While many people spend Saturday mornings lounging in bed, a group of men and women known as the Texas Flyers Cycling Club breaks out the spandex for a ride through Denton County.

VERNON BRYANT/DMN

Scott Witherell (left), and his father, Dale Witherell , ride with other members of the Texas Flyers Cycling Club from Flower Mound to Argyle on Saturdays.

View larger More photos Photo store

The Texas Flyers started as a race group that sponsored competitive riders. But a few years ago, the club switched its focus to recreational riding, says club president Renee Massengill, 39.

Ms. Massengill says most members wanted an informal way of gathering together to ride, so Texas Flyers dropped its membership dues and focused on recruiting riders of all levels.

Scott Witherell, 40, of Highland Village started cycling almost two years ago to get in shape.

"I just started riding because I started getting fat," Mr. Witherell says. "I didn't want to get any bigger."

His 65-year-old father, Dale Witherell, recruited him. Today, it's a way for father and son to stay fit and catch up each week.

"I had been trying to get him to ride for years," the elder Mr. Witherell says. "I did a ride in California, and there was a father and son who were riding together out there. The guy was in his 70s; his son was in his 50s. I thought that was kind of neat."

At 11 a.m. each Saturday, the riders meet at Downing Middle School in Flower Mound and trek 13 miles to Just a Bit Bistro in Argyle. After refueling at the coffee shop, riders can decide if they want to venture out farther or return to the starting point.

Competition is absent from the Saturday rides, and Scott Witherell says the group travels only "as fast as the slowest person."

The first riders to reach the rest stop vary each week, depending on how they feel and how much ibuprofen they've taken, says cyclist Ron Thompson, 49, of Highland Village. He says that to make sure no one gets left behind, the riders hit three or four checkpoints along the way.

Ken Mason, 66, the club's membership chairman, says anyone may participate in the open ride. Most of the regular riders are men in their 50s and 60s, but participants have ranged from a 73-year-old man to a high school sophomore.

Becoming a member is free. Riders sign up through the group's Web site to receive invitations and updates.

Mr. Mason said the morning ride gives people a chance to experience the outdoors, chat with friends and get in some exercise.

"We have to make sure people don't get discouraged," he says.

Bistro manager Mary Hendryx said the cyclists order lots of black coffee and muffins when they come in halfway through their ride.

"They're always really energetic," she says. "By the time they leave here, they're refueled and ready to go."

Ms. Hendryx says group members tend to be in really good shape, and they always show up on Saturdays, no matter the weather.

Scott Witherell, however, acknowledges that a few things do keep him away.

"I use any excuse I can: lower than 50 degrees, or really windy," he jokes. "I'm kind of a wimp."

Mr. Witherell is riding once a week right now, but he and his father will begin training together for the "Hotter 'N Hell Hundred," the 100-mile-long endurance ride held each August in Wichita Falls.

Although Dale Witherell says his speed has declined with his age, the son says he has a hard time keeping up with his father.

"My dad's faster, every time, and he will be for a while," Mr. Witherell says. "However far I can ride, he can still be there before me."