"Is that ride really that hard?"

[dex]

Is there such a thing as a "good first time double." or an "easy double"? I seriously doubt I'll ever do one one but ....

Up here ("here" being the PNW), there's the Seattle to Portland. 206 miles over two days, or all of it in one day. Mostly flat and not horrendously difficult... Unless some part of your body decides it's done and you're still 60 miles from the finish.

[mimitabby]

I'll agree with Dex, the STP is an "easy" 200.

[MM_QFC!]

Up here ("here" being the PNW), there's the Seattle to Portland. 206 miles over two days, or all of it in one day. Mostly flat and not horrendously difficult... Unless some part of your body decides it's done and you're still 60 miles from the finish.

I agree...if you're planning to ride the STP in 1 day, it's best to train for mileage, not hills. There are rollers, so I've heard from plenty of first-timers who said (post-ride), "I thought you said it was flat?!!" Well, it is flat - for a double century in the Northwest! And, regardless whether it's 60 or 30 miles from the finish line, it's a long day in the saddle, so I usually kept myself motivated from the Lexington/Riverside park rest stop all the way in, with constant encouraging and incenting thoughts of [hot shower, cold beer, hot shower, cold beer, oh yeah!]...
(5x1-day here and whew! finally got it outta my system, so no mas!)