Familiarisation ride

Lim Chu Kang, 78 km. There's a big ride coming up. In the few weeks left, there's not much training that can be done. So we cycle (minus one who overslept) to see how we get along. It's hard to do a "training" ride where participants have varying experience, from seasoned adventure racers to someone going for her first expedition. Is this ride about performance, or to ride safe, gel together better than a gel saddle and have fun?