Good advice & thanks
@172traindriver
not that i understand inside/outside man but i guess that will happen.
I might consider a Club, but it would have to be a relaxed type club where they don't expect you to be out every Sunday & Thursday or whatever or force club kit on you etc.
I have invested a lot of money into quality clobber & don't fancy a club uniform.
Anyway, thanks again, something to think about as i don't want to upset more experienced types at Sportives etc.
Don't worry things like that come naturally, singling out at the right time stops the motorists getting too upset, don't forget we don't pay road taxes etc (even though we most likely own cars).
Think back to your forces days, things just happen with practise and experience, you should find your local clubs out drop and email of contact them, have a look on the forums see how many rides they have, rock up and have a go.
Any decent club will be friendly and welcome new blood. Have a look at the proposed run speeds, my advice would be not to go for the fastest run to start with as these will most likely be the fit guys that probably race and would most likely also be experienced. Have a chat with the organiser, go for the slightly slower run to get a bit of knowledge and if it's too slow get in the the faster guys.
If a club forces you to buy and wear their kit I would show them 2 fingers. I know of a club in our area that do that and I wouldn't even want to give them any small change. It sounds like the organiser is involved with running events for the club, and gets their club kit. I would guess as to where the cash goes.
It's not unreasonable to be asked to join the club if you like it after a few outings with them and club subs aren't normally much more than £20 tops.
