Billy Goats, Mountain Goats and Billy Goats are a selection of major climbs on paved roads in the Bay area with terrain ratings between 3 and 6. Mountain Goats are a group of dirt roads and trails with lots of climbing. Grizzly Bears are a selection of over 100 basically flat rides which occur on special dates, go to special places or are traditional ACTC events.
Pace is the average speed of a ride. This means that at the end of your ride, your average speed should fall somewhere within this range or lower depending on terrain or other factors. To obtain a pace average, one needs to be able to cruise at a higher pace, therefore, leaders will be going faster and/or slower than the posted pace during the ride. To determine your actual riding pace, please go to pace calculator.
GROUP Rides are lead in a manner where riders and leader are within sight of each other most of the time. These types of rides are great for new riders who are not familiar with the routes and for riders who are unsure of how to handle simple mechanicals such as flats or a dropped chain. Leaders should add a comment to their ride description designating the style as GROUP to assist members in identifying these rides easily.
No-Drop rides are usually self-paced and the leader has designated regroup points. Most riders are expected to be fairly self-sufficient, meaning they can navigate a route sheet without getting lost and handle simple mechanical issues. No-Drop also means that riders should not drop from the ride without notifying the leader and all riders should assist in keeping track of the other riders.
Drop rides are self-paced, may have designated rest stops, but regroups may or may not happen depending on the individual leader. Although not intended, riders may be dropped from the group on these rides. Only experienced riders who are prepared to be self sufficient with regard to route navigation, food/water, tools and experience to deal with any mechanical that could occur while riding in remote terrain if they cannot maintain the pace of the leader.
In addition, there are often times when many of our club ride leaders will lead with a combination of ride styles. This allows faster riders to ride ahead to designated regroup points. Leaders can either lead from the front or from the rear or assign a designated sweep to ensure that the slowest rider doesn't lose their way or has assistance should a mechanical occur along the way.