I'll just hop onto this thread too.....

This was my first STP as well. And well.....I was very sore after this ride let me tell you.....Not sure I can be as detailed as the ladies above, but will give you the basic gist....

First, Bike Goddess carpooled with me and my partner, Alanne. We left Sacramento on Thursday around 10:30, made various gas, food, and rest stops along the way to Portland. Got there around 8:30-ish. Dropped BG off with her friends, and we went to St Helens to spend the night with friends too. The skies were threatening, and there was a chance of rain. Friday morning it was raining....We picked up BG and headed up to Seattle. Finally got to REI, picked up packets and extra butt'r, then dropped BG at the hostel. I know she thinks we're a pretty wacked out pair with our bickering, but it's pretty harmless....
I met up with my Team in Training group at the University Inn, about a mile from the start. We had a really good pasta dinner and inspiring/motivating presentation. Then back to the hotel for final prep. Got all the stuff out I needed and actually went to bed at a decent hour to be at the start line for a 6:30 am start.
Saturday weather had cleared up, no rain but clouds. Still it was nice. For me the start was pretty overwhelming - finally, we're here!!!! There were so many people. You really had to watch out and call out things. The law enforcement officers and traffic control was really great. They kept things moving. There was an accident requiring paramedics on a sharp down hill early on. I suspect the bikes slipped out due to a little too much speed on the moist road.
Pretty uneventful otherwise......There was a quick steep one block hill out of the first mini stop at about mile 11 I think. Don't have the map in front of me. Alot of people didn't shift fast enough and a couple fell in front of me, but I was able to get around them, whew! Further down, we saw to guys riding Big Wheels, yes Big Wheel trikes. They were very loud due to the plastic wheels. I don't know if they completed the whole ride or not.....I took a picture of them, I hope it comes out. I rode with a friend of mine and we pretty much drafted off of each other the entire ride. It seemed like I didn't really notice as much scenery as I would have liked because I was trying to focus on not running into anyone or being run into! There was one house in Puyallup(sp?) that did have some beautiful gladiollus....This was before the hill......That hill reminded me of Sierra College Blvd in Roseville, but a little longer. I did it and that's all that really mattered. It took me a bit, but I got up it! The reststops were pretty well stocked with stuff, and all the folks working were pleasant. Some people complained about the bean and rice wraps, but I thought they were ok....not special, but ok. I know I started slowing down at about mile 70...We still had 40 miles to Chehalis. We we got to Centralia, I thought wahoo, but then realized there was still 11 miles....wah.....oh well. We kept going along I-5 and finally got to the Bethel Church. There were some beautiful old Victorian homes we rode by. Really big, and pretty...wow....There were also some kids who high 5'd us as we rode by - that was cool! Yay, got to the church, and out of the saddle. I was very sore.....Oh well, they provided a really good pasta dinner, great salad, Russian Cream dessert with fruit (very yummy), rolls, water, and ice tea. It really was very good. Also got a nice shower, and then fell into bed around 8:30-ish.
Sunday we had another great meal before leaving. I would recommend the Bethel Church to any one. It was $45....We left at around 6:15-ish, in the rain......not pouring, but coming down enough. I hadn't ridden in the rain before so again, I was trying to be very careful. My legs and crotch were sore, as I had never ridden 111 miles in one day before. I wasn't sure I could even get back on the bike, but I did. There was a hill before the banana bread lady, and I was pooped when I finished that, but kept going. One guy ahead of me went down on a sharp corner. He was going too fast on the wet pavement......But he got up right away. For most of the ride, it was raining off and on, more on......And there was a headwind. Again, my friend Michelle and I drafted off of each other, and she really helped me keep going. She's a stronger rider, and she kept going and I didn't think I could pass another person, but I did just to keep up with her. There were more rolling hills that I had hoped for, and so on some of them I just did what I could. A unicyclist passed me on one of those hills.....But I was able to descend well. At mile 125 mile computer reset itself!! I was beside myself! It just pissed me off....oh well, just keep going. We stopped at the lunch stop in Lexington (I think) because I needed some first aid.....The nice lady gave me some stuff that helps diaper rash, like Desitin she said, and it did help. The butt'r was just not enough. And I think that was because of the length of this ride.....We got to the Longview Bridge and went over as a huge group. I wanted to take a picture, but didn't feel safe doing that. One of my TNT teammates slipped on one of the lane divider bumps, hit another teammate, and then hit Michelle. So all three went down on the bridge. Fortunately, there was a bit of a gap, so no one was run over by the herd....All were ok, but 2 had tweaked wheels, but not so bad they couldn't keep going. That was one long @ss bridge!! It started raining when we got to the top. And there were a ton of water bottles on the descent! Still really sore, and can't wait to get done!!! Stopped in St Helens reststop for a sandwich and potty break. I realized I hadn't been eating much, and really needed the break to rest and eat......Finally last 30 miles......that last "da hill" was just pure evil. But again, I slowly got up it. There were a bunch of train tracks and some had nasty asphalt sticking way high. I hit one a little hard, and it did not feel good.....Anyway, finally over the bridge, and through town to the park.
Oh my goodness....I got my finishers patch and just broke down. I was sooooo tired. Our other teammates were there and it was really nice to see them. Took pictures, walked around the vendor booths, then finally checked into the Double Tree.
I felt so much better after taking a shower. TNT had a victory dinner downstairs, where again, really good food, music and celebration. We left Portland around 10:30 on Monday morning, and of course the weather was much nicer....But that's ok. BG hopped in and off we went. By the time we got to Redding it was like 107 - yuck!!! Oh well....knew that was coming. Got home around 8:35, and it was nice to see the dog and cats again.
This really was a nice ride, and I'll probably do it again. The support was awesome, it was nice to see the medics riding the course, and the gold wing motorcycle folks too. It made me feel much more secure. It was a little hillier that I thought it would be, but that's ok, at least it wasn't at 8,000 feet!
Well....that was longer than I thought....sorry!