Thinking of joining a bike club

[BlareApsan]

I want to join my local bike club but I'm afraid to be too slow and get tired too easyly. I went over their website and most routes are have moderate hills. I usualy ride alone at my own pace even if i'm in a small group of friends. I ride flat routes all the time. I'm not strong enough yet to tackle Puerto Rico's hilly topograhy.
I went to a spinning class this week and found I got exausted really fast when getting off the saddle and pedaling to the tension the instructor set.
I ended up easing up and following my own pace.
I plan to return to the spinning class again. Work my muscles hard to raise my strength and endurance.
I'm going through a tough personal time. (divorce) I need to make new friends fast.
Writing this I answerd myself. Get over my fear and go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Squirrel 2]

Do you know how fast you ride? A cycling computer is a big help in letting you know what your actual pace is & will help you select which group to ride with in your local club. The clubs in our area have a classification system to help riders based on how many miles per hour they ride. Another thing to be aware of is whether the particular classification you fall into is the "can ride alone & will be dropped if too slow", or the "nobody gets dropped group". The club's website should tell you this information. I doubt if you're too slow for any group they have, there seems to be a group for just about every riding level & speed.

As for hills & building endurance, you gotta get there sometime. Just don't try to do it all at once. If you use the spin class for hard training sessions, then lighten up in between & go for rides at your own pace. Before you know it, you'll get stronger & faster!

[RoadRaven]

Squirrel is right
If you can work out the speed you can travel, you will be able to join a group that suits your pace.

If you can't get a cycling comp to pop on your bike, simply record the time travelled, and travel over a distance you have perhaps measure in a car or that you know the distance for.

When you get home do this equation...

DISTANCE divided by TIME multiplied by 60 = SPEED

for example...
A little 10km course I did over the weekend would look like this...

10km / 22.02minutes x 60 =29.97 km per hour

[Bike Goddess]

Hi Blare- I think you should find out if this is a "no drop" kinda bike group. I started out in the back of the pack. It wasn't always fun, but, in the end I learned a lot and got tons of coaching from the guys. It's like the tortoise and the hare... you will get there! And who knows, after awhile, you may surprise yourself.

Hint- you must eat on rides. You must eat before, during, and, after. I bring juice or a sports drink diluted with water for my liquids. I usually have 2 full bottles when I start out. I have luna bars as well- just a bite or two will help your energy.

During the ride, when you are stopped, be sure to do some stretching esp of your quads and back of your calves. This will facilitate your riding as well.

What else, find out how long their rides are and if they stop to eat. That's a good sign of what kind of group you might be joining.

Happy trails and I wish you much success! We ALL started at the back of the pack so don't ever think you don't have company! Lt us know how it all turns out!

Cycling is a good way to relieve stress. Just take care of yourself and listen to your body. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. Golden rule of cycling!

Bike Goddess

[KSH]

I want to join my local bike club but I'm afraid to be too slow and get tired too easyly. I went over their website and most routes are have moderate hills. I usualy ride alone at my own pace even if i'm in a small group of friends. I ride flat routes all the time. I'm not strong enough yet to tackle Puerto Rico's hilly topograhy.
I went to a spinning class this week and found I got exausted really fast when getting off the saddle and pedaling to the tension the instructor set.
I ended up easing up and following my own pace.
I plan to return to the spinning class again. Work my muscles hard to raise my strength and endurance.
I'm going through a tough personal time. (divorce) I need to make new friends fast.
Writing this I answerd myself. Get over my fear and go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does the club have a "no drop ride"? Where they make sure they don't lose the slower riders? Those are the ones I do, since I can't keep up with the fast guys/gals.

If not, just try to go with a group... and if you fall behind and can't keep up... then you know it's not for you... yet. Also, make sure that you tell someone when you get there, that you are new... someone will be kind and keep an eye on you.

The spin class will help you... but keep in mind that when you go up hills, you will be in your lowest gear and spinning your pedals... not the same as a spin class with tension. Make sense?

