Pacific Northwest - Seattle Area: Speed/Draft Training Routes?

My friend and I want to start working on our speed and drafting for STP. Thoughts for relatively flat/rolling 20-30 mile stretches? B-G and Centennial Trail are obvious candidates for profile and distance, but I don't want to be one of those schmucks barreling down the crowded local MUPs in full kit with a bunch of people in a paceline. Just seems like a rude way to be.

Straight out and back on W. Snoqualmie Valley Rd (becomes High Bridge Rd) from Ames Lake - Carnation Rd to Crescent Lake Rd.
10.5 miles (one way)
Under 250' of gain.

If you don't mind a bit of a drive, SR-20 between Marblemount and Concrete is a great stretch. About 18 miles one way.
SR-530 from Arlington to Darrington is a gradual rolling climb for ~27 miles one way. Great road to ride on.

SE Green Valley Road, from Highway 18 to Highway 169 - 10.2 miles. Mostly flat until you get to Flaming Geyser. Connects with some other good roads for some nice loops in this area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=47.301352,-122.179642&daddr=SE+Green+Valley+Rd&geocode=%3BFRqK0QIdWIu6-A&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=12&sll=47.275036,-122.064629&sspn=0.160261,0.308647&ie=UTF8&z=12

A great loop is to go on out to the Green River Gorge, loop back around to Black Diamond, get a cinnamon roll at the Black Diamond Bakery, and then pick a road back to Auburn.

For a longer ride start in Renton, take the Cedar River Trail out to Maple Falls, then down to Black Diamond, connect with the road mentioned above.

You can also get a 5-mile stretch of fast riding on the Cedar River Trail once you get past Renton and the joggers there is typically not much traffic on this trail (esp. in the winter).

True, that riding a paceline at speed on a busy trail does seem a bit discourteous to the rest of the trail users. However, 2 people drafting one another does not a paceline make. Particularly at this time of the year when there aren't nearly as many people using the trails. Two good candidates in the south end of the region are the Interurban Trail which is flat as a board and 30 miles round trip starting and ending in Tukwila. It does cross about a half dozen streets that can slow the pace a bit but for the most part it's wide and visibility is excellent.

Another favorite of mine is the Cedar River trail starting at Carco Theater in Renton and pretty much paralleling the Maple Valley Highway and the Cedar River for about 11.5 miles where the trail turns to gravel just beyond Highway 18. Round trip its 23 miles with a slight elevation gain on the way out which of course makes the return trip pretty quick. Only one significant street to cross with a couple of fun tunnels that make crossing under two other major roads a breeze. Great surface (relatively new), practically empty at this time of the year, although on a nice sunny day you'll probably encounter dog walkers and other riders. Again the visibility is very good so plenty of time to react to other users. Maybe I'll see you out there.

I think anything going over 15 mph should stay off the (busy) MUPs... they're for strollers & old folks! OK maybe we can make an exception for the I-90 trail as it's the only option there.

The other problem with the local trails is that they're flat - you should be training on terrain as found on the east side, e.g. May Valley Rd, Newport Way, Mercer Island, E Lake Samm, etc.

Eventually you'll want to do longer rides than 20-30 miles anyway right?

Thanks for the suggestions, sound like good ways to get started.

Matt - Yes, but adding some fairly spastic people, pacelining, and more challenging terrain all at once is a recipe for disaster. Some shorter, flatter rides to get basics down, then we'll start throwing down!

Since you mentioned the Centennial Trail, I'm guessing that Snohomish is a possible starting point for you.
Snohomish - old highway to Monroe - south to Tualco, (optional more out/back on the West Snoqualmie Road), west over High Bridge and back to Snohomish is about 25 miles; lots of flat/rollers, a bit of a climb over High Bridge.
and, Snohomish - west along the north side of the river, cross the river to Everett, south to Lowell, down the hill across the tracks, and back to Snohomish on the south side of the river; several miles there of smooth pavement and wide shoulder; also about 25 miles. You can pair the two rides and get a 50-mile figure-8 route.
You might want to go to bikely.com, type in the names of towns in the area, see what pops up, look at the profiles, and try the routes out.