ride we rode through a not-yet-finished industrial complex. The roads within that complex are freshly paved and essentially closed to automobile traffic. What a blast to have a few miles of roads like that to ourselves. After we got through that complex we were on to the surface roads.

The entire ride took place in upstate NY, just south of Saratoga Springs. We crossed the Hudson River twice, once on the way out and we used a different bridge on the way back. The nominal destination was a reservoir. As it turns out, we didn't even stop there, but got to ride the shoreline for a while. Absolutely beautiful.

We didn't encounter too much automobile traffic, and indeed much of the time we had the place to ourselves. The ride leader did some significant planning to keep us on such safe and enjoyable roads.

It was overcast the entire time, with temperatures in the low 50's and almost no wind. I thought the weather and riding conditions were optimal. Everyone seemed dressed for the weather. I agreed with another rider that if it was sunny we all might be a bit warm. I also pointed out that the sun tends to wash out the colors of the foliage, so the cloudy skies actually enhance the leaf-peeking.

As far as the speed and pacing, I kept up just fine. As far as riding with the group, I tried to blend in and stay out of the way. I swore to myself I'd stay to the back and not be aggressive. I think I succeeded in not being aggressive, but I kept edging up toward the front. With my riding style, that's where I seemed to end up. Understand that there really wasn't a pace line or close drafting. Like I said, everyone was cool and everyone moved up and back from time to time.

One time we started a decent climb and I didn't want to remain at the back of the pack. I pulled out pushed past the mid section of the pack. I don't think I was obnoxious. The only time I actually took the lead was on one 40mph+ downhill. I wasn't pedaling at all, just in an aero tuck. I guess my ~200 lbs had me descending faster than the others. I was having too much fun to hit the brakes.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better first group ride. The people, the route, the weather, everything was great. That same cycling club sponsors several group rides each week. I think I might have to try another, and soon.

Great to see you joined in and saw the benefits of a group ride. From the sounds of it, a very welcoming group too. Keep going back, meet some more good riders and very soon you might be one of those who might be dropping back to help the newcomer make it back to the barn.

CONGRATS, that's awesome!! I pretty much ride solo as well, and our group riding has come to a halt for the season in MN. But I can't wait to join a cycling studio in May! --Hopefully with a strong winter training session I will be ready to pick it up with confidence this spring! This last yr my ave speed was about 17 so if I can improve that over the next few months It should help me a lot! I just hope I will have a great (encouraging) group of guys like you had to train with!!

Keep up the good work!

I enjoy the local slow pace, no drop group ride because it pushes me harder than I push myself. I very much enjoy just taking off on my own and riding around the area logging miles at my own comfortable pace as well. The hardest part (for me) about participating in some group rides is how easy it is to be discouraged by the apparent strength of other riders, even proclaimed newbies....I am REALLY slow, and it's hard to find anything this side of what most others think of as a conversational ride with too low mileage for me to want to ride to the other side of town for. Even "C" paced rides have to have a no drop policy for me to go out, otherwise I can (and have) end up in the middle of somewhere with no clue how to get back to my car.

Thats because cyclists are the loneliest people in the world. But yes, cyclists are very welcoming peoples.

Jason from Richmond

I love group rides. Unfortunately, my son's soccer schedule seems to be conspiring against me for the rest of the autumn. Enjoy.

Cool story bro.

I did my first group ride in Sept. It was a shop ride and looked pretty daunting seeing everyone on their flashy bikes and gear but most of the route happened to be on the hills I commute on daily, so it was actually anticlimactic and I ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. I chatted to one guy beforehand and thought I lost him up ahead but actually finished ahead of him. And I swore I overheard some people at the end talking about using me as a pacing target (I had lights on as it was twilight, but hardly anyone else seemed to. Too heavy I suppose.) At one point I think I accidentally "attacked" because it was a hill I knew well, so I got a lot of speed going down it so I would use less energy going up it. As I went up I initially overtook a whole bunch of pro-looking guys, but as I slowed down up the hill they seem broken up and some of them flew by all of a sudden. I guess they were probably riding as you're supposed to ride hills, but I knew the climb well and how short it was.

The main things I learned - a) I suck at descents b) I suck at fast turns c) I especially suck at turning during descents d) I am great at clipping in fast (thank commuting + crank brothers for that). Every stop sign/light it seemed like I was braking waiting for folks in front to clip in.

My second group ride was a century a week later. I recognized a guy from the group ride there. Small world.

I want to do one, I'm scared!

don't worry... just go.. if you get dropped... play like it was always meant to be a solo ride ;) My first group ride I asked questions and immediately felt at home. It is a bit early to wake up at 4:25am though...

I will eventually, I am still waiting to get a new helmet, my bibs are in the mail, and I want another month or so of base miles. Luckily here in SD we can ride all year long.