Sue, I had a few similar experiences - but way back when I first started riding 10+ years ago; I believe that Cascade has heard and begun to heed the feedback. I have volunteered to help out on plenty of Cascade club events and during the course of working with office staff, board members, ride leaders, exec director, etc, I added my voice to what others shared also, that: when the ride is posted, and the pace is noted along with the regrouping (or not) plans, by the ride leader(s), then they should follow through on that.
I have been assured that Cascade has been and continues to take steps to address all of the concerns and the CTS is a good example of that. IMHO, they have been doing a good job of setting up and trying to control what has been a very large group showing up sometimes. I've seen everything from riders in spiffy kits with high end and custom bikes to first time riders. There is a lengthy explanation of what the Cascade Training Series is, how it's set up, how each rider should come prepared to be able to make minor repairs to themselves or their bikes, have a back-up plan to get home, how to determine which group (pace) to ride with, etc...but it's also been my experience (having volunteered to be a ride leader often) that too many folks just don't read, don't prepare according to the requests, have no idea how their gears work, or how to change a tire, and expect others to either do it for them (their 1st choice!) or to stop riding/leading the group and stay with them, talking them through it step by step and on and on. Those hammerheads are now told to take a cue sheet, but if they ride in front of the ride leader, that they are on their own, as the ride leader rides at the advertised pace, and no one is dropped unless they notify the group that they want to be left to ride on their own.
Is it perfect? No, but there has been honest effort to improve and I've seen and appreciated both the effort as well as the improvement. That being said, it's really a communication thing too. When any rider shows up at a ride start, it's considerate to get there enough ahead of time, so that you are ready to ride out at the appointed time - and not pulling into the parking lot when the group is leaving, etc. It's a great opportunity to learn routes in/around the Seattle area, better bike handling, on-bike signals and communication, riding in a group, meeting and making new ride buddies - all of it.
I'll stop rambling and just encourage anyone who's interested to read the info in the Cascade newsletter or online about the CTS, check out the comprehensive schedule which ramps up the mileage so as to help with meeting a variety of seasonal goals. There's really now a pace and group for every rider, so have fun and enjoy! Along with the Cascade training series, the Seattle Bike club usually has a good variety of rides and even weekend tours/rides on their schedule too.
Mary