I would just like to extend an invitation to Blue Pearl and anyone else who is "not fast enough" to ride with our club if you're ever in the DC area. We welcome everyone. Yes there are fast group rides, but we also have rides in slower categories (10-12 mph, 12-14, 14-16) as well as all-pace no-drop rides. We're also working on an effort to have more rides for beginners. And if anyone in our club ever insulted another cyclist for riding "too slow," I would probably faint from surprise because they are just the nicest people you'll ever meet.

I think we have one member with a recumbent bike that has an electric motor. He finds it helpful for getting up hills. People ask him about it out of curiosity, but otherwise he's no different from anyone else on the ride.