BlazingPedals

Yes I miss my club rides. I'm a social rider and have a hard time motivating myself to ride by myself. Re struggling to keep up with the fast riders: Huh??? If there is more than one route from a starting spot, I'll pick which one I do based on the destination. They can worry about keeping up with me if they want.

bblair

With the big club rides, there had been times when I got dropped turning out of the shop parking light, waiting for a car. Some of the A rides would ride with the B's, just to feel like big fish. Same with B's to C's. I don't need that.

Now I right mostly with a group of fellow retirees and while we like to crank it up the hills, we always wait at turns or at tops. Otherwise, I'd sleep in and do the same ride with a better breakfast.

jleeg

Started cycling again after a 20 year fly fishing hiatus. Two old climbing, biking and fishing friends now living on the w coast coast convinced me (not hard) to join them on the Eroica California ride in April. When I finally read about the ride (hard) I realized I really did have to train. I cleaned up my steel racer I had built in the late 70s (52/42 by 11-21) and gulped and trained. This was in February and the pandemic was upon us. I wahooed and took to the hilly Pennsylvani roads in March. All solo and while I could read the numbers showing my improvement, I really didn’t know where I stood.
So, in July (Eroica was cancelled, by the way) I reached out to my riding buddies from those many years ago and also joined the regional bike club, I was thrilled to know I could hang. It was a big confidence builder, especially that first long ride with my 20 yr younger pal hanging on and sometimes not.
I like the club B rides averaging 17 and generally push a little harder alone, which I am 80% of the time. My old cycling friends are safer and generally better riders, perhaps because I know what I’m getting. Club rides establish new friendships and get me onto unfamiliar routes. Gotta be extra cautious on a wheel as there are jumpers and erratic riders, and the occasional pia personality. I stay up front to avoid mishaps. At 69 I’m feeling fit, lean and loving the ride (and smug about being the old fit guy). And I’m having little trouble finding things to buy! Kept my Merlin from 1993 but upgraded from campy 8 to 12. Anyway sorry for the ramble. Best, J

Geekage

"I'm an introvert, but I prefer to be by myself on my own terms."

I just joined a club at the beginning of the year and I miss riding with them. The weekday rides were made up of retired folks- both old and young- people who had flexible schedules, and those who were between jobs, like me. It was mostly a mature crowd, wide ranging B pace, with regroups every ten or fifteen miles. The fast kid would finish the climbs then do laps to the last rider and back to the top a couple of times. Regroups were a time to socialize, so there was never a rush to leave as soon as the last person arrived.

I did a few rides with them before joining the club, so I knew it was something I liked. I figure if I rode with a club that was more intent on racing instead of racking up distance and elevation, then I probably would have kept looking. I had done some other clubs' rides that didn't appeal to me and I never went back to them.

The club has begun to resume some rides, so I'm anxious to join them, but it's not like they'll be the same rides as before. I'm going to be more standoffish, keeping my distance. The groups are going to be smaller, and the vibe will be different. We'll see if I keep going.

bikejrff

No, I don't ride with my local club anymore. I think the the poor decisions they make because of herd mentality are not in my best cycling interests.

bruce19

No. Not at all. I can now ride at my own pace. I don't worry about people riding "underneath" me in a corner because they have no idea what a proper (aka: racer's) line is. I don't worry about the wheel in front of me. So much more to say. I'm happy to ride with my GF and/or some of my friends who happen to be ex-racers locally and know what "hold your line" means.