Quote Originally Posted by cyclingnewbie
I have been looking for someone to ride with that is at my level (slow!) also. Here in Ohio we have lots of mostly level rails-to-trails paved paths. I have been told that's why the local bike club has so few beginner rides; the beginners can just go to the bike path themselves. I couldn't get connected with the local bike club. Their slowest rides were "C" class, which sounded like a speed and distance I could handle. But I found out that they often were "C how fast they can drop you" rides. Make sure you look for no-drop rides so you don't get frustrated or feel bad.

Newbie: I've got the same problem here in Abq so I'm starting my own ladies only, true no-drop, avg sp whomever is the slowest that day ride. A couple of us just picked a night that worked and have slowly started getting women interested. Might be something you can try there. One of our first rides, one of the woman had Not a clue how to shift so we taught her how to shift than took her on some very flat non-busy trails and let her play with her shifters. In the future I figure we'll try different things: hills, crossing busy streets, clipless pedals, riding in traffic.....just simple confidence-building skills while have fun.