Thanks! 50 is the gateway to being a serious rider, so yeah, you're gonna want some cycling groups to play with when COVID is over. And you'll LOVE it.
I live in a big town, so I have multiple overlapping groups, which is a wonderful thing. One club is called "Tap & Pedal" -- we meet at a brewery (there are LOTS in Houston), ride a brisk 50-60 miles, and then relax together after with some post-ride refreshments.
Something I've found about cycling is that my cycling friends are a VASTLY more diverse group than the rest of my social set. I'm an upper-middle-class white 50 year old dude of the NPR persuasion, and our normal social set reflects this.
The cycling crowd is all over the map in terms of ethnic background, education, level of political engagement, income, and age. It's only through that that I really even KNOW 30-year-olds (or 65+ year olds).
The big tent pole for cycling organization in Houston is the annual Multiple Sclerosis ride every spring; if there's something like that where you live, it'd be a great way to find a home group.
In a single ride. I think there's a psychological barrier there that some people have trouble with. 50 also means more than 2 hours in the saddle, so you're moving in the direction of serious mileage and well past the 10-20-30 mile easy rides.
I live in a big town, so I have multiple overlapping groups, which is a wonderful thing. One club is called "Tap & Pedal" -- we meet at a brewery (there are LOTS in Houston), ride a brisk 50-60 miles, and then relax together after with some post-ride refreshments.
Something I've found about cycling is that my cycling friends are a VASTLY more diverse group than the rest of my social set. I'm an upper-middle-class white 50 year old dude of the NPR persuasion, and our normal social set reflects this.
The cycling crowd is all over the map in terms of ethnic background, education, level of political engagement, income, and age. It's only through that that I really even KNOW 30-year-olds (or 65+ year olds).
The big tent pole for cycling organization in Houston is the annual Multiple Sclerosis ride every spring; if there's something like that where you live, it'd be a great way to find a home group.