Stp?

[bikerHen]

OK. Now a report from an STP virgin! We got to the start line just before 6AM, actually found our friends we've been training with and met another club member who did the one day ride on our ride over to the start. I was very nervous about the start and the crowds but didn't have too much trouble getting going and finding a place to ride. Enjoyed the views along the lake and really had a good time just rolling along chatting with other riders. We lost one of our group at the top of the Puyallup hill, we turned off and she didn't see us and kept going. We finally hooked back up and all was well. We had a husband acting as our sag and he took very good care of us. We lost two friends just after the Tenino stop. We didn't catch them until Centralia. My sister was having some saddle sore issues and was needing to stop and "reapply" more often. Our ride time for the first day was about seven hours. Not great, but we did it!

The second day we left Centralia about 6:30AM. The first hour was accompaned by a spectactular thunder and lighting storm. We were all speculated on the best way to NOT get hit by lighting. Of course no one even thought about get inside and out of the storm! The day kinda went down hill from there. The rain got worse, body parts were getting more sore and I was really missing my Surly LHT with it's full fenders. My sister and I stopped at Lexington, had some fabulous taco from a little stand in the park and continued on down the road. We lost our two friends again cause they didn't see us stop at Lexington. The cooler weather really was making the ride better, even with the rain. Crossing over the Longview Bridge was just awesome! It was another point I was stressing over from stories I had heard. We were somewhere in the middle of at least 300 riders when the group was escorted over the bridge. We kept to the right and really didn't have an issues with the crowd.

We were flying along having a good time then about 5 miles from St. Helens my "good" knee started hurting. By the time we pulled into the rest stop I couldn't push down on the pedal. Not good when on a bike ride! I went to the first aid people and they gave me ice and ibuprofen. Then my sister talked me into a 10 minute massage. The gal that work on me said it was my quad and IT muscles that were tight and they were pulling the ligaments around my knee, or something like that. She did horrible things that caused a great deal more pain, but after 10 minutes it did feel better. So I kept the ice on my knee while we stood in the porta potti line, talked the first aid people out of more ibuprofen, ate yet another PB&J sandwich and hit the road. Another 5 miles down the road and the drugs kicked in and we rode as fast as we could, hoping we could get to Portland before the drugs wore off. Everytime my sister stopped to "reapply" I slathered Bio-freeze on my knee. About the time we hit the city limits my knee started to ache again. It was ok on the flats but did not like pushing up hills. Of course by now it was raining. The closer we got to the finish line the harder it rained. Did I mention how much I was missing my Surly with full fenders? And if I wasn't having enough issues, I started to bonk. So everytime I stop at a light, which was about every one, I was cramming trail mix in my mouth. My husband was at the last corner and took a very flattering picture of me, dripping wet, runny nose and cheeks full of trail mix! But, WE DID IT!

Now that it's all over, I have to say it was really a good ride. I didn't feel overwhelmed by the crowds at all. Most riders were well behaved. There were of course some exception but for that many riders on the road not bad. I was amazed at the number of riders with flats. We were very lucky in our little group of four. No flats and only two dropped chains. One friend dropped hers going up hill and I dropped mine screaming down a hill which scared me to death. I just knew the chain was going to wrap itself around something before I could get stopped.

So I'm glad we did it. I was even having vague thought about next years ride on the way home. The logistics are kinda hard to deal with, but I guess we have a year to figure it out.

Oxyback, sorry we didn't make dinner. We programed the resturant into the Garmin and it was showing the place miles away. Not sure if it was that far but we decided to stay local for dinner. bikerHen

[Blueberry]

Thanks for the ride reports - would love to read any more of them!

We may think about trying to fly in for this ride next year - sounds like a fabulous time (and hopefully the logistics wouldn't be too terrible!).

CA

[salsabike]

Here's how our third STP on the tandem went:

The first 100 miles were great. We were happy with our speed and felt really good and had fun. When we got to Centralia around 11:30, we were feeling a little hot and tired but perked up pretty fast after some food and 5 minutes’ rest, and got going again pretty quickly.

We did have a lot of fun on the rollers because even though tandems are slow going uphill, the amount of momentum we can generate going downhill is amazing, and often carries us up the next hill. The rollers were just a blast.

We spent a lot of time passing and being passed by the same people, which creates a little community all its own. Rode with another tandem for a bit. Lots of tandems out there this year, we thought.

At some point, the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind. THAT was a drag. I no longer remember exactly where that happened but I'm sure someone else will.

