[XAP]Bob wrote:TrevA wrote:In our club we have a slow ride 12-13mph and a faster ride -about 16mph. Some established riders go on the slow ride, if they fancy an easier ride. However, we are not very tolerant of people who choose the faster ride and then can't keep up, demanding that everyone else slows down. That defeats the object of having 2 rides.
That's fine - you have the 12-13mph ride available.
You may want to consider the occasional '14-15 mph version' of the 16, where you encourage people who feel a little held back by the 12-13 to join the faster ride, but allow that ride to slow slightly if needed. 13-> 16 seems like quite a jump, and that may be fine (go from breaking the air in the 12-13 to riding in the pack of the 16...
What's really needed is a 14-15 intermediate group. I used to lead such a group. But I've had time off the bike recently and I'm still building up my fitness, so still riding with the 12-13 group. It's very difficult to hold back the faster riders.
Hoping to start my group back up again soon. We do suffer from a lack of people willing to lead rides. I don't know if it's lack of confidence or lack of knowledge of the roads. Some people do seem to be navigationally challenged and get lost if they become detached from the group, even though we always go to the same cafe on Saturdays, though not via the same route.
My wife gets completely lost unless she has a Garmin route to follow, even on roads she's ridden dozens of times.