STP countdown!

[bikerHen]

Yes. Three times. It's a great ride. We haven't been for a couple of years though. Same group of gals doing the STP that have done the CROC ride. For a bunch of old farts we get around!

[ttaylor508]

Picking up packets tomorrow, and checking weather daily (88 degrees is better than rain I guess). So our Ironman buddy finally decided he wants to do STP instead of Lake Steven HIM. If anyone knows of anyone who wants to get rid of a ticket please let me know.

[smittykitty]

Just watching the morning weather report. Trying to figure out what to wear! Heat - that's a whole new thing. Supposed to by 57 in the morning. I'll be a little cool for a while, but gonna skip all the extra layers. Don't want to cart them around later.

Thinking sleeveless jersey both days???

Time for another banana!

[bikerHen]

Sleeveless! It's the only way to ride. No goofy tan lines on your arms.

[AppleTree]

I am glad we have a cool start to the morning, but it does make it hard to figure out what to wear first thing. It will warm up fast though. I am going in shorts with knee warmers, short sleeve jersey with "sun sleeves" because I hate getting sunburned. The nice thing about those is you can wet them down and it cools you off really nicely.

Plllleeezzeee let there be a tailwind this weekend....

[ttaylor508]

Wow, the weather forecast is changing....now it calls for a bit cooler temps (yah), but also a chance of thunderstorms at noon in both Seattle and Portland on Saturday (crap). I figure at noon we should be past Centralia and well on our way to Portland, but there is no way to out run the thunderstorm as it is the same for both Portland and Seattle.

Guess I need to just stop checking weather and start pedaling Good luck everyone and stay safe.

[lauraelmore1033]

3or 4 years ago there was a thunderstorm in the am around napavine. I was amazed that no one seemed concerned. I mumbled something about taking cover and the guy riding next to me said, "do what you want, but MY bike is CARBON, so I'm not stopping". Hmmm. I wish I'd paid attention more in physics class to such things. Erm... Do you have a carbon fiber bike?

[ttaylor508]

I hope everyone made it in okay today with the weather changes. Just goes to show you that we can't rely on the weather report.

We lucked out yesterday, other than it being a bit cold in the morning (I chose to leave my arm warmers behind and regretted it for the first 100 miles) and having a bit of misty rain, it turned out to be a pretty good day. We got off to a late start at the starting line (darn porta pot lines), but felt great the whole day and finished with some gas still in the tank. We rolled into Portland a bit later than planned, 7:30ish I think (way too long at rest stops), but enough time to grab a couple beers in the beer garden and head to the hotel for a shower.

Kudos to the volunteers and the roast beef sandwiches made with Dave's Killer bread (awesome). I hated the new route into Portland (last time I did ride was 3 years ago). It took 30 minutes to go 4 miles through town. Went back to finish line Sunday morning and the Mavic guy lubed my rear wheel for free and replaced some parts on DH's wheel that were bad for the cost of parts alone (yah!).

Hope you all made it safely to Portland and that the weather cleared up for you!

[smittykitty]

Well we did it! We all had a great time. No spills or injuries. No road rash for the big wedding on Sat.

Yes, I was the slow spoke, but I did great and I'm very proud of myself!!! I will try to post a ride report, but need to gather thoughts a bit and, I yes, shift gears to our son's wedding on Sat.

Fun Time!!

[lauraelmore1033]

Congratulations Smitty Kitty, and TTaylor, I think I want to be you when I grow up. I had a pretty comfortable STP and that was all I was asking for this year. I didn't want to sign up, didn't want to train, had trouble making myself get out in the weather and ride, but I'm actually glad that I went through with it. I was super pokey--I think I added 2 hours to my usual time. Oh well. It still feels like quite an accomplishment.

[salsabike]

It still feels like quite an accomplishment.

It IS! Glad you all had good rides.

[jobob]

Well done, all!

[AppleTree]

Way to go smittykitty, lauraelmore, and especially ttaylor508 for doing it in ONE DAY...

I think we were VERY lucky as far as the weather, we missed any thunderstorms and real rain. It sprinkled a bit Sunday morning coming out of Winlock, but only for a few miles. Stayed nice and cool for most of the day.

I was still slow, but I did manage to better my time by a few hours from last year.... and I didn't have to walk up the big hill in Puyallup like last year... yay me! I felt stronger this year. And I didn't forget anything!

But still, at the start line in Seattle I was thinking... WHY oh why am I doing this again??

Last year, I was overcome by emotion at the finish line...this year it was coming over the last bridge, over the Willamette River...and tears just rolling down my face. After all my worries and doubts, I somehow managed to do it again and make a little better job of it... and it was so beautiful.

Okay, who's up for RSVP???

[jobob]

I hope to do RSVP someday! This year is not in the cards, but soon.

[lauraelmore1033]

Yay you, Appletree! I had that why, why, why am I doing this question running through my head the whole time I was prepairing and riding. Not really conducive for happy riding, I gotta say, but probably normal considering that it is kind of an insane thing to do--riding from Seattle to Portland...