So things were still going reasonably well when we got to the Lexington stop (mile 143). We left Lexington feeling fine, and about a half mile down the road, had a rear blowout. We never did figure out what caused it but whatever it was, it took a huge bite right out of the tire. I would say the diameter of the missing tire piece was about a half inch. We had a boot with us but neither of us felt too comfortable about counting on a boot for 60 more miles. So...we walked the bike back to Lexington, and got a new tire. Boy, if River City Bikes hadn't been at that stop, I'm not sure what would have happened to the rest of the ride. Thank you, Alex—nice guy, too.

We started out again from Lexington. Maybe that's about when the headwind hit, because from there we just got slower. When we went over the Longview-Kelso bridge, right at the top of the bridge we encountered a moron and his girlfriend stopped on their bikes in the middle of the path—with the bikes angled to take up the whole path--yakking on a cell phone ("Hi, we're on the bridge...") that forced all of us oncoming riders into fast moving traffic. I so wish I had had the time to smack him upside the head.

And then we got a second (front) flat at mile 170. So much for Mr. Tuffy tire liners saving us from flats, dammit. Oh, well. And I personally am convinced that the last 30 miles of STP actually occur in an alternate universe, where time....just..........slows..............down. We're going to look at all the different segments of the ride according to Chris' Garmin. I am absolutely sure that the last 30 miles took us way, way, WAY longer then the rest did.

So...instead of coming in around 7, which was my hope, we got in at---10:30 pm. Wow! Ack! All I can say is, it's a good thing Cascade kept the finish line and bike corral open. AND that room service was open till 11 pm. Arghh. When we did it in 06, we ALSO had two flats, with the second one occurring 8 miles from the finish. We seem to have some “luck issues” doing this thing on the tandem in one day, but we really like to do it anyway.

Oh yeah. AND somewhere around mile 175 or so on Route 30, one of our panniers came loose, flipped around backwards, and locked up the back wheel. We fell over (going up a hill, so slowly) right into traffic (not the full lane’s worth, but maybe a foot or two into the car lane). No scratches or scrapes, and luckily whatever car went by managed to dodge us. So....I guess our luck issues cut both ways, huh?

The volunteers on STP are really excellent.

A great innovation---bag dropoff on Friday night! That means we didn’t have to go to the start line at all. We had a friend (the friend who volunteered to drive our pickup to Portland Sunday morning to get us—he’s a seriously early riser) drop us off near the start in the U District around 4 am, and we just got rolling from there. I LOVE not going to the actual start line.

Seemed like there were lots of flats out there this year.

We really had fun most of the way. The hotel greets you with a hot cookie, by the way.

And here’s a thank you to our Ironman folks here. Round about mile 170 when I started feeling really tired, I remembered all of you. I saw Colby's recent photo, and RunningMommy’s video, and some other folks, in my mind’s eye and thought to myself, “Hey, babe---if they could do that, you can do 30 more miles. Be quiet.”

On some other thread, someone asked about riding mantras. I don’t have a riding mantra per se, but I have a general triathlon training one that I’ve been using for months. I can do anything for an hour. I can do anything for another hour. Etc.

We have concluded that the Selle Anatomica saddles that we love are 85-mile saddles for us. We are still in search of the perfect double century saddle. My butt got sore, but oddly enough my legs always felt good and they could have kept going for quite a while.

Any of you see us? The tandem with the puffer fish on the back rack!

PS Diameter of the tire hole (not circumference, silly girl. Someone hasn't had enough sleep yet).

[lauraelmore1033]

And I personally am convinced that the last 30 miles of STP actually occur in an alternate universe, where time....just..........slows..............down. We're going to look at all the different segments of the ride according to Chris' Garmin. I am absolutely sure that the last 30 miles took us way, way, WAY longer then the rest did.

I thought that as well.

[ZooZoo]

I did the STP 20 years ago and hadn't been on a bike again until last year, so I guess that makes me sort of an STP virign. LOL. Got up at 2:30, my ride arrived at 3:30 and we got to the start line just in time to throw my bag on the truck and get in line for the 5:15 start. Didn't start off well. I'm pretty slow, so was quickly left behind by everyone else (I rode solo) and managed to miss the markers and got lost. But I wasn't the only one, so I ddin't feel too bad. Got back on track and was fine after that.

I have friends that live in Seward Park and they surprised me with putting a sign in there yard for me, and that really made me smile.

I haven't done many group rides - definately none this large - so it was a challenge to get used to riders passing so close (probably just my perception), but managed pretty well. Everyone was friendly and polite. Didn't stop at the first mini stop, but did stop at the REI stop and thought it was pretty cool that they had people out cheering everyone in. Ate, used the portapotty and headed for Puyallup. I had two friends meeting me at Puyallup to cheer me on, which was great. Stopped long enough to hydrate and get some pictures, then on to 'the hill'. Didn't make it completely up the hill, unfortunately, and walked part of it. Wasn't the only one, but it was still disappointing.

