Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
A stated pace is fine as far as it goes. However, my experience is that this falls apart if the routes are hilly, and combined with whether or not the leader of the ride is a rotated role. You can for example say that it's a 20mph ride, but is that on flat ground? Relative differing abilities in rolling terrain and various climbs. What's the agreed upon pace for 2%, 5% or 8% gradients? How often will you want to stop or slow to regroup, etc? Hard to get away from these issues with groups made up of individuals who don't know each other at all.
This might be too much information for some to absorb, but if you post it as a 20mph zone 2 or perceived effort or whatever is more understandable ride, that should give people enough information. Everybody usually knows whether they ride hills well or not. I always go down one level when there is going to be a lot of climbing because I am slow on long climbs.