Club rides, not sure I can keep up!

[Ethan]

Im part of my uni cycling club, but as of yet haven't been able to go out on a ride with them.
I'd love to go on one, but I just dont have the confidence in my abilities to do it yet.
You can find details of the normal ride they do below:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/146375595

Ride Length is fine, but I think I'd struggle keeping up with their average speed!
15mph average is what I aim to achieve, yet vary rarely get there. Usually its around 13mph.
Obviously I could get in behind one of the more experienced riders, but I think I'd still be pretty uncomfortable with the pace.
I'd go along and risk getting dropped if I knew the route, but unfortunately I'm very unfamiliar with that area.

Just after a bit of advice from you lot really.
How can I increase my average speed to a point that I'd be able to ride along with them without risking being dropped? Im not one to shy away from some good old fashioned hard work!
How did you guys feel about joining your local club? Similar or am I being silly!

 

[Herbie]

Im part of my uni cycling club, but as of yet haven't been able to go out on a ride with them.
I'd love to go on one, but I just dont have the confidence in my abilities to do it yet.
You can find details of the normal ride they do below:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/146375595

Ride Length is fine, but I think I'd struggle keeping up with their average speed!
15mph average is what I aim to achieve, yet vary rarely get there. Usually its around 13mph.
Obviously I could get in behind one of the more experienced riders, but I think I'd still be pretty uncomfortable with the pace.
I'd go along and risk getting dropped if I knew the route, but unfortunately I'm very unfamiliar with that area.

Just after a bit of advice from you lot really.
How can I increase my average speed to a point that I'd be able to ride along with them without risking being dropped? Im not one to shy away from some good old fashioned hard work!
How did you guys feel about joining your local club? Similar or am I being silly!

Thats what puts me off joining a club...not intimidated by distances and working hard but sometimes when out on rides i like to take my time and kinda enjoy the scenery...kinda like stopping to smell the flowers...maybe its an age thing?

 

[PpPete]

Many clubs offer a variety of different rides at different speeds. My solo average used to be around 12-13 mph and I'd read group riding was good for an extra 2-3 mph so first time I went out I went for the medium group at (supposedly) 14 mph. It was OK on the way to the cafe stop. Unfortunately on the way back the groups sort of changed and I came back with a sub-group that was a bit quicker. Rolling average for the whole ride was near on 16 mph. I just wheelsucked all the way home. Hard, but doable.
Just ask you local club what they offer in the way of different rides.

 

[rollinstok]

Thats what puts me off joining a club...not intimidated by distances and working hard but sometimes when out on rides i like to take my time and kinda enjoy the scenery...kinda like stopping to smell the flowers...maybe its an age thing?

Spot on there Herbie. Far too much competitiveness in ( some ) clubs, to the extent where the latest kit is everything and actually taking pleasure in the ride is unheard of.

 

[HLaB]

Go along and give it a try some clubs will drop you but then thats probably not the club for you, others will nurture you and will not drop you; you can only find out by giving it a go. You'll perform better in a group with drafting, motivation, etc but don't be put off if you struggle the first time, I always struggle when I do something new with a club but give it a couple of goes. Also have a wee talk to the club about the pace and route. Good Luck!

 

[cyberknight]

Go along and give it a try some clubs will drop you but then thats probably not the club for you, others will nurture you and will not drop you; you can only find out by giving it a go. You'll perform better in a group with drafting, motivation, etc but don't be put off if you struggle the first time, I always struggle when I do something new with a club but give it a couple of goes. Also have a wee talk to the club about the pace and route. Good Luck!

+1 my club offers 3 levels of ride on a Sunday ranging from 15 mph average right up to 20 mph average , as we all meet at the same point it is easier to decide what you feel like on the day as the ride leaders let you know what they plan and the speed they intend to do.

 

[smokeysmoo]

13mph average on a uni cycle sounds very quick to me

 

[col]

Many years ago I joined a club, they used to do 20 to 30 miles a night i think. But they all eased up and stayed with me. Until I said its ok Ill give it a go I should have given it a week or two before saying that.

 

[thelawnet]

You could try the CTC? Pace tends to be about 13mph. Members mostly over 60 IME.

 

[gds58]

The problem with a University Cycling Club is that by it's very nature it tends to be a very 'transient' club and by that I mean that its members tend not to be members for more than about three years maximum before moving away to other areas and new clubs. Because of this there are very seldom any good old school club members who are prepared to 'look after' new members and nurture them in the ways of a 'proper' club and club cycling etiquette etc. For this reason you may be better off finding a local club outside of the university and I'm sure you will find that it has various degrees of sunday club runs and there will be a few good 'old school' members who will happily look after you and ensure that you not only stay with the group, but enjoy the experience as well. Before you know it you'll be comfortably riding at '16's' and looking after the newbies yourself!! You will be surprised at how quickly your average pace will increase when you are looked after properly.
I'm guessing that you're probably around 20 years of age (give or take a bit) and when I was your age I joined a good local club and went on the slower club runs with a cafe stop etc and I was helped by the club captain and some of the other guys who used to race but now enjoyed the slower pace of a club run. I then started racing and within two seasons I had won the clubs 25 mile time trial cup and then went on to much better things at International level. With proper help you will be amazed at what you can achieve even if it seems a bit alien to you at the moment.
You could do well to find a good bike shop near to the Uni' and ask them if they can recommend a good local club for you that caters for the kind of riding you want to do.
I hope this all helps and good luck with your riding and I bet that you'll be in the 20mph group this time next year!!

 

[biggs682]

+1 most clubs will offer differant levels of rides . and i would also like to think that they should ride to the slowest persons level for a while before just speeding up and leaving you

 

[ianrauk]

You wont know until you try it.....so go ahead and have a go.

 

[oldfatfool]

Give it a go, the route you posted is all but flat, you should have no problem keeping up especially as you will be riding in a group.

 

[User16625]

Thats what puts me off joining a club...not intimidated by distances and working hard but sometimes when out on rides i like to take my time and kinda enjoy the scenery...kinda like stopping to smell the flowers...maybe its an age thing?

Its not an age thing, its more of an addictive thing.

+1 my club offers 3 levels of ride on a Sunday ranging from 15 mph average right up to 20 mph average , as we all meet at the same point it is easier to decide what you feel like on the day as the ride leaders let you know what they plan and the speed they intend to do.

I was thinkin I would struggle with my typical speed being about 20mph or so! I guess most clubs are worlds away from time trialling/racing? Also what kind of bikes do they ride in your club? I typically ride a carbon fibre bike on the road and wear aerodynamic clothing which helps a bit. I also ride a full sus mountain bike and wear any baggy old shoot that I dont mind gettin wrecked, slows me down somewhat.

 

[brokenflipflop]

Do what I did. While you're young, get into proper sports that require skill and/or team sports - leave cycling until you're too old for owt else.

If you are determined to cycle I'd just go on the ride with them. What's the worst that can happen ?