Stp 2010

[malaholic]

Way to go Susan - congrats on your first one day STP! Looking good, I like this year's jersey design.

Since I couldn't get into RAMROD this year I am be volunteering so that I can ride next year. I'll be stationed at the finish line, so I'll get to cheer you across the line in person.

[ZooZoo]

I did it!!!! What a great ride I had yesterday! We started the ride off with a very chilly overcast morning due to a thick marine layer that rolled in over night. I enjoyed all the rest stops . . . great food, well stocked, and friendly people at each and every one of them. I loved the route, although I did not like riding over that dang bridge that crosses over into Oregon (I hate that bridge) but I did like the the last minute route detour over the Steel Bridge (what a neat bridge). I was looking forward to going over the St. John's Bridge but the Steel Bridge was actually pretty neat. The sun finally came out just after Winlock, about mile 121. Once the sun came out it warmed things up nicely.

The last 25 miles were the worst of it. At that point I just wanted it to be over. It seems we always had a headwind (nothing new there!) Met some nice people on the ride. We would ride together for a bit then I would take off or they would take off. My hubby was waiting for me at the end of the ride. It was a zoo but he managed to get a good shot of me crossing the finish line at 7:37 PM on Saturday. I always enjoy the cheers as you come in and the announcer calling out your number! This year was especially nice because it was my first one day ride of the STP! I HAD A GREAT DAY!

Next was shower, food, and drink! Then home to bed! We decided not to stay in Portland the night and drove home. We got back at midnight. I had been up for 21 hours! Sleep came quickly! I feel pretty darn good this morning. My legs are a bit achy but other than that they feel fine. I'll rest today and probably get an easy 10-15 mile spinning ride in tomorrow. I need to rest and recuperate because in 11 days I have to do the RAMROD! Waiting to hear from everyone else!

Vader Ministop at mile 127. Only 25 miles to the Oregon border and 76 miles to the finish line.


Here I am crossing the finish line on Saturday, July 17th. My hubby captured a great shot. He said he was worried but it turned out just fine.


I did it! Now it's time for FOOD and a SHOWER and an ice cold DRINK!


And finally my 1 day patch! I'm proud of this!


Almost forgot my mileage, average speed, and total time . . . . .

Miles: 203.19
Average speed: 14.7
Total time: 13.49

That's awsome! Congrats! I can't imagine riding it in one day. I did the two day, and it was more than enough for me.

[TsPoet]

That's awsome! Congrats! I can't imagine riding it in one day. I did the two day, and it was more than enough for me.

+1 !!!!
and you look like you are just about to start, not like you are about to fall over (as I would be).

[ZooZoo]

This was my second try - well, third if you count the one I did twenty years ago. Finished when I did it 20 years ago, tried again last year and did 125 miles before I had to stop for various physical reasons. Finished it this year! Woo hoo!

This year rode with two others, and we all three finished. Boy, you aren't kidding Susan when you say the last 25 miles are the worst! Actually, the last three miles were the longest three miles I've ever ridden. LOL. And that bridge was scary!

We stopped at the Safeway in Spanaway for lunch, and while they didn't have the same sandwich deal going on when we got there, it was still way faster than waiting in line at the rest stop and having a real bathroom instead of a honeybucket was a real 'treat'.

The support was fabulous! My friend hurt her knee but was determined to finish. One of the support cars 'hop scotched' us the last 30 miles to make sure we all got in safely. (They stopped to make sure we were okay, then drove down the road another 5 or 10 miles or so and waited for us again.) We were very close to being the last ones in (arrived 8:30 pm) and there were still volunteers at the finish line to cheer us in, and Cascade held the baggage claim open for us so we could get our bags. (They were supposed to close at 7 and anything left over went back to Cascade in Seattle and you had to pick it up there).

The people of Portland are awsome. Drivers honking and waving and cheering us on. People on the sidewalks cheering us in. One lady stopped me as we went in to get our bags and gave me a congratulatory hug.

Not sure I have the courage to do what Susan did and ride in one day, though. I don't think this body could take it without more training than I have time for. LOL.

Congrats to all the riders this weekend!

[Susan126]

Thanks everyone! And to those of you who rode it in two days . . . . you should be mighty proud! I don't know if I could have gotten back on my bike for a second day. I think sometimes that would be harder! You guys are so awesome!

Yea, that bridge going into Oregon . . . wasn't that scary?! Narrow bike path on the bridge and those huge metal plates! Egad! And what a fast decent, that turn coming into Oregon. I wanted to take a picture of the "Welcome to Oregon" sign just off the bridge but I was going too fast and didn't want to lose my momentum! Didn't the two day riders have motorcycle escorts? That must have been nice!

