Oh, and the one group ride I ever went on was a ride through Baltimore years ago.
The course kind sucked. It was through all these residential neighborhoods and some abandoned areas because they had no traffic. Halfway through the ride I got bored and decided to go find my own route. The organizers tried to stop me from leaving the planned route and legally riding my bike on a different public street. (This was not a race where this could have been a shortcut to winning. There was no timing and no racing. Just a casual ride)
Turns out I hate preplanned routes. I like just meandering. Maybe it's my ADD but I see a shiny new road and think "Hmm...that one looks better. I'm going that way." There is no plan to it.