GaryinLA

HI i am doing rides of up to about 40 miles at an average of 8-12mph (depending in part on which bike of mine i am riding ie hybrid with fat tires or road bike etc.) I have been biking about 10 weeks and up to 100 miles+ a week but my speed is slow because I still need to drop more weight.

Most group rides are too fast for me. Ie I tried to do a Midnight Ridazz ride and it took off at 17mph and I didnt try to keep up. Also a lot of group rides have experienced riders on very expensive very light road bikes so aside from my extra weight, my steel bikes are heavier too.

Also I am not looking to ride steep hills, i try to avoid those. Just lookign for long slow easy rides, and i like group rides to stay motivated.

So far all i have found locally in terms of group rides that meet my needs are the West Los Angeles Cycling Club sunday rides (they are on meetup.com) on the coast bike path Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach, and the Flying Pigeon shop rides (you can see these if you google F.P. and "Los Angeles".)

I am looking for evening and.or weekend rides as i have a day job.

I just learned about Critical Mass rides (there is a LA Critical Mass ride last FRI night of every month) and also there's a Santa Monica Critical Mass ride. The LA one is 30 miles and a slow 8-10mph but i missed it this past week. I dont haev any info on SM Critical Mass rides.

IF anyone knows any slow group rides in LA area (or i would also travel to OC or SFV or maybe even further for weekend rides) pls advise.

Thanks

urbanknight

The San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club has weekend rides for all levels. It sounds like you would like the level 2 rides. They start in a big group and then splinter into smaller groups according to speed, and you would simply find yourself with what I like to call the social group on Saturday rides. They'll chat while cruising along the route. Just don't be surprised if they spend up to an hour at the rest stop. Sunday rides are often ridden at a mellow pace by everyone.

alicestrong

That's a tough combo, but you might like Los Angeles Critical Mass. Just be prepared for a huge ride...

https://youtu.be/KJ6Sz2okAPQ https://www.lacriticalmass.org/

wrr1020

And tons of idiots

alicestrong

Keeps things interesting, kind of like here...

aprevo15

LA Wheelmen have good group rides.

wrr1020

Haha, i guess so. I did my first LA critical mass ride back in late 2009 and haven't done it since. So many hipsters doing things intentionally to piss off drivers. A guy got hit by an explorer while making a left turn right in front of it, wasn't too bad as he got back up. Another guy went right in front of a BMW X5 and slammed on his brakes to brake check the car. WTF. I didn't want to associate myself with these riders so i haven't done a critical mass since.

alicestrong

There's an LAPD ride tomorrow night leaving from Pershing Square that is quite slow (at least it was last year when I rode it). It probably won't be as long as you'd like, though.


LAPD Ride

08.2.11

Last year was a blast! Imagine riding through downtown LA with a police escort! On Tuesday night, August 2nd, we meet at downtown's Pershing Square (5th / Hill) and we will leave at 8PM sharp! Music provided by the Spasmatics! This tour will be traveling past LA Live, Bunker Hill, Chinatown, Olvera Street, Little Tokyo, and the Historic District. Join the LAPD as we pedal through LA escorted by our finest in blue! See you there...10-4.

chefxian

Montrose Tempo at 8am is slow. SoPas TJ's

sdgrannygear

they go a lot faster than 8-12mph and it would be very difficult to keep up with them on a fat tire hybrid, although I did see a guy on a commuter doing the fast montrose ride.

volosong

I've read their web site about these rides and have been tempted to make the trip from Palmdale to partake. Till then, since I generally like to ride at my own pace ... to push it when I want ... and recover when I want ... I usually plan a route on MapMyRide, print it out, and take off by myself. Motivation getting out the door is sometimes a problem, but once I get rolling, I'm always glad that I'm out.

urbanknight

Yep. It's only considered "slow" by the guys who to the earlier start and average 25 mph the whole way. The tempo is obviously still a racer's pace, because some people joked about making a 7:30 tempo tempo.



