Team Estrogen Ride to Redhook

[XMcShiftersonX]

I'm also planning to do the cts ride on the 1st. Darn. I'll get around to meeting the NW TE crowd someday...

Well, at least I'll get to see you there most likely. Which speed group are you planning on joining? I've never done these rides before so I don't know what to expect. But I'm planning on doing the Saturday ride this weekend, so I think I'll get a feel for it. I'm debating between the 12-14mph group and the 14-16mph group. I've done this route many times before and for the whole ride I'll average like 13mph. But everytime I look down on the flat parts I'm going like 18, the uphills may be more like 7-10, and then the downhills are like 25. So I don't know! Maybe I'll do the slower group first, that's probably better than getting in over my head and being expected to go faster than I can! Do you know if it's mandatory that you be a Cascade Club member to do these? Have you done these rides before?

-Jessica

[lauraelmore1033]

Well, at least I'll get to see you there most likely. Which speed group are you planning on joining? I've never done these rides before so I don't know what to expect. But I'm planning on doing the Saturday ride this weekend, so I think I'll get a feel for it. I'm debating between the 12-14mph group and the 14-16mph group. I've done this route many times before and for the whole ride I'll average like 13mph. But everytime I look down on the flat parts I'm going like 18, the uphills may be more like 7-10, and then the downhills are like 25. So I don't know! Maybe I'll do the slower group first, that's probably better than getting in over my head and being expected to go faster than I can! Do you know if it's mandatory that you be a Cascade Club member to do these? Have you done these rides before?

-Jessica

Hi Jessica,
You don't have to be a Cascade Club member to do any of the daily rides--although they will encourage you to join sometime down the road. I've done the CTS rides for two years now. I started out in the slowest group (red) the first year and moved up to yellow last year. I'd say you should at least try the green group first. You can always drop back to yellow if you find the pace too challenging. That said, I will mention that in my experience, the pace does tend to be faster than what is posted. For some reason, speedy people like to ride in the slower groups and push the pace; sort of a big fish in the small pond phenomena. But then there is always the safety net of being able to catch the group behind you. It's probably better for you to push yourself a little rather than to cruise along easily in a slow group. This way you can find that balance

[XMcShiftersonX]

Great! thanks for the advice! I didn't realize it was so easy to just fall back to a slower group if the pace was too much. I don't think the 26 miles should be a problem, because when I do this route I always add mercer island and my ride is 32-39 miles depending on if I leave from my house. But when the rides start getting longer, I may go into a slower group. Now this may seem silly, but do they provide the colored tape they want you to wear on your helmet (my husband says I worry about the silliest things haha)??

[lauraelmore1033]

They do provide the tape. You are responsible for everything else

[Susan126]

I plan to participate in the CTS this year. In fact two different club's training rides! On Saturdays I'm riding with the TWBC on their training rides and then on Sundays I'm going to try and make CBC's rides. We'll see how it goes.

[XMcShiftersonX]

I plan to participate in the CTS this year. In fact two different club's training rides! On Saturdays I'm riding with the TWBC on their training rides and then on Sundays I'm going to try and make CBC's rides. We'll see how it goes.

Awesome! That answers my question on the other thread