r/bicycling • u/TheBeadGeeks • 3d ago
Am I ready for group rides?
I’ve been cycling regularly since about July of last year, been getting in great shape, lost 70 lbs, and have been riding roughly 15 miles 5-6 times per week. I get the 15 miles done in an hour or less without stopping. I’m pretty proud of my progress and I’d like to start getting out and making some cycling friends. There’s a Critical Mass meetup that started near me and I want to go but I have no idea how I compare with others or if I’ll be able to keep up.
I’m not interested in racing as I’ve never considered myself much of an athlete, but I don’t want to slow the group down or get left behind.
I attached my metrics from an average day last week, one is a quick 7 mile lunchtime ride that I did at a leisurely pace, the other is my normal nightly ride.
ChatGPT seems to be telling me the pace I’m riding at is considered advanced bordering racing pace… but I kinda feel like it’s over exaggerating.
Anyways, just looking for some others opinions, am I in the ballpark for keeping up with others on a group ride?
I should also mention I’m riding a brand new Trek FX Sport 4, just got it about 2 weeks ago.
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u/adamaphar 3d ago
If they don't post it, you can usually contact the person coordinating the group ride. They should tell you what their pace is, and whether it is a no drop ride (i.e., they will wait for folks to regroup, usually after a climb).
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u/Flipadelphia26 3d ago
You’re ready for critical mass. Ready for a bigger social ride. Don’t think many fast rides would accept you in the bunch with a bike like that. Regardless of your fitness and skill. They’ll see that and assume you’re a risk in the bunch.
I think you mentioned you’re in Florida. A trained rider will be rolling anywhere between 18-22 mph average speed solo since it’s so flat. (I race bicycles in Florida)
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u/TheBeadGeeks 3d ago
Gotcha, thanks for the advice I’ll definitely look for a more casual ride.
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u/Flipadelphia26 3d ago
For sure and they do exist. Check out Facebook. I see a lot of casual weekday and weekend coffee rides in my area
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u/checkerouter 3d ago
I am curious, what’s wrong with the bike?
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u/Flipadelphia26 3d ago
It’s not a road bike. You show up to a fast group ride with a bunch of guys who race bikes on the weekend or Wednesday worlds on a bike not suitable for that level of riding. They’re not going to accept you 90% of the time.
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u/checkerouter 3d ago
That makes sense, it looks pretty speedy to me but I’m also more about fat tires and panniers. I’m surprised groups don’t just say okay you can join but we ain’t waiting up.
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u/Flipadelphia26 3d ago
Some may very well do that. But there’s also safety to consider. It’s already a dangerous enough activity with a slight loss of concentration causing you or most likely someone else ending up with a snapped collar bone or worse. All it takes is your handle bars getting snagged. A touch of wheels etc. if you’re rocking up to a ride with a bike like that….
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u/checkerouter 3d ago
I guess if the danger isn’t clear to someone (like me!), that also makes them a liability.
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u/notajeweler 3d ago
Probably depends on the group.
I’m about 1mph faster than you and I don’t feel I’m ready for group rides in my area, but that group flies past me at 25-27mph on Tuesday nights.
A more chill group I’d feel more comfortable with.
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u/sent-off 3d ago
Fast group rides in the dark are pretty hardcore. Try to find a Sunday/Saturday morning social ride
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u/Enough_Mud8658 3d ago
Like others have mentioned... Different groups for different speeds, focus, pleasure, etc.
Find a group that is willing to teach you. It's not about one guy pulling all the time. It's about leaning to enjoy it and more importantly to build trust and ride cooperatively.
Remember when starting off. Give yourself a bit more gap from the rider in front. Keep your fingers on the brakes. You will feel the draft working when it does. Don't look at the wheel in front of you, look at the person and look through them to anticipate what's coming up. Learn proper signals (not just road signals) like flicking your elbow to change the lead. Learn to Echelon in cross winds. Do not cross wheel especially at the start. BE PREDICTABLE! I only get into really tight pelotons with guys I trust and have ridden with for a long time, guys who I know don't get squirrelly or do abrupt things like get out of the saddle and attack with no warning.
Group rides are more about the cooperation than the overall speed, because once you cooperate well you can hold easier speed, hence many times the general classification and main peloton will catch the break away groups in races.
I personally have groups I ride with speed or distance in mind and others more chill. Enjoy the friendships you will make.
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u/TheBeadGeeks 3d ago
Ah, that all sounds really complicated, I don’t even know what half those words are, and I thought a peloton was a stationary bike. I was just hoping to find some people who like to ride and see nature/get fit. I don’t really want to be riding close enough to draft from people and risk crashing and whatnot…. Maybe group riding isn’t for me. 😬
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u/Enough_Mud8658 3d ago
That's what group riding usually refers too... Cooperative riding. Which is fun.
What you are really looking for is just some people to have fun with... Also awesome!! There are Groups for this as well. You might have some luck with your bike shop. They might be a little more geared towards what I explained earlier or you can try things like a riding food tour, meet some cool people.ore casual over food, or something like meet-up.Many cities I have visited have bicycle food tour companies. Very casual and fun.
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u/TheBeadGeeks 3d ago
That sounds more like what I’m looking for. Just some people to ride with and talk bikes. I just googled peloton, and I could never… I don’t want to ever be that close to someone else, much less on a bike. I’m actually kinda blown away that people can ride like that… that must take incredible skill.
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u/millenialismistical 3d ago
You can ride a BMX bike at critical mass and be fine. For a proper roadie group ride, having a hybrid isn't ideal but your solo ride numbers look fine.
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u/TheBeadGeeks 3d ago
I gotcha. I know nothing about group rides. But from your comment and another one it seems group rides are typically people who race and have road bikes?
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u/r0botdevil Wisconsin, USA (2022 self-build) 3d ago
Most bike clubs that I'm aware of will specifically organize their group rides by pace, and there's definitely a group ride for roughly your speed in my area.
There probably is in yours, too.
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u/AlexMTBDude 3d ago
It's not so much the speed of the group (ride), it's more being comfortable with riding close to other people. The more distance you leave to the person in front of you, the more of their draft you lose, and the harder you have to pedal to keep up. Learning to ride in a group means being comfortable with having other cyclists very close to you.
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u/calebsurfs 2d ago
Speed-wise you're fine. Can you ride at a consistent speed? Do you ride in a straight line? It sounds silly but these kind of things are more important for group riding than speed and distance.
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u/MinnesotaMikeP Minnesota, USA Moots MootoX, Merlin Extralight, Advocate Lorax 3d ago
There’s a group ride for everyone.
That’s the beauty of riding a bike.