My first group ride...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ok, so....I survived!

Actually, it was a positive experience for me. The leader "Ed", moved here last summer, and he only led a couple of rides last fall and then today's was the first of the new season. There were only 5 of us- Ed, me, my DH, and two other middle aged guys. (I think many people still aren't riding yet this spring because it's just barely 40 degrees by 10:30am).
Anyway, all 3 fellow riders were very nice friendly guys, not the least bit snobby or competitive or unsafe, etc. Nothing I had feared came about.
I kept a bit of space in front of me while riding for my own peace of mind. I wouldn't even know how to go about "drafting" and I'm new to riding as a group. I still feel only comfortable riding close behind DH because we know each other so well.

I learned I am supposed to point out every little road hazard. This was pretty funny because DH & I have steel bikes with a sort of touring geometry that permits wider tougher tires, and we typically ride brutally rocky gravel roads and over tractor ruts and holes and mud and such, and we never get flats. These guys were on THIN THIN tires and were pointing out every teensy wimpy imperfection in the road, almost every pebble! DH and I had to refrain from laughing about it, and I felt pretty silly pointing at little bitty rocks or road dimples all over the place that I normally just ride right over. But hey, I was a good girl and did it dutifully and with a straight face! There were a couple things like glass, big holes, and fallen branches that definitely needed to be pointed out.
The other thing I found amusing was that they called out "car back" like every 30 seconds as we rode down the highway. Of COURSE there are "car back"'s....it's a HIGHWAY fer gosh sakes!!! Am I nuts, or shouldn't we just EXPECT there to be cars behind us at any given moment on a busy highway? Maybe I'm clueless here... but DH and I only call out "CAR!" when we're on remote backroads where it's infrequent, poor visibility, or sometimes unexpected for a car to come along behind you.
In general though I was glad that these guys seemed to err way on the cautious side. Sure better than the opposite extreme, right?

We rode a fairly easy 20 mile route (25 for DH and me, cause we rode to the starting point in the next town from us, rather than driving there). The route was on roads we ride all the time (except it eliminated some of the very prettiest roads we love that are gravel and dirt). But I felt good that I knew the roads and didn't need to feel nervous at all about what might lie ahead.
The leader Ed quickly discovered that DH knew the local roads and cycling routes better than he did, and started asking DH to lead rides in the future! That was rather unexpected, and even if it doesn't happen, I think it was a compliment and nice of him to do that. I like men who don't feel threatened by little ego stuff.

All 4 men were able to leave me in the dust on every hill, but I had expected that- first of all they are men, and also they've all been biking and skiiing for years, unlike me. DH stayed in back of me so I wouldn't feel left out when I was crawling up the hills in my granny gear (he's always that thoughtful). Everyone waited at the top for us to catch up. On the levels and downhills, I was able to keep up with them. I do suspect they purposely rode a little bit slower than normal for my benefit, but it seemed to me that everyone was having a good time, and they did a lot of pleasant social chatting while riding. That also put me at ease, because it meant it was not a serious competitive kind of thing. We passed other lone bikers, one of whom wanted to join up next week. Of the 20 or so other bikers I saw today, only one was another woman.

I don't think DH had a "bad" time, but neither do I know whether he actually would want to do it again. I know enough to let him be about it, and I'll decide later in the week if I want to do it regularly. I do think I would enjoy it occasionally. These are very nice and considerate men.
At the end I asked ED if he felt I was holding things back with my hill crawling, and he said the main idea was to have a group ride where everyone enjoyed themselves. So he made me feel welcome.

Yay, I did it!

Thank YOU, TE sisters, for your words of encouragement...they actually made me less nervous this morning going in.

[mimitabby]

You could have done a lot worse!

riders with manners and caution, gee.. After some of the idiots I had to share the road with yesterday, I can appreciate your good fortune.

[pooks]

Congrats, Lisa SH! I'm glad it worked out so well for you.

It looks like I'm (finally) going on my first even ride on Saturday, and I'm a tad nervous about that. I'm wondering how wacked out it will be, since I'm only accustomed to riding alone or with my husband, just like you.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Congrats, Lisa SH! I'm glad it worked out so well for you.

It looks like I'm (finally) going on my first even ride on Saturday, and I'm a tad nervous about that. I'm wondering how wacked out it will be, since I'm only accustomed to riding alone or with my husband, just like you.

I'll be right here rootin' for you, girl!!!

[mimitabby]

another nice thing about group rides, creepy drivers tend to leave large groups alone.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

another nice thing about group rides, creepy drivers tend to leave large groups alone.

Interestingly, the only sour note for the day was when we 5 were cycling down the two way main street going through a small town (main street being about 3 blocks long). We were going down our lane single file, parked cars on our right, double yellow line on our left, and no shoulder, just the sidewalks. A car came the other way down main street, towards us, and passed by in his own lane, and we were nowhere near him or or his lane of course. As he passed, the driver, in his 50's with a really red angry face yelled out his open window at us "GET OFF THE F___ING ROAD!!!!". We were pretty amazed. I suspect he may have spontaneously exploded further down the road, and if so, he won't be bothering anyone anymore.

[Batbike]

Lisa, I am VERY HAPPY your group ride went well for you and DH!! I agree, group rides can be intimidating when you don't know what to expect - so glad yours was a good experience! Once you find the "right group", group rides can be really fun because you get to know more people and may even help someone or learn a thing or two to help you with your own cycling ... all good!

As for the "pointing things out and yelling car back", that is pretty standard in road group rides. Personally, I ride on skinny tires but don't point out everything -- just those things that could really damage someone such as road kill, tree limbs, large rocks, and potholes/road dips. As for "Car Back", I get tired of always saying it and there is many a time where I will yell "lots of cars back and they still keep coming!" ... then I quit yelling. Most of the time, everyone else stops calling too unless there is a long lull in traffic and a car pops-up or a large truck, boat, etc. is coming. Also, I have noticed we use the "car back" alot when the group tends to get wider than single file or starts to wander into the lane a little more than we should ... just to try and keep everyone aware of surroundings and safe. Of course there are those who will constantly point and yell throughout the ride and it is nice to have them along because without them we may all run into something and hit a car!!

Welcome to group riding!!!