OK this will be the third and final attempt at this post, so far the previous two have ended up being 'war and peace specials' lol.
Official ride outs have to cater for all members that attend, so you shouldn't really be turning up with the idea you will be spending the day hooning around the countryside. Fast riders need to adjust their style to take into account that there are less experienced / condfident riders in the group, who in turn need to take into account there are faster riders in the group. When overtaking a slower rider, you should always assume they have not seen you, rather than just hoon past and hope they have.
The official ride outs are once a month, for one day, this leaves plenty of other days free to organise a faster or slower paced ride out if that is what you want to do. We provide the members with a ride out section so they can organise their own rides.
I don't post the route for rides I lead for one main reason, this is an open forum, anyone can read it, do you really want someone like our good friend PC Williamson know exactly what time we are leaving and the exact route we are taking? He'd pack a spare ruler in case he wore the first one out checking all the plates are spot on legal? :-?
I work a route out on google maps, then follow it in google earth to make sure the roads look suitable, possible petrol / toilet breaks. I try to aim for at least 60 miles or an hour riding between stops (which ever comes first).
If people want to leave early, it doesn't take much to lift an arm and wave to let others know that you are leaving the group and taking a different turning so that others don't follow you. Stopping 20 mins before the end means that everyone who is going back to the end gets an extra 30 - 60 min delay, with another 30 - 60 mins delay at the end as they say good bye to everyone else that finished, along with a short 20 min ride that you really don't 'get into' before it ends.
Each ride leader will have a different pace, as first and foremost they have to ride within their comfort zone. If a ride is led by someone who rides a slower pace than you like, don't go. If no ride leader rides at a pace you are happy with, then by all means organise a ride out yourself. Although I would strongly advise against putting up a post on an open forum saying that you are organising a 'race pace' ride out, especially if you plan to post the route you intend to take. Personally if I saw that type of thread I would seriously consider removing it, we have a good reputation with the police at the moment, I would like to keep it that way, unless the idea of having an unmarked car waiting around the corner for us to go past appeals to you of course.