Hey malaholic that is way cool that you will be volunteering at the finish of the ramrod. I think I will be so happy to see you and the finish line after that ride! I'll be riding my Specialized Ruby and wearing this year's ramrod jersey (yeah, I just love to blend in!) Okay my yellow livestrong band if that helps! lol I hope the weather will be nice like on this year's stp. It was actually pretty perfect. The cool overcast marine layer made it a lot more comfortable. If it was in the 90s I am wondering how I would have done on the ride!

I did have a delicious hamburger in Winlock. Ministop mile 120 I believe. It really helped me. And the chocolate milk at Centralia! Yum! Was that ever delicious and a great power booster! I believe a lot of my success was because of the following: I really really trained this year, I hydrated continually throughout the ride (I am proud to say I stopped at every rest stop to pee! lol) I paced myself (I didn't try to race off or keep up with others but I kept a steady pace all day long), I ate to keep my energy levels up. I ate high carbs, and three times I ate real food (the hamburger at Winlock, a sandwich at Centralia, and a mini wrap at one of the stops towards the end, I believe it was at St. Helens H.S.). Sometimes cookies and power bars just don't do it for me. I am one of those people that needs some real food in between the power bars.

The last 5 or so miles going through downtown Portland was so cool! I think I caught every single red light! LOL It was a day I won't soon forget!

Zoozoo . . . you and your friends are totally awesome! That was so wonderful of the support team that helped your friend by hop scotching to the end with you! I agree . . . the support was awesome. I noticed the cars going by all the time. I saw quite a few of the motorcycle teams stopped at the side of the road helping a rider. I was impressed by it all this year.

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO RODE IN THIS YEAR'S STP!

[XMcShiftersonX]

Well, I did the two day this year for the first time, and it was an experience!! I had a lot of fun, but I always get so nervous before things like this. I even got more nervous after I made it to Centralia the first day and heard about all the crashes! I saw two myself on the first day (a friend saw 5, and his Dad ended up in the hospital after an inexperienced rider cut him off sending him into a guard rail over one of the bridges), and then I saw two people after their accidents on the second day. One being that guy who was taken away in an ambulance on HWY 30, causing all of us to take a detour up through a residential neighborhood while they closed the highway. I wish someone would have taken a picture of hundreds of us walking our bikes up this steep hill to go around the accident. I hope that guy ended up okay, I don't know what caused the accident.

Needless to say, after I saw my first accident on the first day, caused by someone not saying they were slowing with enough time for the person in front of me to slow down and consequently hitting that person and flying off into the shoulder of the road, I decided not to get too close to anyone. I spent most of my time passing people, and ending up in areas where I had some space to myself. I was cruising at about 18MPH most of the time, which felt great! I even had a few guys get behind me to draft for quite awhile and then would eventually fall off the back. That's a confidence booster, haha.

I'm glad I decided to change my wardrobe Friday night, because it was COLD!! Instead of wearing sleeveless jerseys, I ended up wearing regular jerseys both days with arm and knee warmers until about the last hour of each day, and I still felt really cold most of the ride. Anytime I stopped, it took forever to get warmed up again.

The first day I stuck with my three friends for most the day, but the second day I decided to do my own thing, stop at the stops when I needed to pee, otherwise just eat on the side of the road. The first day I got stuck at a port-a-potty for about 30 minutes, which was ridiculous! Also, I can't eat real meals while riding so I carried a bunch of Gu, Shot Blocks and Clif bars, which was all I needed.

The first night we arrived in Centralia at about 4pm after starting at 5:50am. The last 20 miles or so were rough, but my energy levels would come and go and I would get spikes of energy. We ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant the first night and I got a shower and massage, which were great! I found I couldn't eat much though, I think it was a mixture of nerves, and the heat that came at the end of the day. I'm not sure if I slept Saturday night. I remember just tossing and turning the whole night, and the ground was SO hard.

I woke up so stiff Sunday morning, but as soon as I started to get moving it got better. I also couldn't eat my cereal in the morning, because I felt sick to my stomach. I thought it was going to be a rough day, but I actually felt pretty good once I got going. We started at about 6:30 am and I finished just before 4pm. It seemed like I was the only one communicating though on Sunday (you know on your left, car up, car back), so I guess everyone else was pretty tired. But I started to get tired of people behaving dangerously around me on their bikes. The last 40 miles I just wanted to be done. The bridge into Oregon was pretty scary because you were going so fast, and those damn bumps! But yes, we had a motorcycle escort so we got to use the whole right lane.