Stopped in Spanaway for lunch, and the lines for food and water were at least an hour long. Overheard another rider say that there was a grocery store not far down the road, so decided to try that. It was Safeway, and boy were they prepared for STP! They had a cold bottled water and 'half' a sub sandwich for $3, and the sandwich would have fed two people! Ate part of the bread, and all of the meat and cheese, then went over to Rite Aid and used their bathroom (very short wait).

Just before I hit the yelm trail, I realized it was taking quite a bit of effort to maintain my speed. Figured it was the heat. Stopped for some water and when I went to get going again the back wheel felt sluggish. Checked, and the back breaks were definately rubbing the back wheel. Finally figured out that the tire pump that the LBS had installed on my top tube was impeding the cable to the back break, but I didn't have anything to cut the zip ties with. Moved around a bit, and that helped. Stopped for water and food several times, but neglected to reapply sun screen as well as chamois cream. Bad things to forget.

Didn't stop in Centralia, as my stopping point for the night was Chehalis. Got to Chehalis at 6pm (told you I'm slow. LOL). I stayed with a host family where the proceeds went to the graduating class of 2010 graduation night. Had a shower, a real bed to sleep in, dinner, a hot tub and breakfast. They picked me and my bike up and dropped me off the next day. I was their only STP'er. What a wonderful family! They went above and beyond to make me feel welcome and comfortable! I felt pretty good that night, but very tired. My legs above the knee to the short was sunburned, and in one place, blistered. And my 'under carrriage' was letting me know that I should have been more diligent in reapplying chamois cream. Also had a problem with...well, I needed a laxitive. Never had that problem before after riding.

Sunday, up at 4:30, ate breakfast (not an easy thing for me at that time of day) and drank some coffee. The hot tub had helped with the muscle tightness/soreness. Was on the road by 6am. Thunder and lightening and a lot of rain. No amount of chamois cream was going to help my seat, and the laxitive hadn't helped. I was cold, wet and miserable. Made it to Vader and just couldn't go any further. I have to admit, I cried when I made the decision to end it there, but I felt it was the wisest thing for me. Called my friend who was expecting to pick me up in Portland and had him pick me up in Vader.

We went to Portland to get my bag, and although all the trucks had arrived and uloaded, my bag was nowhere to be found. Spent an hour and a half looking for it and finally decided that I would wait for all the 'unclaimed' baggage got back to Seattle and pick it up at Cascade. There were several people who couldn't find there bags, but when you consider how many riders there were and each rider was allowed two bags you have to figure a few would get put in the wrong place, so no big deal.




Vader was 127 mile mark. I didn't complete the STP, and I'm disapointed abut that, but I'm proud of myself for what I did accomplish. I learned a lot, and know what I need to do for next year. Next year will be sweet victory when I cross that finish line.

[colby]

Next year will be sweet victory when I cross that finish line.

Darn straight!! 127 miles is no laughing matter. That last 70 miles would have been so miserable... there's no sense in putting yourself in harm's way when you can come back next year stronger and more prepared (at least, that's my philosophy... I like to "leave it all on the course" but my "all" stops at reasonable levels ). STV has a nice ring to it anyway.

[Alex]

we did it!

Congratulations to you and your sister! I've been waiting all day to read your ride report and was sending all sorts of positive juju to you guys over the weekend. What a fabulous accomplishment!

Alex

[MM_QFC!]

Congratulations to all of you STP veterans!
Thanks for sharing your ride experiences too and I agree that the logistics of the STP - even for locals - is one of the biggest challenges and that the volunteers are terrific too.
This is a huge undertaking, takes tons of people to plan and organize it, staff all of the locations from packet-stuffing and pick-up to start line, gear trucks, rest stops, road support, finish line festival, return transportation for both riders and bikes - whew!

[Biciclista]

wow, what stories! you guys are all troupers!!! sounds like every one of you had saddle issues. What a bummer.

You picked a year with headwinds, heat AND rain and most of you finished, and zoozoo came pretty darn close.

I enjoyed your stories, thanks for taking the time to write them. But WHERE are the pictures?

[bikerHen]

If you really want to see a picture of a half drowned chipmunk, I'll try and get it posted. bikerHen


Hey Alex, so that must have been your juju that pushed us to the finish line! Thanks!

[colby]

Salsa, your comment about how time slows down in the last 30 miles is exactly what I feel like in the last 5-10 miles of an Ironman. I am so glad to know this phenomena isn't unique to me.

