Hi @ScottMN
Did the TOW stage 4 rookie ride today - although for some reason I cannot see the badge for Stage 4 … abit discouraging …cause for rookie like me this was a lot of effort 
…
Anyway just wanted to thank you for the tips…i tried 1,2,3 from your comments… managed to stay in the group for around 3-4km but then got dropped off as usual… i think i should have gone for a MTB from the start … I only switched to MTB after getting dropped off by the pack…
But managed to get on with the ride … riding with small packs sometimes only myself and another rider… but most of the stage in solo ride…
I was happy enough with the ride today - but still the same old thing … some peopl riding above the recommended w/kg - rookie rides are supposed to be 1.5w/kg… i had a lot of 2.3-2.5w/kg going past me… there were no ride leader today … so no fence etc… but hey its not a race .
anway thanks for the tips… reading it like this it does not look much - but I can tell you it did make a lot of difference.