South End Getting Ready to Ride Series (GR2R)#4 - Steady

Is this the year you are finally going to ride in that big bike event?  The STP, RSVP, a century?  Are you contemplating signing up for the Cascade Training Series (CTS) this April to get ready for those big rides but even this scares you a bit?  Then start early with our Getting Ready to Ride Series!  This series begins in February and will end just before the beginning of CTS.  It will be a nice transition from a weekend rider out for a spin on the local bike path to a cyclist who can, by the end of the series, ride 30 miles on the roads with ease.  By the end of the Getting Ready to Ride Series you will have the confidence and stamina to begin the CTS series.

This year CBC is offering two Getting Ready to Ride Series; one is the East Side and Seattle Series, and the second is the South End Series.  This is The South End Series and the rides will be held on 7 weekends, beginning on February 9th and ending with our final ride on March 29th.  The Five Sunday rides will begin at 1:30 and the two Saturday rides will begin at 11:30. 

This week’s ride is number 4 in the South End Getting Ready to Ride Series.  It is on Sunday, March 2, 2014 and will start in Renton at Burnett Linear Park.  This ride will take us along the west side of Lake Washington to Leschi where we will stop at Starbucks for a quick break before we turn around and return to Renton.  This is a beautiful out and back ride with a few steep but short hills to climb.  These rides will be conducted at two paces and you can select the pace that best fits you – A Leisurely paced group (10-12 mph on the flats, aka The “Red” group in CTS) and a Steady paced group (12-14 mph on the flats, aka The “Yellow” group in CTS).

The route map is at http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3795044.  Please plan to arrive by 1:15 so we can process the ride waiver, do equipment checks, and discuss the route. We anticipate the ride will last 2 – 2.5 hours depending on how the day goes.  Please consult the Cascade Bicycle Club Daily Rides web page for information for new riders (http://www.cascade.org/welcome-newcomers) as helmets and so forth are required for the ride. Scheduled ride dates for the South End Getting Ready to Ride Series are 9 Feb, 16 Feb, 22 Feb, 2 Mar, 9 Mar, 16 March and 29 Mar. Each ride will have a different starting point as posted on the Cascade Daily Rides calendar page (http://www.cascade.org/EandR/Activities_Calendar.cfm?query=cascadefreedailyride ) and under the Cascade Free Daily Rides subgroup of meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com/cascaderides/).