I also didn't care for the detour through that pedestrian bridge in Portland, talk about dangerous. There were families with strollers, etc coming towards us, and pedestrians walking in front of us. It was scary. And I just kept thinking about how sad it would be to have made it this far and get in an accident in the last couple miles. I felt that way going through the Portland streets as well. It didn't help that a long train was passing me on the left as I was coming upon a lane of parked cars on the right and even though I was telling them I needed to get over, they didn't move! I also hit every red light on the way in and I remember saying, "Goddamn all these ****ing red lights, they should all be green for us!" which got a couple chuckles from the people on the sidewalks.

But, nevertheless, once I got to those last two blocks and there were all those people cheering, I couldn't help but be ecstatic that I had made it!!!!!! And I was alive and uninjured!!!!!! Then I saw my husband and dog, ate and showered, and we left for home. It was perfect.

My final stats were -
Time: 13 hours, 56 minutes
Distance: 202.77 miles
Average: 14.54 MPH (I actually increased my average the second day and at one point I was averaging 14.7)

Overall it was a lot of fun, and I'm really proud that I did it, and had a good pace each day. I was pretty consistent. It was really cool to see so many cyclists everywhere as well!

-Jessica

[Susan126]

Wow Jessica what a ride you had! I did not see one accident! My complete ride was awesome. Everyone was courteous and safe. I did start early though to beat the rush. I stayed with a friend near the start. I was up at 3:00 AM on Saturday and on my bike by 4:11 AM! It was a surreal morning for me. There was no one on the roads for about an hour. Then I met two guys near Kent who started early too. We chatted for a bit and then I passed them. My first rest stop was the Yelm ministop just before we got on the trail (Yelm to Tenino). This is where the "fast" riders began catching me.

I just did a ride this afternoon (about an hour ago). My first ride since Saturday. I did an easy 30 miler and the first ten miles my legs felt tired but once they warmed up (around mile 9-10) they felt pretty darn good. No aches or pains, a bit stiff but I'm working that out. The ride today helped.

When we crossed that pedestrian bridge in Portland there was no traffic what so ever. It was really nice for the group I was in as we came into Portland that evening. I guess I lucked out.

Yea I got every single red light in Portland too! Just when we were moving we came to the next light and of course it turned red! All the way to the finish line!

So how are you feeling today?

[XMcShiftersonX]

I bet the one day ride is more pleasant because I would imagine the people who do it are a little more experienced and skilled in cycling, there's also far less people. I think the problems I encountered were due to the number of people who do it but don't know how to ride in groups, and also the really fast people who don't announce that they're passing, pass really close, and then cut you off when they're coming back over. That happened a lot and drove me nuts. Obviously those people have some experience because they were probably going in the 20-25 MPH range, but I don't know I guess they just want to show off how good they were at the potential expense of others. Despite that, I did enjoy the experience, but I'm also glad it's over.

It was really cool to be on the streets so early both days when there were barely any cars. I'm not used to riding that early. When I'm at home I usually start a ride at noon. But it is really nice, and if I didn't have to worry about the dog or anything it would be fun to do more rides that early.

Today I feel okay - finally got some good sleep, I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow last night as well! I'm pretty much sore everywhere - arms, back, butt, legs, but it's not that bad. I have a general feeling of being tired, which I'm sure will get better over the next couple days. Last night our dog was getting pretty antsy at the finish line so I didn't have time to get a massage or stretch, but I bet I would be feeling even better if I had. Oh well. I won a massage at the Cycle the Wave kick off party and scheduled it for Saturday, it's a sports massage!!

[lauraelmore1033]

well, it wasn't the "Most Epic Ride Ever", but it was epic enough for this little brown mousie. I started out around 5:30, feeling dehydrated and crampy in spite of the fact that I had really been pushing the water the day before. I'd also spilled my coffee mug while trying to get the bike out of the house without letting any of our six cats out, so I was riding, as my husband quaintly puts it, "uncrapinated". In hind sight I realize that it was a good thing to start out a little slower than I might have been inclined to do otherwise. People were crashing left and right for the first 25 miles! One guy inexplicably wiped out on a gentle downhill with an equally gentle curve. Alarmingly, he just lay there for the longest time. People were screaming "biker down, biker down" as they waited for the light to change so we could get to him. I was sure he was seriously hurt, but heard him assure the first people to reach him that he was ok. by the time I rode past, a group of people were telling him it might be a good idea not to just lie in the road if he was ok. I saw him at the next rest stop and noticed that his jersey was torn at the shoulder. That must have hurt!

In spite of the accidents, people were actually pretty well behaved for the first half of the day. I was surprised by the number of slower riders to be passed. usually I'm the one getting passed. On THE famous hill I was passed by a young man who looked to be under the age of 10, but he was apparently too proud to shift down from his tallest gear and I passed him back. I wanted to tell him that it was ok to shift down, but decided to keep my advice to myself. He was clearly very fit (if a little foolish...) Somewhere before puallup I passed an interesting looking three seater rig that looked home made. I remembered to take a picture of it at the rest stop in Spanaway.

