Carolp - thanks, I'm actually up in the foothills between Sacramento and Tahoe (Placerville area), so a bit far away from the Bay Area. It would be fun to find a local group to ride with but I think I'd have to go down to Sac, which is an hour's drive. My LBS has weekly rides which happen to go right by my house, but my house is on a locally (and maybe even regionally) famous killer hill, so I know I couldn't keep up with them! The ride I'm looking at is Bike Around The Buttes, which is up by Marysville/Yuba City. It sounds like it might be a perfect first event to try out because it's a relatively flat course. None of my cyclist friends are doing it because they say it's "too boring" - but of course these same people have done rides like the Death Ride out of Markleeville and a ride that goes across the entire state of Iowa, so they have a bit more experience than I do!