getting dropped

[Mr. Bloom]

This area is a bone of contention between DH and I as well...

Here too!

Some day, I hope to keep up with Silver

[SlowButSteady]

I am ALWAYS dropped.

Always.

And usually riding in mixed XY and XX groups. Even the short, slow-looking XX's drop me.

I checked my speed the other day sprinting on a flat: 25 miles per hour. I can sustain 20+ for awhile.

Of course I average, uh, 10mph less than that (if not less).

Good thing I'm happy riding alone.

Someone always waits on me or calls to check on me...I'm never really more than a mile or two behind them.

It is quite discouraging to never SEE the people you think you're riding with.

[Mr. Bloom]

I checked my speed the other day sprinting on a flat: 25 miles per hour. I can sustain 20+ for awhile.

Of course I average, uh, 10mph less than that (if not less).

Depending on conditions, that's really pretty good!

Sounds like you're choosing groups that stretch your limits...and that might be a good thing.

[Crankin]

This is why I choose the groups I ride with very carefully. I am riding for fitness, but also for FUN. I always seem to be between groups in terms of ability. When I ride by myself or with my husband, my average is between 15.5 and 16.5 if it's not too hilly. However, there are always hills where I ride. I can't get home without riding up 2 pretty big climbs. I can sustain 18-22 for awhile, if it's really flat, but like I said, no place here is really flat.
Riding with my husband forced me to improve for the first few years. Now he is happy to ride at my speed and gets his faster rides when he commutes to work. I am too fast for the "slow" groups and when I have gone on rides that advertise a 15-16 average, it always feels fast to me, even though it doesn't feel fast when I am alone. However, I find that I can out climb a lot of the riders on these rides; I am a downhill weenie and that brings my average down.
I don't do well when I am constantly trying to keep up with others; it doesn't make me stronger, it just makes me angry and feel like I am weak! I can compete with one person, but a whole group, no.
Of course, I have to make myself remember that most "regular" people think that what I do is crazy and that I am fitter at 54 than I was 10 years ago.

[Natasha]

My husband and I have addressed the speed disparity difference (he is much faster) by riding a tandem. We like it so much that we rarely get out on our singles anymore. We can each push as hard as we want to and always have someone to ride with and talk to.

[shootingstar]

\I don't do well when I am constantly trying to keep up with others; it doesn't make me stronger, it just makes me angry and feel like I am weak! I can compete with one person, but a whole group, no.
Of course, I have to make myself remember that most "regular" people think that what I do is crazy and that I am fitter at 54 than I was 10 years ago.

I don't enjoy the sensation..of trying to keep up with many others.if it was a regular group ride..it feels to me, like being forced to conform/to keep pace with Joneses.... Like you Robyn ,it creates unnecessary self-disgust/anger inside myself which lowers cycling love. I am certain I wouldn't have stayed on the bike for so long, the past 17 yrs., if I spent the majority of cycling time in group riding.

Usually my partner is riding ahead...it can get complicated because he doesn't like to cool down when waiting for me at a turn or top of a hill somewhere... but he's able to do lots of riding in past few years on his own while I'm at work (early retired, but now he's starting up a biz ....cycling consulting...this is another story.. ) and when we're together on bike (though not side by side), he might cycle round a loop a few times to "meet" up with me. If it's a route we're familiar he'll kinda ignore me and pump it out. If I didn't do enough solo cycle, I suppose I would be bothered. But I'm not. Hey, we don't have a car...so in the end, we will meet at the finish line..at a store, park, etc.

On loaded bike trips, I tell him how much of a beetle he looks like way out on the horizon.. As along as I can see where he's going in strange/new, unknown areas...even if he's 1-3 kms. ahead of me.

There is no way we would cooperate on a tandem. We rented a tandem once..I sat behind and hated it. I am 5'1", he is 5'10".

He is the sort of person who isn't bothered if a woman passes him.

I have led group rides which have taught me: a)I'm a somewhat impatient person b) not as sensitive of other cyclists as I thought I would be since I'm not a fast-pacing cyclist. This alone, I think I still have enough to learn..

[Crankin]

You sound like me, Shooting Star! There have been several times when I've been leading or sweeping a group ride, that I am annoyed... of course I keep a smile on my face and no one would know.
I have found 2 groups that I like to ride with and I think it's because I am one of the better riders in the group. One group can get pretty quick at times, but they always stop and regroup. Plus, I have found that living on a hill has advantages because I am usually one of the first to reach the top of a climb. But, I still enjoy riding with just 3 or 4 other people most of the time.

[Tuckervill]

I'd like to hear more about your Saturday Saunter ride, Geonz....I'd like to get more people involved in cycling (especially women) and group rides,and that sounds like just the thing.

Karen