I bought a bike a good few years back and started cycling again after about a years break from when I was commuting to uni.
I tried many clubs...
I am not fit enough to participate in the local sport team. Or young enough. Or rich enough. The stakes are "20yo, Carbon, Ultegra" and up.
I tried a local forum once where they were trying to "promote" the idea of cycling etc etc. Apparently it ended up being a bunch of low-esteemed a-holes which all they did all day was to chat sh^t about the city's infrastructure on cycling and how better things were abroad.
Apparently they never been abroad because where I live it's cycling weather heaven, and the infrastructure doesn't have much to do with that. I never went for a ride with them. I even tried to get my posts erased from in there because they were planning on going to vandalize some public and private property and din't want to get f@ckin arrested as an accomplice and of course there were the CMR's the marches the lot...
Carried on cycling alone.
Then a guy from a local hiking club told me of another cycling group that apparently was "nicer".
First time I went there, there was a guy trying to sell some t-shirts. Again with the political sh^t-chat, the CMR's, the marches, the letters to the city hall... None of these people had any interest in bikes what so ever and apparently they were just using them as a front to do some protesting ****.
After a while I found a nice tourist office that was organizing rides, and these were some of the nicest rides I went! We had a support vehicle, the people were nice (older folk and usually not married for some strange reason) but the rides were magical! They were also quite expensive... About 20euro per ride. I also went for one that was for 4 days it was something like 300 euro... The way I am travelling I could go travelling in Europe for a week with that money, but it was a fantastic excursion non the less.
After that I had another break when I was in the army for a year. Not much cycling during that...
After the army I tried to find another place to go and cycle together with some people. I found out that the one which was selling the t-shirts was still on. I went for several rides with them.
Some people were strange. I tried to avoid them but then again some people were so strange that it kinda shocked me on how the others were considering the things they were writing in the groups site as rational (have you ever heard of a cycle-march funeral?). So after a few rambles I kinda ended up being blocked by those too but I tell you that I feel much better now that I am out of this group.
I also tried a local "Fix gear" group. They go fast. The rides are nice. But the people seem to know each other quite well and don't appear that crazy about making new friends. There are also quite a few of what you would describe as "hipsters"... Anyway, nice rides but feel kinda lonely in there some times.
So I am again cycling alone.
Maybe I will try to find a couple of people that we can cycle in the same pace and the same purpose and have another nice smaller group ride (these other ones were f@ckin slow man, I mean nerve-breaking slow).
I was basically going there to talk with people and have a pint. (Another ridiculous thing is that there were people going with f@ckin energy bars in these rides, talking about lame...) But apparently they dont like people who can keep a speed of more then 10km/h. Not to mention that they all "dress" like cyclists and sh^t when they are blanently not (I didn't know they made cycling jerseys for so fat fat people. Or bikes for people more then 100kg...)
Anyway not much luck with them and unfortunately a whole bunch of them will be coming to participate in a double century I will be doing in 20 days... Hopefully I wont have to talk with them.
So yes, riding alone, -is- the safest solution. But it's boring. It's also nicer to have some people to block some wind... You go faster like that.
+1 on the GF, but mine doesn't cycle. Nor is she here with me. So I need another Gf I guess.
and in a nutshell, finding a cycling partner is kinda like having a relationship. You don't know what kind of madness the other people carries in their mind and will revealed during the ride.