Originally Posted by
datlas
We had a fantastic club ride today. Start temps were around 18 but slowly warmed up and was in the mid 20s within an hour. The sun was bright, the wind was calm, and the route had only a few small ice patches. We only had 6 riders but still 100% fun and way better than the trainer.
I envy your weekly rides, in a way.
I usually ride by myself, and whenever I do ride with others I find myself painfully slow. I'm not competitive in any meaningful way, even with myself, so I never put in the effort to get any faster.
The last open to the public group ride I went on was a 30 mile gravel ride during which I was way off the back almost the whole time. The ride organizer kept hanging back occasionally, which I appreciated, but I could tell that I was holding him back from the ride with his buddies that he really wanted. It didn't help that I was underbiking a bit with 38mm tires on a 35lb touring/randonneuring bike with fenders and luggage. Perhaps a dedicated gravel bike would make things a bit better.
There is one club that does scheduled road rides through the spring and summer, but I haven't ever made it out to any of them, somewhat due to paragraph 2 above. At least I do have a true road bike that wouldn't be totally out of place.
Maybe this year.