Originally Posted by
Chuck M
I'm finding this interesting. I'm planning to do my first century (probably) next June. I have experience in organized runs having done everything from 5Ks to full marathons where I've ran with members of my group or have ran alone but mingled with others and have used conversation to make the miles pass by easier. Smaller races I've known where to seed myself based on my pace and larger races have done that for me using corrals based on expected finish time. But I will enter this ride alone and how to fit into the flow and not negatively impact the experience for others worries me more than the distance.
I don't mean to thread-jack, but that one paragraph made me realize that there will be other loners like me and hopefully there will be other useful posts to help me put my mind at rest as far as this is concerned.
That's not thread-jacking, those are pertinent thoughts. I imagine most cyclists in these events are loners to the extent that they arrive alone with no plans to be with a specific group ahead of time, but I'm not sure of how that breaks out. Maybe there are more planned groups than I realize. I've never done that.
The best thing about these events is perhaps that you can tailor it to what you want. There's plenty of opportunity to mingle and chat with other cyclists, or be in groups that operate like a regular group ride, and it's also pretty easy to get on your own enjoy the scenery and the atmosphere from a distance. Saw one of my group-ride buddies ahead of time who had a specific goal speed in mind. Saw him afterward, and he met that goal. Never saw him in between. You can sample all those experiences and decide which one you want to settle into.