Adrienne,

The board voted to change the speed of the ride categories a few
months back. I think the web site has not been updated, but I don't
specifically see where you are quoting from. I for one was opposed to
the change. I believe the newsletter is correct.

While bikes have gotten better and speeds have increased, I think it
is the riders that should move up to another level. I went on a B+
ride earlier this year and it was an A ride for about 1/2 the riders.
It was sad to see that that true B+ riders were being dropped, but
that is what happened, the "A" riders where in the lead group, and the
B+ riders where trailing behind, and I was not in front, but helping
the B+ rides to stay with the lead pack.

I think I convinced some of the "A" riders to ride A now and two are
now leading A rides, as they should be, since they are very strong
riders, but most of them I am sure are still pushing the pace on the
B+ rides. The tendency is for riders to continue to ride with the
same group they started with, rather than move up to a faster level.
I started as a C rider. I still see those people at parties, but I
don't ride with them any more. I've moved up with my skill level.
Everyone else should do the same and stop torturing riders who are
riding at the advertised pace.

The sad fact of the matter is we need to keep slower levels slower for
new riders, and should not make category jumps so large that it is
impossible to move up one level. One mile per hour difference in
average speed is a large jump at the higher levels, not so much going
from D to C, but what I see is more experienced riders still riding at
the lower paced rides and destroying the ability to get new members to
keep up when they should be able to. It is just plain selfish to ride
on a ride below your level and be at the front of the ride. If you
want to ride at a lower level, help the riders in the back keep up
with the pack, don't push the pace just so you can think you are some
sort of "super" rider. In cycling there is always someone faster than
you.

Just my 2 cents.

Bruce

> Ride Category Has anyone else noticed the change?
> Posted by: "Adrienne" adriennedsp@...
adriennedsp
> Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:28 am (PST)
> I participated in a great ride on Sunday. The cue
> > sheet, scenery and people on the ride added to the
> > enjoyment. I found that combining two ride
> > categories with 2 leaders is a great concept which can
> > help catch those riders who get flats or want to slow
> > down a bit. I got a flat, and ended up riding with the C- folks
> who caught up to me as I was ready to start again. (Thank you Renee
> for staying & helping me)
> >
> > The ride was was labeled C+ and C-. It seems that some C- folks
> who enjoyed the company and scenery, found some of the hills such as
> Whipoorwill, Taylor, and Sheather as too challenging. There were
> quite a few hill walkers on the ride.
> >
> > So tonight I decided to research the club website to find
> > out the definition of the new C+ and C- categories that defined
> these two rides. The below are definitions of the C and C+ paced
> rides that I extracted in verbatim from the website.
> >
> > "C+ Fast - average speed 11 - 13 mph, average speed on
> > flats 15 - 16 mph, breaks every 15 > to 20 miles
> > C Fast - average speed 11 - 13 mph, average speed on
> > flats 15 - 16 mph, breaks every 15 > to 20 miles"
> >
> Both C categories sound the same to me. Now that we have C and C+
> and C-, categories, can anyone figure out what's the difference
> between them?
> Terrain?
> Thanks, Adrienne
>
>