Lauraelmore, thanks for the ride report! You and my husband are both at 7--he's thinking of getting a duffel bag, stitching all his patches to it, and using that as his STP drop bag going forward. You guys are starting to get in pretty rarified company with that many finishes. (I overheard one guy at the end "well, now I've done this, I can check it off and never have to do it again." I think he didn't have a happy ride...)
The Saturday heat was pretty intense--I heard that it got to 100 in Portland, and I can believe it. I saw a lot of people sitting by the side of the road, looking spent, and on 30, a lot of cars went by with STP bikes on the back. One woman was getting into a Personal Support Vehicle 11 miles from the finish... I tried to be very focused on my hydration (I have never felt such a sense of triumph at needing to pee at rest stop after rest stop!) and my worst effect was a little heat rash on my thighs where the sun was beating down, and on my butt cheeks where they touched the chamois. Oddly, riding was just fine, but walking around at the last couple stops felt like I had sandpaper down my shorts! They're shorts I've worn in absolute comfort on long rides before, so I think it was just the extreme conditions.
There are probably easier ways to get a good beer, but I have to say, the 200+ miles in the sun made the beer at the finish line taste like the best thing in the world! Also, I stopped grumping about being up so early in the morning when I saw the sunrise hitting Mt Rainier, foregrounded by Lake Washington. Start to finish, it's a pretty special experience!