Wind, rain, thunderstorms, heat... sounds like summer in the northwest all in two days!

Awesome ride reports. I really want to do STP sometime... it's one of those local cycling legendary rides that I feel I MUST do before my cycling days are over (which I hope to be never). I'm not sure I'd have the cojones to do it in one day!

[salsabike]

Salsa, your comment about how time slows down in the last 30 miles is exactly what I feel like in the last 5-10 miles of an Ironman. I am so glad to know this phenomena isn't unique to me.

Wind, rain, thunderstorms, heat... sounds like summer in the northwest all in two days!

Awesome ride reports. I really want to do STP sometime... it's one of those local cycling legendary rides that I feel I MUST do before my cycling days are over (which I hope to be never). I'm not sure I'd have the cojones to do it in one day!

It's "The Twilight Zone" effect--so I have dubbed it in my head. I can hear the music and see Rod Serling, even.

Colby, you Ironman, I expect you could do it in one day. I think it would be hard to do in one day solo, though. Pacelines help. We know, because we're not in them! Chris can do this ride much faster on his single and in a paceline.

I will say, I am not sure I could do it in one day on my single, although I know I could do it in two days. Being on a tandem is a great morale booster for the one day ride. And the only reason we prefer one day is because it's easier to just keep going than to get up the next morning and say, "Oh my God. We have another 100 miles to go." And the hotel room at the end on Saturday night is such a treat.

No pictures, Mimi. No time. I think I took one picture of a meadow while we were riding, but really we were pretty intent on....just riding. And I see Marathon has ours up. Most of them were from the front, so only two of them have my face in them. Don't know if we'll buy either of those or not.

I dreamed about flats all night Sunday night.

[malaholic]

I love reading all these stories. Great job, everyone! I didn't have my camera with me but DH might have snapped a couple of shots. If any of them turn out I will post them.

Next organized ride for us will probably be the Summits of Bothell

We were going to ride that too, but they aren't holding it this year. Their webpage says it will be back in 2010. I think DH and I are just going to ride that route self-supported sometime in August anyway, because the steeps will be good training for a nasty ride we have coming up in September.

Good luck on RAMROD! Did both you and your husband get in?

Yeah, I got in on the waitlist, and since I didn't want to suffer alone, I managed to nab DH one of the last tickets that RCC sold on eBay. He was not altogether pleased about that, but he's resigned to riding with me now. I think he'll be happy about it in the end because we've done so much riding this season that this year we'll be in shape for it. Who knows if we'll get this much ride time in next season.

Now, I just need my STP saddle sores to heal enough in the next couple weeks that I can put in another 11-or-more-hours-in-the-saddle type of day.

[LilBolt]

I've been on a buisiness trip all week, so I'm late to this discussion. Great ride reports...gave me flashbacks to the good, bad & ugly of the ride.

The good: volunteer support. They did a good job controlling the food 'distribution' at the stops. At first I thought they were being a bit mean restricting me to one PBJ, but I quickly realized there were a whole lot of riders behind me that still needed to have their PBJ's. I've done rides in the past that ran out of food/beverage before I got there, so hats off to the volunteers who had to control all of us & our big appetites. The other riders I encountered generally were safe, polite & considerate...better behaved than I remember 2 years ago. Cascade has done a good job trying to communicate that we have responsibilities as we are on the road. Although as a large group we 'took the road', I have to admit it was fun heading into Spanaway in our amateur peloton. OH...and lots of good pavement along the way (including the HILL, but excluding the long stretch of gravel south of Centralia), the Lewis & Clark bridge looked like it had been swept, and the mats over most of the worst of the rr-tracks.

The bad: bonking about 10 miles from St. Helens. DH finally told me to stop and made me ingest (you don't exactly 'eat' that stuff) a gel. That got me to St. Helens.

The ugly: headwinds & Hwy 30.

We started later than planned, spent too much time at a couple of the stops, and the tandem we were riding with had some challenges. The last 30 miles went really well for me (didn't hurt that I had DH's wheel the rest of the way). Got in just before 9PM. I had no saddle issues at all. Terry Butterfly is apparently my perfect saddle. Lots of comments about my "She Loves Hills" jersey. I met someone from TE in the restroom @ the college, but didn't get her name...darn! The best was a young volunteer who said "Team Estrogen...that's my favorite jersey today".

Sunday AM we had a great breakfast & watched some 2 day riders come in...that was fun! The Fat Tire guys pulled in just as we were leaving...hats off to them. The drive home was loooong. I had to get up for a 6AM flight to the east coast Monday morning...no rest for the weary. I was still hungry and actually ended up buying food on the airplane...shoulda had another gel instead.