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