SVThis

I had two flats on my first group ride. Bought two new tires and tubes the next day.

Blackdays

Correct.

roccobike

I was advised by freinds to ride with a beginner, no drop ride. So I did. The first thing I noticed was a really good looking girl in the group. Then, once the ride started, I noticed that she never rode above 12 MPH..... on a downhill.....with the wind at her back. It was awful.
Then another guy on the ride bonked. I mean, HOW do you bonk on a 11MPH average speed ride that's only 26 miles long with two rest stops?
At the end, when the group leader was asked by a freind how the ride went, he responded "Painfully slow".
I changed to another club on my next ride.

colombo357

I destroyed the field on day 1 and continue to do so.

I'm one of the most talented bike riders out there. My mom told me so.

Voodoo76

My first didn't turn out too well. Was one of a whole bunch of other newbies at school. Had a 60 mile out and back all planned. Did not take into account wind direction and strength when we woke up Saturday morning. Rode our asses off for 30 miles w a huge tail wind, impressing each other with our big ring skills. Then we turned around.

I learned several lessons.

Machka 

I'm trying to think what my first group ride was ... when it was ... with whom.



If a group is more than 3 people, I think it was in 1997 on a MS150 event ... and it went just fine, in fact, really well.

Barese Rider

My first formal group ride was with the C group. Most of who were 30 something females into triathalons .It was a great group. Thye road along at a good pace, only a few guys attacked here and there and it was a very pleasant experience . My first ride with the A folks was humbling.

jimmuller 

The name of this thread is "How did your first group ride end?" but I see most respondents answered with how it began. As it begins, so it ends....

On my first group ride I rode at my own pace, not as fast as the the hammer-bearers but not the slowest either. It was a "group" ride only in the sense that I could follow the arrows and not worry about where I was going. I enjoyed the ride.

stonecrd

I started with a lower end group and moved up every week until I got dropped. After the second week of getting dropped I figured the ride out, rode smarter and was able to hang with the top group. These days I ride mostly solo but ride in with various groups that come through town on the weekend, so I usually get 30-40m of fast group riding and then rest of the 2hrs solo, works better for me that way

NickDavid

+1

Few years ago, on my first group ride, I popped off the back very quickly. I thought I was hot sh1t, got up front, quickly died and then watched them all go by. I got so lost, but eventually found my way back. Humbling, to say the least.

eric_anderson

First group ride was with the local bike shop Wed night ride in april 1993. I had just returned from 6 months at Ft Benning in GA and had been riding all winter. We left the shop, made it about a mile through town still on a slow roll out and I ran into the guy in front of me because I was drinking from a water bottle and did not have a hand on the brake when the pack slowed. We both hit the pavement at around 15 mph. The group stopped circled and all started yelling at the guy I hit. I said straight out that I was at fault, but mostly they did not believe me. It turned out that the other guy had a bad rep for causing crashes. The rest of the ride went by in a blur, I remember dry heaving for about a mile after a hill but I wasn’t going to let those old farts drop me. When I got back to the parking lot I sat in my car for a long time before I was able to drive home. 17 years later I still ride with a lot of the same guys. It still hurts.

RacerOne

^^ whatever is up with the font you are using, I find it very hard to read..

As for the OP's topic, I feel oblidged to answer since my post inspired him

The first attempt ended with me riding alone since nobody showed up at the indicated place on their website. After emailing the webmaster I found out they moved the start point but didn't update the website.