Well, best of luck... with cycling... and your life changes! Make friends and get out... life will get better!

[BlareApsan]

Thanks for all the great advice. I do have a cycling computer.
This morning I rode 13.57 miles, no hills but a nasty head wind. It took 1hr 20 min, avg speed 10.04 max 20.08. I noted I usually ride between 11-12mph.
How does that sound.

I will check out the drop thing.
Tommorrow I'm going to a spinning class and this instructor is in a bike club. I will ask for his help.

I'm so happy when I'm riding in my bike. I've been "alergic" to exercise most of my life, but I love to cycle. It's fun and so empowering. I feel like I can do anything. The change in my energy level is amazing. Plus I've lost 30 lbs.
Just wish the weather is a little cooler. By 9:30 am you could fry an egg on my head.

[CorsairMac]

Just wish the weather is a little cooler. By 9:30 am you could fry an egg on my head.

Well that would be one way of getting some extra protein during a ride! You might also call the ride leader or email if they have that info available, they have a club here in Abq that plans rides with multiple routes for different riders, everyone leaves together but the faster riders take a much longer, faster route and pick the slower riders back up at the end who rode a slower, shorter route. That way everyone gets a chance to ride. See if they offer something like that.
And good luck!

Corsair "still looking for a club " Mac

[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.

[Adventure Girl]

DISTANCE divided by TIME multiplied by 60 = SPEED

for example...
A little 10km course I did over the weekend would look like this...

10km / 22.02minutes x 60 =29.97 km per hour

The formula is correct, but I think the math is wrong. 10km / 22.02minutes x 60 = 27.25km per hour.

[CorsairMac]

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.

[RoadRaven]

The formula is correct, but I think the math is wrong. 10km / 22.02minutes x 60 = 27.25km per hour.

You are right of course... I think my speedo must be a little outta whack (I didn't check against calculator) I'll have to check it is set to the right wheel size
Dayam... that means I'm not doing as well as I thought!

[Geonz]

Yes, there are "no drop" rides and then there are "well, we don't drop people who are a *little* out of shape," or "we don't drop people in April and May, when we're out of shape," or "we don't drop people their first time out, but then they're supposed to get in shape..." And these are usually nice folks who are well-intentioned, too. I can sorta tell by their gear and the look in their eyes
And then, of course, there's the "posted" average speed issue - good riders always underestimate (and besides, "average speed" of say 14 means you have to spend a fair amount of time going 16 or 17) that and the distance.
Couple of choices: Keep showing up to those "no drop" rides and ask if somebody is willing to actually not drop you; generally somebody else will show up on some week or another, and then you can ride together and feel a little less dropped; there's often a "critical mass" thing where if one or two people hang in there, then a core group forms and soon there are 8 of you and so 3 or 4 will be on any given ride and people don't feel as discouraged.
Of course, then what happens is, since you're riding that much more often, you get stronger without realizing it and drop the next newbie who shows up becaues "hey, I'm not in shape, I wasn't going that fast!" ... except you were ... so don't forget where ya came from ! Be willing to sacrifice your good strong ride every once in a while to saunter along with people who are still working hard to go at that pace. (If you're *really* good at it, you set it up so somebody's riding behind them at least part of the time.) Or take a beater bike that *is* that hard to get rolling (or if the newbie has fat tires or something else that slows 'em down, trade bikes for a while!) I've found that there are more people willing to take their turn bringing up the rear when there are a couple of people setting an example who they know could go faster if they chose.
Another choice is to figure out how fast you have to get and train for it. When I wanted to 'graduate' to our "Level 2" ride (which advertised as 14 but was often 16-18) I picked a loop and timed myself and when I could do 12 miles at 15 mph I figured I was ready.
And thirdly you can join the club and lead a "no drop" ride. I started mine when we were bemoaning that there was only one "level 1" ride, with the promise that I couldn't do much else, but I could promise to "show up and ride slowly." Sometimes now we've got more folks out there than the fast group