The sheer number of people at the spanaway stop always amazes me. I tried to capture the press of the crowd, but I'm not a skilled photographer....
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/pictu...6&pictureid=66
pappa Murphy's was there passing out free pizza and it was utterly delicious!

Somewhere around mile 65, I started suffering from my lack of coffee. I didn't have the presence of mind to find a coffee stand until I started getting the withdrawl headach from hell. Luckily, I found a discarded, but unopened packet of cliff shot with caffeine. I sucked it down feeling like some kind of junkie, but quickly got some relief. Don't tell anybody, eh?
I rolled into Centralia around 2:00 and was feeling pretty good. I showered without having to wait and ate and then passed out on my sleeping bag without intending to. I felt dizzy when I woke up at 7, so I went out and found more food. That seems to have been the right thing to do because I felt great in the morning. I think I felt better at the start of day two than I did at the start of day one. I really enjoyed gliding silently through the sleepy farm land and towns around Chehails and I loved the rolling hills around Vader. The magic faded after the lunch stop and I found the crowds http://forums.teamestrogen.com/pictu...6&pictureid=64
again, my picture fails to capture the absolute crush of people.
Saw a group of interesting elliptical bike contraptions at that same spot.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/pictu...6&pictureid=65
They don't look like they would do well on hills, but I saw them again on the Longview bridge and they just swished up effortlessly! They looked like a lot of fun to ride. Would have been interesting to see how they handled the downhill.

most of the ride after than was a grind, and not so much fun. Pace lines really got oppressive at that point, and lines at porta potties got ridiculously long. I just pushed along and pretty much zoned out until the route turned us out onto that stop light happy stretch of down town portland. Pretty sure I caught every stinkin' one. I didn't like the crowded steel bridge much either and the crawl those last few miles to the finish was interminable. I was feeling pretty crabby as I crossed the finish line, and told my husband I was never doing the STP again or, for that matter, ever riding my bike again. He just smiled knowingly and steered me to baggage claim and then on to a burger king where I ate the bestest burger evah!
After a good night's sleep I am only a little sore and a little tired and already looking forward to next year's ride. Crazyness!!

[Susan126]

Around Sumner I began looking for a Starbucks! Never saw one though. I was in need of a caffeine fix too lauraelmore1033!

Anyway, I wrote a more lengthy ride report at my blog . . .

My STP Ride Report

Also, I wonder if that guy finished with his "homemade" bike. Interesting people and bikes on the STP!

[sarahspins]

Somewhere around mile 65, I started suffering from my lack of coffee. I didn't have the presence of mind to find a coffee stand until I started getting the withdrawl headach from hell. Luckily, I found a discarded, but unopened packet of cliff shot with caffeine. I sucked it down feeling like some kind of junkie, but quickly got some relief. Don't tell anybody, eh?

I don't know why, but this statement TOTALLY reminds me of Hyperbole and a Half... I can actually picture the drawings she'd make to go along with it...

[lauraelmore1033]

Good job dog....you found it ?
That picture does actually does illustrate the joy of finding sombody's skanky discarded cliff shot at exactly the right moment...

I laughed so hard I tooted, btw.

[malaholic]

ZooZoo - congrats! I remember your report last year and I'm stoked that you came back this year and got your finish - I knew you would!

Laura, Jessica, congrats to you as well! I've enjoyed reading your ride reports. I'm so glad you all had a safe finish and didn't get caught up in any of the crashes (sounds like there were quite a few!)

Reading your reports almost makes me wish I'd ridden it this year. *almost*...but not quite.

[ZooZoo]

ZooZoo - congrats! I remember your report last year and I'm stoked that you came back this year and got your finish - I knew you would!

Laura, Jessica, congrats to you as well! I've enjoyed reading your ride reports. I'm so glad you all had a safe finish and didn't get caught up in any of the crashes (sounds like there were quite a few!)

Reading your reports almost makes me wish I'd ridden it this year. *almost*...but not quite.

Thanks Malaholic! Last year was an accomplishment (125 miles) but not finishing was a true disappointment. I had to do it this year, 'cause I wasn't going to let it beat me. LOL.

Congrats to all the rides who rode!

[ZooZoo]

Around Sumner I began looking for a Starbucks! Never saw one though. I was in need of a caffeine fix too lauraelmore1033!

Anyway, I wrote a more lengthy ride report at my blog . . .

My STP Ride Report

Also, I wonder if that guy finished with his "homemade" bike. Interesting people and bikes on the STP!

What a great blog! I read all your ride reports and they were very inspiring to this semi-newbie. Great job.