This past weekend I am happy to say my friends and I successfully rocked the STP!
We started off at 5:35AM (which meant getting up at 3:30AM to load stuff, eat and drive to the start line... aaack! 3:30 is NOT a good time to get up! The first 10 miles were a bit hairy like any big event... 9000 riders did this and some are more stable than others, so we were careful not to get tangled up and crash. Others unfortunately did not fair so well... there were about 10 crashes just in the pack we went out with... all were able to continue, but as you know, starting off with a crash is not good for morale...
The scenery was outstanding. Everything is SO green... and we had views of Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens as well... from mile 80-100 there was a black top bike path. This was the only area where I had any difficulty... because it was 98 degrees! I SUFFER in the heat. I was getting chills and bordering on heat exhaustion... then a guy crashed in front of my friend Rich and I. Rich swerved to avoid him and his Dura Ace 10 front derailleur exploded all over the bike path!!! I had never heard or seen anything like it. Have you??? At least he still had 9 gears... oy vey! He had to stop and move his chain manually for any climbs after that...
We made it in to the 100 mile mark and I completely doused myself head to toe in water. That helped a TON in bringing my body temp down. We rested there and had a baked potato with extra salt (thank you Jim for reminding me to eat salt!!!) and then continued on. At mile 120 Rich had a rear flat which we stopped to fix... we had just finished pumping it up and a moto sag stopped to offer help. I have to say the support for this event was the BEST I have seen on ANY event I've ridden so far. Really, really good... I think they had moto's assigned to every 20 mile stretch and they just drove back and forth covering their area... it was truly exceptional.
We got back on the road and kept going... from mile 100-154 it was rolling hills... up, down, up, down... frankly I was hoping for more down than up! LOL...
At mile 150 there was a truck with our luggage so we stopped, grabbed our back packs and then were off to search for our hotel. We got in, ate a Subway sandwich and showered. We all were close to giddy and had an extreme case of the giggles... but finally slept. First day- 154 miles...:eek: :D
The next day the hardest thing was the first 3 miles of putting your butt back on the saddle! But then we were off and knew we only had 55 miles to go! WOOT!
We rolled at 8:20 or so and crossed the finish around 12:30... the party at the finish line was OUTSTANDING! People cheering when I rolled thru dang near brought tears to my eyes... think I was a wee bit tired??? :D The BEST thing was that they had these huge trucks with mobile showers!!! Our luggage was there at the finish, so we grabbed it, showered then wandered the event. Got some food, a couple jerseys and just enjoyed the live blues band... it was VERY cool!
Then you hop on the bus back to Seattle... overall it was a terrific event and one that I would do again. My average speed for the 209 miles was 14.1. Not fast but I was very pleased and felt like I rode a strong, smart pace. Total elevation gain was 5300 ft. Pretty mild as double centuries go...
The only negative incident was on day 2... a man was hit by a drunk parolee. His helmet saved his life... I heard he is in fair condition now. The parolee is back in jail... he left the scene (big surprise) and they arrested him 8 miles down the road... I don't know the riders name who was hit, but saw the police, fire and ambulance fly by... he was a few miles behind us when it happened. Anyway, think a positive thought for him OK?
Hope you enjoy the pics and weren't bored by the looooong post!
