Desperate for a group ride......

Give more info about yourself

You need to give people more information about yourself so they know if they are compatible with you. Age, what bike you ride, types of trails you ride, how long you ride, how long you have been riding, where you ride, and how experienced, skilled and fit you are, etc. Also, how prepared you are, food, water, tools, etc. It may take you a while to find compatible people. But once you know one person then you start to network with others through them. And always be honest and upfront about your abilities. Nothing worse for both of you than being in over your head.

If I don't kill my knees on Saturdays I can sometimes get an 8 am ride in at New Melones on Wednesdays. I always tell people I'm slower than most but they are free to leave me if I'm too slow. If you have that attitude then you can at least start out on rides with others.

cmktech said:

I always mtb alone, always in 80+ temperatures (even if i wake up early), and never get to share my joy with other mtb'ers on the trail.

If anyone wants to go on a group ride or meet up within an hour from me, I am there in a heartbeat, it kind of gets you down when all you ever do is mtb alone.

I am in Valley Springs.

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A good way of joining a ride is waiting until there is one posted in your area, and then joining them. Seeing that you like ~10 miles rides, you may have to bail early, since a lot of people like to ride more than that. But at least you would be getting out there and meeting people.

-Dan

where is valley springs?

I wouldn't mind hooking up with you...

cmktech said:

I always mtb alone, always in 80+ temperatures (even if i wake up early), and never get to share my joy with other mtb'ers on the trail.

If anyone wants to go on a group ride or meet up within an hour from me, I am there in a heartbeat, it kind of gets you down when all you ever do is mtb alone.

I am in Valley Springs.

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Go to the New Melones evening rides, every Tuesday and Thursday night at 6PM. Rod who is the ride leader is 70 which sounds a lot like 17 anyhow and he is the coolest guy (His son is Eric from mountain Pedaler). They usually ride 8-10 miles or so, sometimes a little further but there are plenty of bail outs. They do climb up the hill and down the switchbacks but if you can't handle that now you will be after a few weeks riding with them. I haven't been getting up there lately for a variety of reasons but when it cools down a bit I will start getting back out there.

As someone suggested, look for a ride someone else is doing and try to hook up.

It sounds like you need to meet some of your Stocktontucky brethren for carpools to rides. For me, I would find it a hard sell to drive more than an hour for a 10 mile ride but there might be people out there looking for an after work spin.

Just post up a day before you want to do a ride around your area. It might take a while before you find people or a group that ride your speed. Otherwise, post up on a longer ride and see if there's a way for you to ride with the group and have a convenient bail-out point if you find yourself falling behind. As was pointed out, most group rides are 20-40 miles and may be above your head for now.

As many people have said, though, you stand a better chance of increasing your abilities if you ride with people with slightly higher abilities. Everybody has to start somewhere.

Another suggestion

Being young it would not surprise me that you go out really fast. However, at least once a week go a bit slower and increase your riding to at least three hours. You will build a better aerobic base that will allow you to ride with others. My "rule" is that the ride has to be longer than the total drive time, and it almost always is.

Dennis - That's so cool that eric's dad is the ride leader, I have been into the shop twice now, did youg et your $5 commision? :thumbsup: I will try to make it up there, I love going down the switchbacks, the climbing may be a problem for me but I will try my hardest and never complain.

Wherewolf - Yeah my rule is double yours. I normally drive 45 minutes to new melones so I make sure I ride at least 1 hour and a half, but normally ride for 2 hours. I will try going a bit slower and a lot longer and build up my mileage.

Notes: I had a brand new cat eye enduro 8 computer, and never got to use it because it fell off the back of my truck because I was stupid and unclipped it and set it on my bumper. I need to get another one that way I can tell how many miles I actually ride. Next time I go to new melones I will pick another one up from eric.

I would be willing to try a 20 mile ride.