I have a great club. Sadly, I haven't been able to ride with them in a while due to health, but look forward to riding with them again eventually. I think my husband found them through our neighbor, who just happened to be the president of the club.

Our club is very non-threatening. All levels. That's key to know going in. Some clubs are aimed at racers, or just fast paced rides. Others have a no drop policy, or may have a no drop policy for "some" rides, but not others. Our club has a Saturday ride with three route options. The level of riding generally seems to go along with the route. The short route usually is a slower paced ride, even though sometimes the stronger riders ride it because they don't' have time for the long ride or are not up to the longer more intense ride that day. The intermediate is longer and usually a bit faster and the longest ride, with the big climb, is the fastest, most intense ride.

On all three rides, everyone regroups at the top of climbs.

I love riding with other people. It's part of what makes riding fun. It's part of what compels me to get out and ride and train, so I can keep up with the faster riders. Everyone in our club is very friendly and welcoming of beginner riders. It's good to let them know you are new to riding so they can help you out along the ride and mentor you a bit.

There's a Tue/Thu ride that is a more intense pace and a Sunday long ride, which varies each week. There's also a Sunday afternoon women's only ride, which is more geared for beginners or women who just don't ride fast or are intimidated by riding with men. The pace is up to 14 mph.

So a lot of options. They have other functions for members to get to know each other at and socialize.

When you ride with others, you learn a lot, and grow as a rider.

I did a weekly ride for a while that my friend found on meetup.com (you should check out meetup for rides, by the way), for women CAT 4 racers, or women who want to push themselves to ride faster whether they race or not. We told the organizer of that ride about our club. She checked it out and, even though it was a fairly far drive for her, she joined. She'd ridden with a couple of other clubs closer to her, but found ours to be a much better fit.

So, not all clubs are created equal and you have to find one that feels right for you. For me, the club experience has been a great one. Check out club websites and see what kind of rides they offer. If you can't get a feel for the club by looking at the site, email them and ask questions. Let them know you are a beginner and ask them what to expect if you tried one of their rides and which one they would recommend you try.

As for location of the club, I think finding the club that is the best fit is more important than location . . . unless you find yourself never bothering to go because of the distance. It just depends. I used to live within a mile or two of my club's ride starts, which was awesome. I just rode my bike to the start. Just recently we moved about 15 minutes away, so whenever I get a chance to ride with them again I'll be driving, but it will be worth it. There are several members who drive much farther.