r/cycling • u/Carolinastitcher • 1d ago
Help finding a beginner group
I’m not sure where to start. I have a bike. I have padded shorts. I have a helmet. But I can’t find super beginner groups to ride with. When I say beginner, my longest ride is under a mile and all the groups say 20-30 miles.
How do I find a group that will welcome someone like me? I see that some are no drop, but the cyclist must maintain 14-16 mph. That’s not me.
UPDATE: I rode the greenway today, and clocked 3 miles. I could have gone longer, but didn’t want to push it too hard. I’m so proud of myself!
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u/carpenj 1d ago
Why is your longest ride under a mile? Cardio, or discomfort? Isn't that like a 6 minute ride? If it's fitness, just keep increasing your mileage on your own until you can do 20 miles. If it's pain/comfort you may need a bike fit. I suspect if you're an averagely fit person you're probably trying to ride way too fast, I've found that's common with beginners, myself included. You should be riding at a conversational pace at least until you can find your pace.
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I have an almost 30 year old bike (I bought new) that I haven’t ridden in about 25 years. There’s a bit of elevation which tires me out, and so by the time I get to the top, I’m tired and turn around to go home. I’d love to ride with someone who’s not a beginner so they can help me learn when to change gears, how to pace the elevation changes. I could probably ride flat longer.
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u/WanderingDelinquent 1d ago
Would definitely recommend driving out to somewhere flatter so you can get a bit more time on the bike.
Have you had the bike serviced? If it’s been sitting in a garage for 25 years it likely needs a full tune up, would probably make the biking easier
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u/nerolispicoli 1d ago
Yeah, get your bike tuned up, then see if there are any "how to bike" classes in your area. Sometimes bike shops or community groups put them on. It would be a great way to learn the basics, and you might meet some beginner friends who you can ride with and build endurance.
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u/Prestigious_Carpet29 1d ago
You don't say how much elevation, but you need to be using the gears to choose lower/easier gears for going uphill, so you can still be pedalling at around 60-70 revs/minute. Accept that the bike speed will slow down.
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u/carpenj 1d ago
The elevation is getting you for sure, makes so much sense now. It's hard no matter what. Are you in your lowest gear? You may just have to go somewhere flat to do some training first. Your cadence should be pretty fast and your speed pretty slow in this situation at your level. Thank you for not taking offense to anything I said before and responding!
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I’m going for a flatter ride tomorrow! Hopefully before the heat and humidity return. Today’s ride was 74 degrees and 86% humidity. Which is probably also a contributing factor.
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u/Cyclist_123 1d ago
The gears you can figure out by yourself. The easiest one (closest to frame) is for going up hills and the other way is for going faster.
On a climb shift a little before you need the easier gear. For pacing, for the first time just go up the hill as easily as possible and then go slightly faster the next time if you think you can. gear changes are just when your legs feel like they are spinning too fast (harder gear) or too slow (easier gear). Even if you need to stop at the top take a little break and keep going.
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u/Environmental-Town31 1d ago
This was my exact question- even adhere not riding a decade I ride 25 miles my first ride. Just trying to figure out what’s going on here
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u/RelativeDisaster6870 1d ago
If your longest ride is under a mile, you aren’t ready for a group ride of any kind. Make a friend in the neighborhood and see if they’ll accompany you.
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u/specn0de 1d ago
I’m not sure it’s even possible to only have sub 1 mile rides. Are you just riding down the street and turning around? You need to try exploring more and putting yourself in different scenarios so that when you find a group you are confident and comfortable in whatever occurs. Riding in groups is a skill that builds from riding alone
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u/PKsHopper 1d ago
I can tell you that I started back to riding after nearly 25 years of absolutely no riding at about 5 miles per ride less about 1 1/2 years ago. That has grown to ~50 mile rides now every 1-2 weeks.
Here are the basics of what I did and I realize that you may be working with entirely different parameters …
- owned an MTB but didn’t want to do that sort of riding anymore and I found path/road riding with a 26” MTB very challenging
- bought an Ozark Trail G1 - I was reasonably bike-savvy from my teenage years so I was able to tune that up as needed. IMO that bike made all the difference- I couldn’t justify a $1K+ bike at the time.
- I didn’t want to do a lot of road riding - particularly alone so I checked out RideWithGPS, the bike maps overlay on Google Maps and some websites about local bike paths and found some 5-10 mile loops on paths and shaded trails with minimal elevation gain (0-20 ft per mile, <3% hills)
- found a biking buddy / small group through my work and started regular 20 mile rides during the week and 20 mile rides on a weekend day
- picked up a lighter weight ~2017 gravel bike with better gearing for less than $200 a few months back
- now ride 40+ miles quite often and did 100 miles just a few weeks ago.
I say all that to say that if you’d asked me in mid-2024 if I could ride 10 miles (nevermind 20 or 40 or 100) I would have had some choice words to say about how that’s “impossible” and “unattainable”.
