Originally Posted by
smittykitty
Well ladies, what do you think of RSVP?
We rode STP last summer, my first big ride. Now my daughter in-law thinks we should all ride RSVP next summer.
Since I "suck" at hills, I'm fearful of Chuckanut Drive. What about other hills, the ride in general? I hear its considerably harder.
I could be the support driver, but then again.......... maybe, just maybe!!!!! I'm afraid I would really feel like I was missing out driving the vehicle.
So how much harder is it than STP (which was not easy, but I completed without any walking)? I was slow and tired. Didn't love the crowd, but loved participating, loved the challenge.
Good question SmittyKitty... I "knew" that RSVP was somewhat hillier than STP...but I thought, hey, it's shorter though right?? Not. I ended up doing about 200 miles in all, by the time we got to where we stayed at WWU.
Chuckanut I didn't think was all that bad, but by the time we got that far, I was so glad to be in the shade and near the cool ocean breeze. The area around Mt Vernon was VERY hilly and VERY hot. I think that is what almost did me in. I honestly didn't think I was going to finish the day at one point. The heat made it miserable.
Another low spot of the day: after we got to the college dorm, we found we had to haul our bikes and luggage 1/4 mile away to a different dorm...and then up the stairs three stories to our room. Needless to say that after 100+ miles in the heat we were not happy campers.
But ttaylor is right, the scenery was SO BEAUTIFUL much more so than STP...it is what kept me going at certain spots. Chuckanut drive was just magically beautiful. The next day was much, much easier. I loved biking through the old part of Bellingham and then the farm country just outside of the border. There weren't any big hills to speak of until we got to one they called "THE WALL" on the other side of the border. Yes, I was walking up that one... That was the ONLY hill I walked, which was good for this hill-hater! Still, the hills slowed me down quite a bit.
Somewhere outside of the Frazier River, guess it was on this side of the border, was the most breathtaking, long, scenic, fun, amazing, etc, downhill I have ever been on. I felt like I was in the Tour de France along with the peloton snaking down this winding beautiful hill. It went on for what seemed like miles. Oh, and we didn't even have to suffer an uphill climb to get that reward.
Less crowded yes...more experienced and less squirrely riders...yes.... Downtown Vancouver was pretty tricky to get around, and we actually ran into a pack of zombies near the finish line. Really. We loved Vancouver!
The finish line festival is okay, I think if you have a group of buddies it would be fun. The food is certainly nothing to get excited about. I think next year if we do it, we'll skip the lukewarm hamburger and potato chips and go have dinner at one of the fabulous looking restaurants nearby.
I thought after I finished the ride I wouldn't do it again, it was pretty hard for me. I thought quite a bit harder than STP. But I think what made it hard was the awful heat we had that first day...95+ at one point. So I am in the "thinking about it" stage. Maybe. We'll see. I also thought about volunteering too and just meet my husband afterwards and spending a few days in Vancouver.
Watch out for Zombies.
"Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far"