CHEW 11 (Moderate)

CHEW is a 12‑week winter training series designed to build and maintain real cold‑season fitness. Each week's ride builds on the last, and the workload ramps up quickly—so starting this late in the series means jumping straight into the deep end. Expect hills, expect climbing, and expect to work.

Ride Start: We are at week #11.  This is the Vashon Island ride. All groups will take the 9:30 am ferry from Fauntleroy to Vashon.  Be in the ferry line (lane 3) with ticket or Orca card NO LATER THAN 9:15 am. 

Link for purchasing tickets:  https://wave2go.wsdot.com/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=21&c=12

Tickets are $8.45 and include passage back to Fauntleroy. They will scan our tickets prior to boarding. If you use your ORCA card, you can have the ferry folks scan that instead and save a buck.

In order to have plenty of time, we recommend arriving at Lincoln Park lot #1 by 8:45 am and being ready to bike down to the terminal by around 9:00 am. Smart talk will take place after unloading from the ferry. Riders will be let off the ferry before the cars and we will regroup immediately past the ferry terminal on the right in the striped triangular waiting area. Separate into your pace group and be ready for the SMART talk. We will roll out after the cars have finished unloading.

Return ferry:  Historically we have been catching either the 2:55 pm, 3:25 pm or 4:20 pm return ferry to Fauntleroy - depending on pace groups and weather.

Route: We start at the Vashon terminal immediately into our first climb and work our day down and around the island. This is a very challenging route. Realistically, if you haven't been riding CHEW or other challenging routes prior to this ride, you may want to reconsider. The route is a continuous up and down with a lot of elevation and not much flat riding. If there are any mechanicals or other reasons to resort to a backup plan, friends or family members who will be coming to the rescue will need to catch the ferry from Seattle (which could potentially be backed up at that time of day).

Please note the rain route listed in the additional links, and download that too, just in case.

Restroom Stops: Restrooms on ferry. It is a good idea to arrive hydrated and with two full water bottles. We will stop at:

• mi 21.3 - Jensen Point, Burton Acres Park (restroom)
• mi 33.4 - Point Robinson Lighthouse (porta-potties at bottom). If no one needs to stop here then we can avoid a 75 ft descent/ascent.

Snack stop: Thriftway @ mi 41.2. Note, this will be late in the ride so plan on bringing some snacks for the ride.  There are no other food options earlier in the ride.

Pace: Riders should be able to sustain the appropriate pace (Moderate 14-16 mph) which can vary depending on grade and tail or head winds. On hills, we will climb and descend at our own pace, and regroup when needed. A rider who is significantly under the pace of the overall group may have to either drop to a slower pace or continue the ride on their own. We will also observe speed limits on multi-use paths/trails (sometimes 15 MPH or even 10 MPH). 

Fenders! Please be considerate of your fellow riders and have full fenders if the roads are wet, or you may be asked to ride at the rear of the group.

Things to bring: a spare tube and tools to fix a flat (just in case); a phone; ID; cash and/or credit card; ORCA card; water and food. It's also recommended to have a navigation device or at least access to the RWGPS route on your phone, in case you need to finish the ride on your own.

Note: If weather conditions meet the weather cancellation criterion listed in the Weather Status or if there are unforeseen hazardous riding conditions or other unexpected events, the Ride Director will cancel the ride and all registered riders will be sent a notification email. If the ride is cancelled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location. Please check before leaving for the ride.

We hope you can join us!