If you ever come out, let me know. Since I live 3 miles from the start, I frequently ride from home to the campus and do a ride with them. In my current condition, I'm good for their #3 rides, which in my opinion are the shortest ones that manage to get into the nicer roads and scenery.

longbeachgary

Really sounds to me like you're not ready for group rides yet. Many people (especially men) when they get in groups the speed goes up. Why not ride by yourself until you've put some speed on? Motivate yourself with goals for each ride - like try to shave off 30 seconds or a minute off your route - sprint to the next street sign - silly things to get you moving. While bicycle racing is a team sport, bicycle riding is not.

sdgrannygear

I think the OP is just looking for something chill like a donut ride and probably enjoys the social aspects of riding more than pushing yourself to the redline. There are rides like what he is looking for out there, but they are a lot smaller, and hence harder to find.

tFUnK

This is a nice, beginner-paced ride: https://www.midnightridazz.com/viewSt...p?storyId=6974

alicestrong

The CICLE rides are about the right speed but not as long as he'd like...

https://www.cicle.org/

chefxian

Sorry about the Tempo suggestion. I thought that was slow enough. Although I do agree with Longbeachgary about the group rides picking up speed.
Even when I tried to find a "slow" ride there was always 3 wanna be racers driving the pace. That LAPD ride should be good and slow. I remember seeing them last year and thinking how are the police ******* not falling asleep guiding the group. Good luck and you will find plenty of people out here that want and ride the pace you are looking for.

GaryinLA

Thanks for everyone's input. I think the post about me not ready to do group rides is not right. I have been doing group rides. I list the ones i do in my original post. I am doing these routinely. I just want to find some more slow group rides other than the ones i have found. I think everyone can benefit from group rides if they can find rides that fit their fitness levels and needs. My main interest in group rides is not to increase my pace or endurance or work on any particular training but just to find continued motivation to get out there and do my miles which is my form of exercise for fitness and dropping weight. If i rsvp for a group ride and.or just have it on my schedule with a place and time to be to meet up with other riders, then I am more likely to stay on track with my exercise. There's support in good groups-- all sorts of support one would find any group excercise group. If the rides are tied to social events like a lunch or a trip to a destination or back etc. then that's even more motivational to keep me doing my excercise and enjoying myself besides. To anyone who would say i am just not ready for a group bike ride is just not correct. Everyone is ready for a group bike ride, they just have to try to find a compatible group, thats why i posted. That LAPD ride sounds good but if its just once a year it wont do me much good . As to the LA Critical Mass, from what i read the LAPD now have an active presence on the rides, there is a police presence during the ride which is friendly in nature so whatever monstrosity the ride once was, it isnt like that now. Id like to try it out now but happened to miss this last one.

volosong

I found this a great motivator. There is one loop that starts and ends at my house and is 15.2 miles long with one 700 foot climb about 1/3 way in. I tried for over a year to ride that loop within an hour. Came very, very close almost all the time. Finally decided that I would never break an hour due to several signal lights along the route. If I were to hit them just right, then I could come in under an hour. Then, I got a new bike. Came a lot closer and realized that I just had to get up that hill faster if I were ever to break an hour. Slapped on a compact chainring and whomp! Finally came in several minutes under.

Striving for a personal goal is a great motivator. I kept at it for almost a year until I reached that goal.

sdgrannygear

If your motivation is dropping weight, riding with faster groups and pushing yourself will help you lose weight faster and make your after ride lunch taste a lot better. I'm just sayin.

tFUnK

Come out to the Fugitives ride Tuesday evening. It'll be perfect for you, trust. Great group to ride with, and a few of the regulars are on hybrid bikes.

longbeachgary

OUTSTANDING - Good for you.

GaryinLA

I dont agree with this comment. I am doing 100 miles a week at a comfortable pace (whatever that happens to be for me at the time). I am watching 2 things, the scale and the miles per ride and per week.

I have no need or desire to try to ride with faster groups and pushing myself to ride FASTER than I am comfortable with. The above comment is bad advice because if was to try to keep up with faster riders ie 17-18mph riders who are at their ideal weight level and I have 50 more pounds to lose, that would mean I would be exerting myself to try to ride at their speed, a lot more than they are exerting themselves. What your advice doesnt account for is i have more pounds to lose so i should not be trying to keep up with riders who are not carrying around 50 excess pounds.

By keeping at a comfortable mph and riding 400 miles a month i am dropping weight without over exerting myself. I am working hard but i am not unduly straining myself. If i tried to keep up with very fit 17-18mph riders on long bike rides i would be in a danger zone for excercise for me i believe. Also, since most of these group rides are on city streets i feel i would be putting myself in danger trying to ride at those speeds now to keep up with those faster riders, because there is no way i coudl be as attentive to traffic conditions as well as i could riding at a comfortable pace, because i would be frantically trying to keep up and near the point of exhaustion.

GaryinLA

The info on that ride says it is a minimum 12-15mph pace on flats. I cant do a 15mph pace on flats. If they are really doing 15mph pace i would get dropped. I am doing a 8-12 average mph pace on flats.

tFUnK

That's about as beginner-friendly of a ride as there is, so, good luck. It sounds like you are looking to do more miles without breaking a sweat. Maybe you can start your own ride on MR.com.