CHEW - South End Ride #12 (Moderate - Vigorous)

Climbing Hills Eastside Wintertime “CHEW” - South End Series

The CHEW South End Series is held Saturdays beginning, January 7th, and ending April 1st at three different locations in the South end of Seattle. CHEW is a progressive hill training series. These rides are climbing routes on local hills which progress from 30 miles and 2100 feet of elevation gain to 50 miles and 3800 feet of elevation gain over the thirteen weeks of the training series. Three paces are offered, moderate (14-16 mph on flats with no headwinds), brisk (16 - 18 mph on flats with no headwinds), and vigorous (18 - 20 mph on flats with no headwinds). All pace groups use a common route each week. 

CHEW - Sound End #12 is the last ride for 2017. Finish the series strong on a beautiful ride taking in the Puget Sound, Pt Defiance Park, riding next to and crossing over the Tacoma Narrows, riding through parts of historic Old Town Tacoma, and stopping for coffee in University Place. Lots of great views, friends, and many more hills to be conquered!

Registration: Please register for this ride in advance on the Cascade site, it helps ensure there is sufficient Ride Leader support on each pace. You can register now by selecting the Register Now  button at the top of this page, then follow the prompts. Online registrations are accepted until 6 AM of ride day, after that all riders must sign up at the ride start. In addition, all are encouraged to RSVP on Meetup, to go to Meetup see the links section at bottom left.

Ride Start Details: This week’s route will start promptly at 9:30 a.m. at Dacca Park in Fife.

Restrooms at start. Please arrive early enough to set up, check in and/or sign the ride waiver, hear the route details, and review Cascade riding S.M.A.R.T.

If you are new rider to Cascade Free Group Rides, we welcome you! Please be sure to go to the Cascade Bicycle Newcomers page to read important information, for a link to the site, see the links section at bottom left of this page.

CHEW South End Tip: Every week this section will contain a new, helpful tip for climbing hills that you will encounter during your rides in the CHEW Series. These are starting point basics, as each tip could be multiple paragraphs. As the series progresses, pick one or two tips to work on at a time, and practice them every time you ride. There is no magic bullet for hill climbing, you earn your way to the top.

Tip 12) You gotta have FUN!

Riding with friends, overcoming with friends, coffee with friends.....It’s all about having fun!

Ride Requirements: Please print off and bring cue sheet, a printable copy is available in the lower left of this page, under attachments. Please be knowledgeable and equipped with tubes, pump, etc to handle flats or minor mechanicals. The group may not always be able to stop for mechanicals. It is important to bring adequate food and water as there may be limited opportunities to purchase along the way.

If roads are wet, fenders are necessary. Long fenders and buddy flaps are absolutely required unless it is bone dry out, and zero percent chance of rain forecast. A good headlight and taillight are recommended. Helmets are required to ride.

Regroup: We regroup at the top of hills and at major turns for a reasonable amount of time. This is a training series so we will ride with the best interest of the group in mind. Stops will be brief, and slower riders may need to fall back to a slower pace group if they fall behind. If you are riding in the last pace group, and unable to continue or keep up, the Rider Leader will check with you to make sure you have a cue sheet and are able to manage riding independently.

Planned Stops:  Mile: 15.9, Chevron in Ruston (restrooms), and mile 33.8, Forza Coffee in University Place.

Cancellation: Ice, snow or otherwise unsafe riding conditions will cancel this ride. In the event of a cancellation, a notice will be posted in the comments section in both the Cascade and Meetup postings.