Best way to find beginner riding club?

[Crankin]

Gabriellesca,

The AMC Boston chapter New Member ride is Saturday. If you can get to Concord center by 9:40,the ride starts at 10:00. You will be fine. We have 3 groups going out; you can choose which one to go with... group one will be averaging around 14, group 2 around 11-12, and group 3 around 9-10. There will be people on road bikes and hybrids and not all have clipless.

PM me if you want more information.
You should also check out the Boston chapter's ride schedule, as well as the Southeast MA chapter's schedule.

www.outdoors.org, then click on the chapter tab on the side

[gabriellesca]

THANKS - now 9-10 - I love that group!

I really might think about joining this ride Crankin' if I feel comfortable enough on my pedals. I'm going to practice on some long rides Wed, Thurs, and Fri - so this might be right up my ally. Do they ride on roads/trails, etc? I'm going to go and check the site. THANK YOU!

I found a group doing a ride up in NH on Sunday - 26 miles and they average 12-14 - I REALLY want to join this group but I would also like to get myself confidence with my pedals before I ride with a new group. This is great - I'm going to check it out. THank you so much! You guys have given me great links.

[gabriellesca]

Crankin' - just sent you a PM - I'm pumped - this looks like a good place for me. I'll be riding solo - so if I can make the new member ride it might be a good way to meet people.

Also looking at the Spring Bike Rally on the 12th of June - I would LOVE to do the 50 miles. This may be a silly question - but are rides like this supported with a sag wagon? I'm learning that most rides are not - and that I was REALLY spoiled with TNT.

[ny biker]

I'm not familiar with this ride, but most organized rides (the ones with registration fees and rest stops that are staffed by volunteers and have tables with snacks plus water and gatorade) will have SAG support. They won't actually be sweeping the ride, but from time to time you will see vehicles driving along the route that have bike racks on them and some kind of "SAG" sign on them. The cue sheet usually has a phone number on it that you can call if you need them to help you with a mechanical problem or if you need a ride back to the start.

The ride website should say if there is SAG support, and if there's any doubt, there should be an email address or phone number so you can contact them to find out.

If this is the ride you're talking about, it's not clear from the website, so I would contact the club and ask them.

http://www.amcboston.org/bicycle/bikerally.htm

[SheFly]

Gabriellesca - I would still also highly recommend the NEBC Women's ride, which started last night. I heard that the beginners went out and averaged 12 mph with lots of coaching on pace lining and skills. If you can make a ride on Tues evenings, this is a good one!

SheFly

[Crankin]

Gabriellesca, the rally ride does not have a sag. There is a sweep. Frankly, I would not recommend doing the 50... last year they set a pretty brisk pace from the beginning... it's hilly, very hilly. I ride this route a few times during the summer, so I don't feel the need to go on the ride anymore. I would recommend the 27 mile route. There is a very challenging climb right when you start (maybe a mile from the start), but the rest is rolling, with a few small climbs.
Hope to see you Saturday. You don't need to be using your clipless pedals. In fact, the leader of the slowest group does not use clipless and she has been riding for 20 years and has done numerous bike tours this way. From what you said in your PM, you probably would be fine with the group DH and I are leading. We tend to average about 14.5 on this ride; as the sweep, I often end up with an average in the high 13's. As you can see, there's a wide range of variation. If you are not comfortable with this, you can always stop and wait for the next group to come by. This is what I tell people every year. Unlike other rides, this one has the exact same route for each group.