It took me a while to get up the nerve, but I joined a group ride this evening.
The last time I tried, thinking a casual ride would be ok, I got dropped and made my way back to the bike shop alone.
It took losing over a hundred pounds and a lot of hiking before I made it back, though my mind was swimming with excuses and reasons to opt out.
The ride was a little over 9 miles, and while we did get up to about 26 mph a time or three, the average ended up around 12, with stops to keep the group together.
Not only did I complete the ride, I stayed with the front group the whole way. Not a huge bragging point, being a 'casual' ride, but it beat the ever-lovin' heck out of my earlier attempt.
Also, I used my Montague with some pretty fat tires, and I was among many roadies. I think I'll bring along a road bike next time.
My Paratrooper did get quite a bit of attention, though.