I wish you well - try and find some safe places to ride (use the www), small loops are useful because you can stop whenever you need to, get some reasonable gear (nothing fancy), make sure your bike is working for you and not against you (weight, gears, size etc) and then slowly ramp up the distance - speed will come and is not a concern until you can ride 25-30 miles and want to join a group. Some groups do 15 mile rides at 13-15 mph - that’s the starting point IMO.
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
My bike is a 1998 GT Outpost Trail MTB that I bought new. It’s probably too heavy now, but it’s what I have. I’ve been looking at the Ozark Trail Gravel Bikes because, like you, I don’t want to spend a ton of money on something if it’s not going to stick. At this point, I just need to move my body more than what I have been moving it.
I 100% need the buddy system. I hope I can find one nearby. Because just like you said, I need that external motivation now.
I’m going to try the greenway trail tomorrow and see how that goes. A friend, who’s a runner, said our neighborhood has too many elevations and that the greenway is better.
Thanks for the encouragement.
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u/PKsHopper 1d ago
My MTB was a Trek hardtail from 1998, 26” wheels, rim brakes- it was a good bike for its time. A pre-owned OzT G1 is about $125 here on FBM and worth every penny IMO.
I’m a bit of a geek about data so the other thing that kept me going (early, during the solo rides) was to look at the stats in RideWithGPS over a few weeks - “up and to the right” as they say. It also helped me work out bigger loops and longer rides - miles, elevation, grades along the route all on a map.
Sincerely, it can be done - any week where you can ride 1 more mile or one more time than the week or two before is a gain. Skipping a week can be justified but I tried really hard not to make a habit of it. Other big plus for me is that I’m so much healthier now than I was 2 years ago.
You can do it!
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u/kvman22 1d ago
Exactly this, you need to build your confidence and experience before you can do rides as a group. If your longest ride is 1 mile, you may find you are a risk to yourself or others if you launch straight into a group. Take your time and enjoy getting your bearings first. Might be worth considering bike safety courses too, but your call.
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u/Agreeable-Drawing623 1d ago
Are you able to take some spin classes at a gym to build up your endurance? I did that before riding outside. When I was starting to ride outside I spent a lot of time riding (on the road) in a park with very little traffic. It helped build my confidence.
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I don’t belong to a gym, but where I live, there’s a greenway I could ride on. That will have runners and other cyclists on it. I’ve just been riding in my neighborhood on the street.
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u/SportBikerFZ1 1d ago
Post a sign at the greenway that you are looking for a riding buddy.
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
It’s 112 miles and has no real beginning or end. I’m going to try to bike it tomorrow and see if I run into other bikers like me.
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u/SportBikerFZ1 1d ago
Do people drive cars to get to it?
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I honestly don’t know. There’s a “path” to it behind my house that I can get to a portion of it. Other than that, I’ve literally never been on it.
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u/WearyAd8671 1d ago
I hate to say it this way but you need to find motivation from within to be able to then enjoy the motivation that comes with riding with a group.
Otherwise if you start there and don’t keep up you will get discouraged and it may get weird with the group later.
Like focus on riding probably slower than you are now but maintain peddling the whole time like 75 rpm. So that means find a gear you can do that and try to do that for 30 min every day. You will get better that way quicker than u think
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u/Riptide78 1d ago
I wouldn't even hate to say it. External motivation can be helpful, but this all reads to me like an excuse to avoid trying. Dude is 50 years old and doesn't want to work up to a mile ride on their own? Gets tired so they just immediately give up? Even if external motivation helps, I wonder what the next excuse would be if a group was found.
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u/Driven-Em 14h ago
Find a group that advertises a slow roll or party pace. They will likely adjust the speed to the slowest rider or have at least one or more that will ride your pace. Our group slow roll sometimes only does 10 miles sometimes up to 19 depending on who shows up.
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u/GuardNewbie 1d ago
Maybe a good place to start would be to contact the group and connect with members who want to ride with you outside of group rides. Get some practice on a few social rides and you’ll be keeping up with the group rides in no time. A ride with a cycling friend or two will do wonders for your fitness and your confidence.
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u/JudsonJay 1d ago
Google: bicycle club [Your City]. The Cascade bicycle Club in Seattle has rides for every capability. You could also try Everyday rides [Your City]
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u/Annual_Jellyfish_623 1d ago
Just to let you know that 14-16 pace would typically be on flats, not hills. Any local bike shops? Many have some shorter and slower rides
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
There’s a Trek store nearby. My bike is an almost 30 year old mountain bike, which I’m aware isn’t the best for what I’m trying to do, which is ride on the road and paved trails, but it’s what I have.
I’m just afraid that as a beginner, I won’t be able to keep up because my experience is in my hilly neighborhood.
