I ride alone most of the time. My group ride is more social and I do longer rides when I do have a buddy to ride with, but at least 3-4 times/ week I either go myself or stay home, so I go. It hadn't really occurred to me to be nervous, although I do make sure I know the whereabouts of my neighbor and or my husband. Worse case scenario, he works in the middle of most good routes and could rescue me if he had to.

I found the people I ride with in spinning class. After I started riding, a few friends from the rest of my life expressed interest in riding, but if I'd waited for them I'd still be waiting. So that's my recommendation, go to spinning and see if there are compatible level riders and groups there. My Y has several groups of different speeds who go out at different times so I have different levels of proficiency to shoot for.