CHEW - South End Ride #6 (Moderate - Vigorous)

Climbing Hills Eastside Wintertime “CHEW” - South End Series

**NEW RIDE START LOCATION FOR RIDE #6, FEBRUARY 11th, AT SACAJAWEA PARK**

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.

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 Sacajawea Park in Federal Way. Please use the the main park entrance off Dash Point Road between Sacajawea Park and Sacajawea Middle School. The parking is back towards the park and fields, to the North of the school. There are restrooms in the park.

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 click on the link at the top of the page and read important information for Cascade Bicycle newcomers.

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 6) When to Downshift. 

The idea is getting into the smaller chain ring as you approach the climb. How to…

The technique is to be looking ahead to what’s coming up. While riding on the big chain ring, downshift to your smaller cassette gears, it’s normal to down shift 2,3,4 gears click, click, click… Your goal is keep pedal effort and speed equal to when you were just riding on the big chain ring. This takes practice as each rider has different leg power. Then downshift to your small chain ring, if you shifted right you will have equal pedal effort and keep your speed. As you feel your pedal effort increase, downshift one gear at a time on your cassette.

Ride Requirements: Please print off and bring cue sheet. 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 20.8, Starbucks; and, mile 24.8, Des Moines Marina (restrooms - there are two, at Marina Building and at peir).

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.