For 2008, the ride is scheduled for every Tuesday from the beginning of April through the end of September, except for rain-outs. That is, from Tue Apr 1 through Tue Sep 30, 2008. Very occasionally, I will be unable to make the ride. Tues April 22 is one such day. On such days, I will try to find an alternate leader.
Here is the description, excerpted from the weekly ride schedule:
TUESDAYS 4/MB/32 Berkeley Tuesday Evening Ride
Quick-paced hilly workout ride — focus is on intensity, hillclimbing,
sprinting, positioning, and drafting.
Meet 5:30pm sharp for prompt 5:35pm departure —
meet at Spruce and Grizzly Peak Blvd, at the benches next to the reservoir
(not the bus stop benches).
We arrive at Grizzly/Skyline approx 6:15, for those who want to join there.
To keep the group together yet still give everybody a good workout,
we have explicitly defined parts of the course for easy, medium, hard,
drafting, and regroups.
Rain cancels.
Mark Abrahams (510)524-1294.
ROUTE. The route details are:
Meet at benches next to the reservoir at top of Spruce St. Start at Spruce / Grizzly Peak Blvd. R (South) on Grizzly L at Skyline Blvd L at T-junction with Joaquin Miller Rd (name stays Skyline) L at Redwood Rd L at Pinehurst Rd R at Skyline (retrace outward route) R at Grizzly return to startNo route sheet or route map is supplied at the ride start. It's a simple route — please memorize it.
WHAT TO BRING. As the ride is only 32 miles, we don't stop for water. Bring what you need. For most people, that means two bottles. There's a fountain at the ride start. Put anything else you might need (armwarmers? wind vest?) in your pockets for easy access while riding . . . not buried away somewhere that you'll have to stop to get it.
PACE. How fast is this ride? Most people have an average rolling speed of 15.5 to 16.0mph for the full course. Given the hilliness (roughly 100ft climbing per mile) this is true MB on the GPC pace scale. If you are a solid GPC M-pace rider you will be able to keep up, but you will feel that you are working hard. If you are a GPC TM-pace pace rider, or are unable to solidly hang with the main group on M-pace rides, you will likely be unable to keep up, and the regroups will have left before you arrive.
Translation. Non-GPC riders are very welcome to join — roughly half the regulars on this ride don't do other GPC rides. Here is how the pace translates into non-GPC terms. If you race men's Cat 4 or Cat 5, you'll be able to keep up just fine. If you race men's Cat 3 or above, the ride is too slow for you. If you have never done a fast club ride, or if your only bicycling experiences are with touring and commuting, you will be unable to keep up. Here, I'm afraid I need to be blunt: Unlike other GPC rides, we will drop people who cannot hold the pace or at least get to the regroups within a minute or so of the main group.
RYTHM. Over the years, this ride has developed a set of natural sprint points, regroup points, paceline/drafting areas, etc. So that everybody knows what to expect, here they are.
Warmup. A good warmup is important. We don't start out hard.
Intervals / Sprint Points. Intensity is the heart of the workout.
Regroups. Because people of different strengths and speeds attend, these are the most important to observe, in order to keep the ride together. These are quick regroups — just long enough to get back together in a group. Fast riders are encouraged to circle back after reaching the full regroup points — ride back and find the slowest rider.
Paceline/Drafting Areas. Few surprises here: Most anywhere the road is level enough (or straight enough) we'll draft and/or paceline. That way the entire group moves faster and we all develop our skills.