The Berkeley Bicycling Meetup Group is for anyone who wants to meet new people and explore the Bay Area. We have done mostly road rides but I plan to post a few mountain bike rides in the near future. The rides are a lot of fun and are a great place to learn new routes.
Despite the vast number of "members" (444, last time I checked), our group is small. There are 10-15 people who regularly attend our rides, with a handful on any given ride. This group doesn't drop slower riders! Unless I specify in the Meetup, you will have at least myself as a riding partner for the duration of the trip.
Many of our rides involve hills so you'll want to make sure your bike is in good shape (clean and lubricated chain, plenty of life in your front and rear brake pads). If you're not sure if your chariot is in good shape, I'd take it down to my friends at a community bike shop: Street Level Cycles. There you can work on your bike for free (includes free advice) or leave it with them for a professional tune up for a nominal fee.
Visit the link below for a history of some of our rides. If you have a ride that you'd like to do, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to add it to our calenar.
Our Ride History
That being said:"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (The Way of Lao-tzu). Come out for a ride whether you're ready or not and you'll do fine!
Looking forward to seeing you all out there,
Mike