STP July 14-15 2007

[salsabike]

Susan! Vancouver is GORGEOUS. The secret to this weekend is to try to make reservations at the Best Western Sands Hotel on English Bay--then you just get some picnic food and books, and hit the beach two hours before the fireworks, which are out on a barge right in the bay. It is fabulous! We haven't done RSVP yet, but we did do the fireworks thing several years in a row, going up on the train. You really see fancy stuff. One year China did a wisteria tree in fireworks. Was just telling SadieKate about all this. Best neighborhood restaurant---Malaysian, the Banana Leaf, right around the corner on Denman. And not far away is the Great Blue Heron rookery in Stanley Park.

Can you tell I like Vancouver, yet??

[KnottedYet]

What if we all did RSVP next year, and made reservations there and did the fireworks, too?

I've got all kinds of connections for cars and rides and emergency contacts on the route.

[colby]

I would love to do RSVP, it sounds REALLY cool. I LOVE Vancouver, too RSVP must be a ton more scenic than STP, that is not necessarily the world's most scenic route (at least it's not Seattle to Spokane, that would probably be worse -- not to mention climbing 2500+ feet).

[Eden]

I would love to do RSVP, it sounds REALLY cool. I LOVE Vancouver, too RSVP must be a ton more scenic than STP, that is not necessarily the world's most scenic route (at least it's not Seattle to Spokane, that would probably be worse -- not to mention climbing 2500+ feet).

There is Red-Spoke, Redmond to Spokane put on by the Redmond Rotary Club. It takes 5 days and from looking at the route it actually sounds pretty nice - they go over route 2 to then down through Grand Coulee to get to Spokane.

"Rotary Club of Redmond welcomes you to our Redmond to Spokane bicycle adventure. Started in 1988 as one of the club's fund raisers, this event is known throughout the bicycling community as the premier ride of its kind in the Northwest. With the sun in your face and the wind at your back, experience fun, excitement, fellowship and adventure on this 300-mile ride across beautiful Washington State. Enjoy the splendor of the Cascade Mountains, the majesty of river canyons and the beauty of rolling wheat fields. This premier, fully supported ride is limited to the first 100 riders." www.redspoke.org

[Dianyla]

I also have mixed feelings about doing STP again. The only time I did it was two years ago. I had been training to do it in 2 days, but a few weeks before the event I suddenly had a business trip come up so I decided to just go for broke and do it in 1 day. 19 Hours of Hell On A Heavy Mountain Bike later...

In spite of the total mayhem and crowds and safety issues I would like to do it again someday, still in 1 day but this time fully prepared and on a light roadbike. Oh, and not being seriously anemic would also be nice.

Like many of you, I have been lusting over RSVP for years. I'm planning to buy a ticket once the online registration opens (Jan 1 2007). Although, if I wind up taking summer term classes in 2007 I may have to bail and sell off my registration.

[Susan Otcenas]

19 Hours of Hell On A Heavy Mountain Bike later...

Ouch! I bet all that effort made for a really productive business trip too....

[Dianyla]

Ouch! I bet all that effort made for a really productive business trip too....

You ain't kidding. I reached the Portland city limits around 11pm and called for my SAG at the Shell in St. Johns. Was in bed within an hour. All I remember about the next day's 6am flight to Chicago was sitting down my seat, slumping over, and suddenly we were landing. My anklebones didn't show up until Thursday due to edema. I should be glad I didn't get DVT, in retrospect. Yeah, I was pretty useless.

Thankfully, it was just a training class in which I was a student and already knew much of the material. I was just showing up to do the boot camp thang and pass the certification test on Friday.

/hijack

[colby]

There is Red-Spoke, Redmond to Spokane put on by the Redmond Rotary Club. It takes 5 days and from looking at the route it actually sounds pretty nice - they go over route 2 to then down through Grand Coulee to get to Spokane.

"Rotary Club of Redmond welcomes you to our Redmond to Spokane bicycle adventure. Started in 1988 as one of the club's fund raisers, this event is known throughout the bicycling community as the premier ride of its kind in the Northwest. With the sun in your face and the wind at your back, experience fun, excitement, fellowship and adventure on this 300-mile ride across beautiful Washington State. Enjoy the splendor of the Cascade Mountains, the majesty of river canyons and the beauty of rolling wheat fields. This premier, fully supported ride is limited to the first 100 riders." www.redspoke.org

Wow, only 100 riders. A Highway 2 ride would be WAY more scenic than I-90, and 5 days to cross might give you enough time to actually enjoy it.