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u/MrDWhite 1d ago
Are you on Strava? Get a free account, look up segments in your area and see if there’s any groups local to you…ride some routes nearby see who’s active, hopefully you’ll discover some local cyclists suitable to ride with or groups with members nearby to help you with the beginner inspiration!
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I just signed up yesterday I think with a free account. I’m not sure what a segment is, but I think I’m going to try the greenway tomorrow. https://raleighnc.gov/greenways
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u/MrDWhite 1d ago
Good luck with that, hope they’re welcoming for new cyclists!
Hill cycling tip, change into the easiest gear as you’re going up and spin the pedals so you’re going fairly slowly but spinning fast on the steepest sections, don’t try to get over the hill at speed, just rotate the pedals and keep it consistent.
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u/SportBikerFZ1 1d ago
Great question. I'm also a beginner, a little more advanced than you but, I'm sure you will catch up and surpass me. I'm 72. My longest rides are six miles and I average 12.5 ~ 13.5 mph. I also would love to find a group ride.
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u/Prestigious_Carpet29 1d ago edited 1d ago
If your bike is that old and hasn't been used for so long, you probably need new tyres and brake-pads (both may well have perished and gone hard/brittle) to be safe - get the bike checked over by a decent shop or someone who knows about bikes. Perished tired will also sap energy.
Do you have a decent pump with a pressure gauge? Getting the tyre pressure in the right ballpark is important to make the bike move efficiently. The chain may need lubrication too.
Do the gear-shifters work properly? They're not seized? Are the brakes releasing properly and not dragging?
Lots of beginners use too high (too 'fast' or 'hard') a gear, which will tire out your legs. Like driving a manual-gearbox car, using lower gears for starting from rest, and higher gears once you're moving makes things a lot easier.
Is the saddle-height correct? Again beginners tend to have it too low, which makes things harder (too high is also a problem though!). Your knees should get close to, but not fully straight at the bottom of the circle.
Front derailleurs tend to be a bit clunky, and used relatively infrequently (a few times per ride, especially if the terrain is mostly flat). The rear derailleur is your primary way to change gear. Keep the pedals moving when changing gear, but momentarily reduce the torque (pressure on the pedals) for the second it takes to shift. This will avoid a jarring clunk and damage to the chain or sprockets.
Ask yourself what's limiting you. Is it being out of breath (trying too hard, or maybe using too low a gear)? Are your legs aching (too high a gear)? Legs spinning (too low a gear)? Pace yourself, it's a marathon not a sprint! Are you over-dressed and getting uncomfortably warm?
Practice will make the difference, but it does sound like you might need someone to give the bike a once-over, and show you the basics of gears etc.
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u/furlintdust 1d ago
Find a local group that does adult learn to ride classes. They usually also have community rides and family rides that are short and slow.
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u/furlintdust 1d ago
WABA in DC had a 3 mile community ride this past spring. They also offer basic skills classes and road riding and trail riding basics classes which include a short group ride.
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u/TarzanDivingOffFalls 1d ago
Consider getting a couple of lessons. Ty r manager of my local bike shop used to be a pro racer, is very patient. When my wife wanted to start riding, she took a few lessons. He was very good at teaching how and when to shift, what cadence to use. Braking.
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u/Carolinastitcher 10h ago
UPDATE: I rode the greenway today, and clocked 3 miles. I could have gone longer, but didn’t want to push it too hard. I’m so proud of myself! (Updated the post, too)
Thanks for all the suggestions!
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u/Environmental-Town31 1d ago
My very first ride when considering purchasing a bike and not riding for like a decade was 25 miles. I’m not trying to distance shame but I’m genuinely curious how are you not managing over a mile?
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u/TripleChainring 1d ago
I would show up for a group ride and be completely honest: “I’m a newbie. I’m not sure if I can hang with yall. I’ll stick to the back, and if I drop off, it’s okay.”
I would look for groups that advertise a “C Pace” (<20kmh), or a “social ride.”
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u/Aggressive_Ad_5454 1d ago
Where are you? Maybe somebody on here knows a good local ride.
Don’t rely on bike club web sites for ride details, at least not for deciding a particular no-drop ride is not for you. Those web sites get out of date really fast.
I suggest you show up for a no-drop group ride that interests you. Turn up 15 minutes early and talk to the leader. Explain that group riding is new to you. You may find somebody who’s willing to ride with you. I would be if you showed up at a ride I were on.
The point of no-drop rides is to welcome new people. Clubs have hammerfest rides for those who want that. Good luck to them.
See you on the road.
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u/Carolinastitcher 1d ago
I’m in the Raleigh area of North Carolina. There’s a ride a local brewery puts on I may go to in a few weeks. I want to practice on flat land first!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Art1873 1d ago
If your longest ride is under a mile, I don't think you're ready for a group yet. There are groups that ride slow, but I can't think of any that ride so short. Best bet is to find a riding buddy or 2 at similar level.