"Fun" Ride vs. Race - how to tell?

[Geonz]

Depending on the club, "slow" rides sometimes aren't. It takes a conscious effort for riders to be welcoming to new folks - many clubs are mainly serious, experienced riders who like to ride together nad that's what they do. (Sometimes they sit at the table at the lunch after some of those big invitational rides and "wonder" why they cdan't attract new people and I try not to brain them with my pump, because they *know* that when these people show up on their "slow" rides they end up leaving them in the dust.)

With clubs like that, there are usually a lot of people who aren't in it (because it's no fun for them), but who ride a fair amount anyway, so they go on the "fun rides" to get in that 35 mile goal or whatever.

Our rule of thumb is that you can go three times as far on a supported, special ride as you can ride any ol' day of the week. So, when you can go 10 miles without feeling sore the day afterward, you can prob'ly go 30 if you're pacing yourself and stopping periodically and eating and drinking. Supported rides generally have sag options so a lift back is a cell phone call away - you don't want to abuse that but it's nice to know it's there. You *don't* have to have gone that far on your own before. Most people are pleasantly surprised at their endurance (three days later, though, *not* on that 68th mile of what they *said* was a 63 mile route when every muscle and bone is saying "But you said we could STOP!!!! )

[RoadRaven]

I'm not sure how it works in the States, but over here most of the "fun rides" of 100km, and 150km have several sections - most of the entrants are casual riders, but the ones that want to race it are started first... with people having to place themselves in time-zone starts of how long they think they will take to finish the course.

This is for safety reasons so the very fast riders don't take risks trying to pass slower riders and so forth...

There is often a prize money category but you have to provide evidence of a qualifying time for that.

The best way to find out is to ask the organisers.

[witeowl]

OK, then I'm already "ready" for a 50-mile ride (or a little more). Well.... I may just have to pick that as my "goal" ride, rather than a "measly" metric half-century. Hmmm... oh, but wait - the hills, the hills! Have to include plenty of time to catch up from my 1/2 mph hill climbs! :

Thanks again for all the help. I still haven't picked one out of the many, many options, but I'm getting there.

BTW, I have to say that I'm lucky to have experienced a pretty supportive and welcoming LBC. The first ride I rode with them was pretty challenging for me, but there was often someone willing to drop back to check on me and/or someone behind me.

Unfortunately, I heard an opposite story about the same bike club just this weekend. She was literally dropped from a town-to-town ride and had to decide to just turn around and head back on her own, not knowing at all where she was or how to get to the destination! (Unfortunately, I know a feeling very close to that from a school district wellness ride.)

Then again, I was *very* choosy about my first ride with the LBC, and we're lucky enough to have two LBCs in this city. Apparently the other club is for the really fast (and really insane), or so I've been told.

[Nanci]

Maybe you should do a metric century then!! (62 miles) I think it's the most fun to do a longest ride (or run) as a formal event. Makes me remember it more!

Like when I was training for a Century, I was riding a lot on this trail that was 92 miles both ways, so it would have been so easy to just add on eight more miles (well, not riding easy, but logistically easy) but I resisted because I wanted to go 100 miles first as part of the Santa Fe Century.

Nanci