They should do a Bicycle Washington tour like Bicycle Idaho and Bicycle Oregon. I suppose you could do your own if you linked STP, RSVP, and this all together

[Dianyla]

They should do a Bicycle Washington tour like Bicycle Idaho and Bicycle Oregon. I suppose you could do your own if you linked STP, RSVP, and this all together

This kind of exists already in the form of RAW.

[bikerHen]

I am adding STP to my goal list for 2007. But so many negative thoughts. Is it really that bad? I would be in the two day group, I don't think I could even hope to go that far in one day. A local riding club is getting a group together for next year. I've been getting excited about it, but now I'm not so sure.

Would this ride be to much for a humble dryside person? The biggest I ride I've been on to date would be LRRH. I think there were about 1000 riders . . . and it seemed fairly under control.

The other ride I want to try next year is the Chilly Hilly. Any coments on that? The chilly I can handle. It's the hilly that worries me! bikerHen

[Kano]

They should do a Bicycle Washington tour like Bicycle Idaho and Bicycle Oregon. I suppose you could do your own if you linked STP, RSVP, and this all together

So, I was reading this whole thread -- this must be the time of year for thinking about bike trips etc for the year, cuz just yesterday I was looking at the SPIN Idaho pages to see if the new calendar of rides is out yet (it's not) and when I got to this message, I thought:

Funny you should mention that

two of the links were for the Bike Idaho and Bicycle Oregon rides and look what I saw when I clicked the link:

http://www.oregonbicycleride.org/

You got your wish this year, Colby!

Karen in Boise

[colby]

So, I was reading this whole thread -- this must be the time of year for thinking about bike trips etc for the year, cuz just yesterday I was looking at the SPIN Idaho pages to see if the new calendar of rides is out yet (it's not) and when I got to this message, I thought:

Funny you should mention that

two of the links were for the Bike Idaho and Bicycle Oregon rides and look what I saw when I clicked the link:

http://www.oregonbicycleride.org/

You got your wish this year, Colby!

Karen in Boise

Hey!! Thanks for sending the link, Karen! I'm going to check the calendar and see if I can go. It sounds awesome.

[Susan Otcenas]

two of the links were for the Bike Idaho and Bicycle Oregon rides and look what I saw when I clicked the link:

http://www.oregonbicycleride.org/

Jeff & I are signed up for the Oregon Bicycle Ride. The Idaho/Washington ride looked good too, but the timing of OBR worked out better for us. I got an email this morning saying that there are only 60 spots left open on OBR, so if anyone is on the fence, you might not want to wait too much longer!

Susan

[Trek420]

KnottedYet "What if we all did RSVP next year, and made reservations there and did the fireworks, too?"

when's the RSVP? Oh, I'll go look it up. I get to pick my vacation schedule soon, would have to ask Mary (dog sitter)...but it sounds better.

[Bike Goddess]

I agree with Dianyla-I've done this ride 3 times now and each time it's been an adventure.

Although some people complain about the scenery, I thoroughly enjoyed riding the back roads of western Washington. Yes, it is a pain to get through all of development at the beginning of the ride, however, Lake Washington is beautiful, and once you get past the Puyallup stuff, it's pretty much country from there on.

Why do I continue to do this ride? Probably because each year someone says they want to do it and I volunteer to come along. I've always done it in two days so I can enjoy the scenery and the great food (if you know where to stay, that is!) and, I've always gone past the mid point which means a double metric the first day instead of two back to back centuries. It makes the 2nd day much more fun and fast!

When you get to the finish line in Portland, you get a hero's welcome! Bannners, crowds of people cheering you, it's very fun. Besides, once you get back to Portland, you can get home in one day by car.

RSVP is a much more difficult ride as there is considerable climbing involved and the weather isn't as reliable. I do love Vancouver BC (site of my first marathon), but somehow I've not wanted to do the ride up there.