Finding the right peer group at first can be rough. One point I made in the post that should be underscored is being 'the first follower.' If you scour your town enough, there is probably someone who is looking to get started. I recommend going with their plan first.

People in the doers group I've met through meetup.com, other friends, and other networking groups. If you stick around long enough, you'll find the right people.

I feel for you. In college I was the lone CS major living in the fine arts dorm! When I did try to get a group together (no reason they can't work on sketches or whatever while I code, right) it always descended into me trying to help people with their homework.

I think a virtual one sounds reasonable. It might not be the exact same effect as in person but I imagine it would still be motivating. I'm also in an area without many nearby programmers so shoot me an email if you're interested in giving it a go.