Pace & Terrain Definitions
Road Day & Evening
When choosing the pace you want to do, please consider:
- if you are new to the club it is better to start with a slower pace and your work your way up to faster paces
- choose the right pace for you on that day and don’t pigeon-hole yourself into a single pace classification. Factors impacting your pace include
- terrain
- how much you have been riding
- who you are riding with
- your conditioning
- distance – note that you should increase the maximum length of your rides gradually. It is recommended that you do not attempt a ride any longer than 20% more than your longest ride of the season.
Pace classifications use average speed, which is the total distance divided by the moving time. This is the average speed reported by most by bicycle computers, although you might have to adjust the options to exclude time while not moving. It is critical to realize that your average speed is significantly less (typically 3/4 or less) than your “cruising” speed on flat terrain.
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DAYTIME PACES (Updated: April 2015)
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Pace
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Minimum Average Speed
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Description
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A
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18+ mph
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Hard fast riding, few stops, slower riders will be dropped, frequent pace lines.
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B+
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17 mph
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For very fit cyclists, slower riders will be dropped, leader rides at listed pace, occasional pace lines.
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B
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16 mph
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For fit cyclists, terrain varies, up to 30 miles between rest stops. Leader sweeps no slower than 16 mph. BUT if there is a concurrent identical (same tour #, same start time) C+ ride, or the ride leader has posted “no sweep” in the ride comments, the leader rides a B pace and does not sweep.
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C+
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14.5 mph
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For accomplished cyclists, terrain varies, up to 30 miles between rest stops, leader sweeps no slower than 14.5 mph. If there is a concurrent identical (same tour #, same start time) C ride, the Ride Leader may choose not to sweep and depend on the C ride to look after slower C+ riders.
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C
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13 mph
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For accomplished cyclists, terrain varies, up to 30 miles between rest stops, leader sweeps no slower than 13 mph.
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D+
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11 mph
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For experienced cyclists who want an easier pace, up to 20 miles between rest stops, leader sweeps no slower than 11 mph.
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D
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9 mph
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Relaxed riding for experienced cyclists, easier terrain, up to 15 miles between rest stops, leader sweeps no slower than 9 mph (typically no longer than 35 miles and on terrain not more difficult than C+).
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CA(Casual)
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Casual
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Relaxed riding, no steep hills, frequent stops, group stays together.
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S (Special)
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varies
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Special ride. Click on ‘More’ (after login) to read special comments.
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EVENING TRAINING RIDE PACES
Paces for evening rides have a T prefix to indicate that they are “training” rides. Training means that the rides are typically shorter, do not have rest stops and riders generally ride at a faster average compared to day rides.
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Pace
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Average Speed
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Description
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TA
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18+ mph
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Hard fast riding, few stops, slower riders will be dropped, frequent pace lines.
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TB
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16.5+ mph
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For very fit cyclists, slower riders will be dropped, leader rides at listed pace, occasional pace lines
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TC
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15+ mph
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For accomplished cyclists, terrain varies, leader sweeps no slower than 15 mph.
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TD
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13+ mph
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For experienced cyclists, leader sweeps no slower than 13 mph
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TE
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11+ mph
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For any cyclists who can average 11 mph and ride the posted distance without a rest stop, leader sweeps no slower than 11 mph
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Ride leaders on A, B+, B, TA and TB rides are not required to sweep, so riders on such rides should either be confident that they can keep up with the pace of the group or be comfortable riding independently.
Ride Leaders on C+, C, D+, D, TC, TD and TE pace rides are required to sweep. However, riders on those rides must be able to average at least that minimum speed, making only the scheduled rest stops, or they may be dropped.
TERRAIN RATINGS:
The terrain rating for a tour is determined by “average climb”. That is the total climb, as determined by ridewithgps.com as per the club’s map of the tour, divided by the length of the tour. Total climb is the total uphill climb ignoring the downhills. Note that the total climb as reported by ridewithgps.com is almost always lower than the climb reported by bike computers doing a route. That difference is “built into” the classifications below.
- The ratings are:
- Rating Average Climb (ft/mile)
- A greater than 75
- B 50 to 75
- C+ 40 to 50
- C 25 to 40
- D less than 25
Two tours with the same terrain classification may have very different terrain profiles. For example one C+ terrain route may be relatively flat with one big climb, while another C+ terrain route may have lots of “rollers” but no big climbs. The best way to determine the type of terrain a route covers is to click the “MAP” link for the ride from the ride schedule and look at the terrain profile at the bottom of the ridewithGPS.com page for that tour.
Path & Trail Rides
ALL PATH AND TRAIL RIDES ARE SCHEDULED DURING FULL DAYLIGHT HOURS
PACE: Varies with type, terrain and group.
- MB Mountain bike required (Bike with 26-inch or 29-inch knobby tires, flat bars)
- HB For MB’s or Hybrids (road-sized frame with flat bars, wide tires, pedals that allow EZ off and on) Tires should be at least 28mm or 1 1/2 inches wide; some road bikes will accept 28mm tires, but road bikes not recommended.
TERRAIN:
For MB rides (Trail)
- HT Highly technical – may include steep climbs/descents, very rocky, large intentional obstacles, drop-offs – for very experienced riders only
- MT Moderately technical – may include some steep climbs/descents, water crossings, some rocks or roots – for lower intermediate riders and up
- NT Not technical – relatively smooth hard pack with few or no steep hills or obstacles – riders of all abilities
For HB rides (Path)
- NH Not technical for hybrid bikes. All HB rides will have an NH terrain rating. Trails are generally hard pack and may be partially paved – riders of all abilities. Road bikes with 28 mm tires OK, but hybrid still better.
Indoor Rides (e.g. Zwift)
Indoor rides will have the Pace set to “I” to indicate an indoor ride.
My preceding message was incomplete.
I’d like to reserve two tickets, one for me and one for my wife, Diane Shannon.
I will celebrate my 80th birthday in 2025 (Nov. 1), and
many pedal stokes in the rear view mirror.
My current road steed is an endurance racing bike,
a Cannondale Synapse hi-mod carbon ‘Black Inc’ (not a typo) model.
I still also ride a mountain bike and a hybrid, have passed along my unicycle,
and am planning to add a road/gravel e-bike when I get older 🙂