Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I just did some math, and I think you may have lost perspective. You're beating yourself up because you could only keep up with the A group for 5 miles after riding just about 20 mph solo for 45 minutes? If you enjoy riding with this group, please don't let some sense of "shame" stop you from trying it again. My bet is if the 13.5 miles had been just a bit slower, you might have had plenty of gas to keep up with them.
I solo ride at a little higher than that speed over distance, I don't see a lot of other riders doing it.
Good morning! I am a different category of rider - actually much different(!). In my club I am a C level rider which means that average moving speed for the ride is typically 12.5-12.8 mph, with flat road speeds of 13-14. The club's website says overall average 11-12.6, but none of the ride leaders have rides of under 12 mph.
Very often (too often!) we have riders who are really C+ joining us, and they go out really fast and ahead of the group, and then pull along the rest of us. As a result we may end up averaging 13.6 or 13.7 mph! For myself, that is uncomfortable. I just recently decided, therefore, that I will only ride with leaders who at least closely adhere to the guidelines. Otherwise I'll do solo rides.
To me, and I'd guess for you, cycling is all about being out there and pedaling, and loving it. So as others have stated, perhaps you should ride down 1 level - there is absolutely no shame in that! Plus, as Livedarklions has stated, you are being too hard on yourself especially considering the steps you took to get to the starting point! Overall, I think your ride was actually pretty impressive!
So IMHO, just get out there, ride safely, and enjoy!
Best regards