The next week I got to the real startpoint and there were three other guys, A CatIII guy on a Trek carbon , a former college racer on a Ti lightspeed, and another guy on a custom Serotta. Me on my 18 year old steel Specialized triple. Uh-oh. However they all looked older than me and they were cordial so off we went for a 50 mile journey. Warm up was at my normal solo riding pace two abreast with casual conversation. Uh-oh again. We take off and the pace picks up to faster than I've ever gone for a sustained time but where pacelining so I can hang. I take my pull start moving to the back and notice there are only 2 others left, I dropped the guy on the Serotta on a short hill. I feebly said something about should we wait for him when the guy on the Trek barrels on ahead. In my moment of should I wait or stay on and shut up indecision, I let a gap open up and can't catch back on. Decision made for me. The remaining two pushed on ahead til they got to a curve and noticed we weren't there and waited for us to catch up. Everbody pretty much stayed on then til the turnaround when they decided to go fast on the way home. It was all I could do to stay on the whole way home, we dropped the Serotta guy again and went faster then I'd ever gone until the CatIII guy turned off to head to his house. The last 3-5 miles was me doing everything I could to simply hold 20mph and not throw up while a guy 20 years older than me rode along beside making casual conversation. It ended with me putting my bike back in truck, thanking the remaining guy for the ride and in awe of what can actually be done on a bicycle if you put in an effort. A whole new world was opened up that day.

Two years later, I'm part of a these guys team and we ride together all the time, great fun, and even better friends. So I guess you could say it ended better than expected.

Yaniel

the thread demands your input on your first ride.

jdon

I was 22 or so and lived beside a retired British pro. He got me interested in the sport but before we rode, we sat and watched Beta videos of the workings of pelotons, eschalons and pacelines. He and I rode together for a couple of weeks before he invited me out with a few other members of his club. Once he was convinced I had the ability to control the bike and had an idea what I was doing, I joined his club and riding groups. No problems, and a great foundation for racing.

It's tough to find mentors like that now. I was fortunate.

marcosbullock

Solo

RacerOne

Sorry, I hit enter before I could add the rest.. see post #39.

RacerOne

THAT, is the way to do it.

PRus

First ride was a B ride (20 miles) and i got dropped after 4 miles.The group waited for me three times. The ride leader would not let me quit.
Now four month later finished a 60 mile A+ ride without getting dropped.
I would like to thank all the riders who welcomed and supported me along the way.
No better feeling as to drop back now at times and help pulling a struggling rider back on.

jr59

I always worry when they tell me it's a recovery, easy ride. I have learned that is rarely the case. Get on the big ring and get ready from the start.

petalpower

My group ride consisted of mostly CAT3's , a few CAT1 MTB racers, and a national collegiate champion thrown in.

You tell me.

I'm still being "humbled".

Yaniel

Sounds like my ride, some of the usuals are who just won the manhattan beach GP, one guy who used to ride for ONCE in Europe and a few other ex pros

Keep SA Lame

1st group ride was with 2-300 people in costume for a Halloween ride.
Best
Ride
Eva!

krazygl00

Ahh, I bet it was the "Buckhead Bellyache" ride. If so, how appropriate :-)

I used to live in ATL, and my first ride was the Outback Bikes ride that leaves out of Little 5 Points. It is considered a pretty fast, short ride, but not necessarily the fastest in town. My first time riding with them, I didn't think to hydrate all that day. Ran out of water less than halfway through the ride and limped home. The second time I rode it I learned my lesson; didn't run out of water but my calf did cramp up badly in the last mile. Fortunately in the last mile of that ride there are some very nice pubs

Greg_R

WTF? Priorities!

My 1st group ride was with the slow group, I didn't have any problems. After that I moved into an area w/o organized rides so I ride solo.

Prairie Native

My first group ride I was off the back at mile 10. This was in early may I think. The group has 3 or 4 really good females and a bunch of cat3-4 men with one pro level dude in it. I was the only one with the leg fur and frame pump. However I had been riding pretty hard so I hung onto the group for quite a while. Had I known how echelons work and how closing a gap is important, I think I would have managed to the turn around.

I stayed in the back and took a pull after already being a bit knackered. The chick that was beside me in the double paceline is at pro level and was chatting to me while we pulled at 28 mph with a slight tailwind. She was commenting on how easy it is to pull with a tailwind. I couldnt even speak back to her. Then the real noobness shined when we turned a corner, had a terrible crosswind and they tried to explain echelons on the fly to me. I lasted 3 or 4 rotations and they were gone. I recovered, laughed it off and rode home.