What to Expect on a Ride

GPC welcomes all riders, especially new and guest riders. These detailed conventions regarding pace and terrain give ride leaders a good idea of how to pace a ride, and riders a good idea of what to expect. Ride leaders are expected to ride at the published pace. Riders are expected to check the published pace in advance.

If you don't know which pace is right for you, it is better to err on the conservative side. Your sustainable pace for 50 miles will be slower than for 20 miles. If you have questions about the pace or terrain of any given ride, contact the ride leader in advance.

Rating System Overview

GPC rides are rated using a notation such as 3/LT/35. The three factors are: terrain/pace/distance. For example, 3/LT/35 is a moderately hilly ride at pace between leisurely and touring with distance about 35 miles.

The faster-paced rides usually have fewer regroups, farther apart, with less time for off-bike socialization during the ride. M-pace and faster rides usually have a fair amount of riding in packs and pacelines. These differences between the pace groups are not required, but are what typically happens. Specifics often depend on the ride leader.

Terrain Rating Details

GPC terrain rating is formally defined using average climbing per mile over the entire route. It is:

Terrain Rating = ((Climbing, in feet) / (Distance, in miles)) / 20

rounded to the nearest integer. For example, a 100 mile ride with 6,200 feet of climbing has terrain rating (6200/100)/ 20 = 62/20 = 3.1, which would be called a 3.

The definition also allows for terrain 0 = astoundingly flat, and terrain 6 or more = enormously hilly.

An exclamation point "!" in the terrain rating means "SURPRISE!". It signifies surprisingly hard hills — long and/or steep — in view of the average. The "!" should be used for routes where the overall average alone might be misleading. An example is the Del Puerto Loop which is usually considered "3" overall. Because it has one notably long hard steep section, it is generally rated "3!". The "!" is relative to the overall terrain rating: The steep stretch on Del Puerto would be no surprise if the terrain were otherwise rated as 5.

Terrain ratings in ride listings are often approximations, for several reasons: The total climbing of some routes is not well known; not all ride leaders have the time or inclination to do detailed altimetric research; and in any case, not all altimeters agree. Even so, with experience, many people are able to make quite good guesses to the nearest integer. If your own altimetric research indicates that the terrain rating for a given route should be refined, feel free to share that knowledge with the ride leader (in a constructive sort of way).

Ride Pace Details

GPC ride pace is formally defined using average ride speed on a known course of mixed terrain. The specific course is the Bears Loop (also known as the ITT Loop), an 18.7 mile loop with some nearly flat stretches, some rollers, some hills — and a total of about 1600 feet of climbing (average climb about 85 feet/mile). The paces correspond to the following average speeds around the complete loop when ridden under ideal conditions, but not treating it as a race or time trial.

As used here, "average speed" means average ride speed for the entire ride excluding rest stops or regroups, and "ideal conditions" means dry roads, moderate temperatures, no precipitation, and no wind. For different terrain or conditions, the paces correspond to the same amount of effort by the same rider, and may therefore have different average speeds. Flatter rides will have a higher average; hillier rides will have a slower average.

Rationale

As noted above, the reason for these explicit quantitative definitions is to give everybody a better idea of what to expect. To define pace, a specific "benchmark" course was chosen for concreteness, and mixed terrain was chosen, rather than flat, because most GPC rides are over mixed terrain. The Bears Loop was chosen in particular because it is representative terrain, it is familiar to many people in the club, and because the club offers monthly timing rides around it. The purpose of quantitative terrain definitions is so that we all mean the same thing by (for example) the description "moderately hilly" and we can, in principle, all agree to the same rating for any given route.

More Resources

• Tips for Drafting and Pacelines