Originally Posted by neneboricua

I used to live in Seattle and rode with that group before. The ride is listed on the Cascade calendar but it's at most a loose affiliation with Cascade. The group is really an offshoot of HPC (High Performance Cycling), which is essentially a group of recreational riders that like to push themselves. They're basically one step below a race team.

Most of the guys that show up to the Cycle Tuesday and Thursday rides used to race but don't do so anymore because family/life obligations have changed for them. But they still have years of riding and training in their legs and have kept most of their high-end speed. Their typical pace on flat ground is in the 24-28mph range with occasional bursts higher. Many of them are natural climbers as well so if you can't keep up on the flats, they will totally destroy you on a hill. There are sometimes two pace groups that form on that ride, but it is totally dependent on who shows up. There will always be a fast group and there may or may not be a slow group. Slow for them is in the 22-25mph range on flats. The regular HPC club has rides that aren't as fast and you can look into joining them. Their rides typically start in the Seattle area.

If your comfort zone is 18-20mph range on flat ground, riding the Cycle Tuesday rides is too big of a step. You should look into the Earthdreams rides. They're another group affiliated with Cascade but aren't totally part of it. Similar to HPC, it's a group of recreational riders that like to push themselves. Their typical pace on flats is in the 20-24mph range. The difference between the Earthdreams group and HPC is that Earthdreamers climb A LOT. Unless specifically labeled as a recovery ride, their rides would be termed "extremely hilly" by Cascade standards. Usually around 800-1200ft climbing for every 10 miles. Their Saturday rides are usually at least 50 miles and depending on the time of year go up over 100 (especially when they're getting ready for High Pass Challenge) and they maintain that pace the whole time. They have a Facebook page you can join to see all of their upcoming rides (about 30% of their rides are posted on the Cascade calendar, but there are many more that only go to their FB page). Their rides almost always start in Marymoor Park in Redmond.