The club has never had any complaints about the location. And most of the rides in this club start in this area, so people do travel to ride starts. The Trinitarian Church has been letting us use the space for free since the beginning of time. It's not that the participants don't have cars (well, some carpool), it's not even the specific location. I can't put a finger on it, but just showing them the variety of bikes (we show a hybrid, road bike, mountain bike, sometimes a "relaxed" version of a road bike) and choices for helmets and clothing sets some of them off. The first thing we do is a helmet demo, i.e. how to wear it correctly on your head. People get mad over this, when they realize they have been wearing it incorrectly. We are very up front about you don't have to spend a lot of $, but there is an initial investment, for safety and comfort. The first couple of years, we had mostly people who wanted to get into cycling in the way that I did; they asked great questions and were positive. This type of participant has become less of the entire group in the past 2 years. They also now let people bring their kids over age 12 and the last thing I need is a surly teenager falling asleep! I ignore it as much as I can, but if they become disruptive (happened once), I just use my teaching skills.
AMC attracts a different type of rider, overall, than the other club I belong to. I like the fact they are trying to get more people into cycling, I just don't want them to come in with a chip on their shoulder. I hate to say this, but it's usually the women who present an attitude. I do a lot of joking about my klutziness and lack of mechanical skills to put them at ease and this usually calms them down. There's always comments about how they couldn't do what I do or they don't have someone help them... I explain that it took me a long time to get the skills I have now and how, despite the fact I was an instructor at a gym, the first time I went for a ride, DH had to push me up a small hill with the back of his hand. Then I encourage them to go to the beginner series rides on Tuesday nights. It's a great way to learn. I've also cued DH to some of his language that might put people off. He's very good at explaining the differences between the different types of bikes and the advantages/disadvantages of each. And every year, some woman always becomes "enamored" of him. I just sit back and laugh...