Yesterday I did the "trial" ride for the Cascade club's training series, just to see if I will be ready for the series come april, and if I can actually ride in traffic again without freaking out. I've done the training series for the past 6-7 years and that first ride had gotten to be no biggie. I've lost so much ground that I was barely able to hang onto the back of the group(the slowest goup, in theory) and finish the ride yesterday. So disgusted. The traffic was also terrible because of extensive construction in the area, and drivers were very impatient. Riding near the arboretum in a lane marked with "sharrows" a woman screamed, "Get on the sidewalk!" at our group. In another spot, on Lake Washinton Boulevard, which is a parkway, I believe, a guy in a truck passed the group, laying on the horn. It didn't feel safe, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do the ride without the group.