STP report

[vaxn8r]

Finished in one piece...that's most important as there are about 8,000 riders who start. About 1,500 do the one day. Anyway, there seemed a bit less carnage than I've seen in past years. Because the ride has pretty easy terrain the ride takes all levels of riding abilities.

It was hot and humid and even rained a bit, all of which are unusual this time of year.

I rode with 3 buddies and we stayed together into Portland.

Ride stats: 207 miles, 3,450 ft of climbing, 21.3mph avg speed (not including stops of course). I was going for 24.9 mph...like on the last mountain Tour stage...right!

Consumed during the ride: 8 liters of fluid (I think, I lost track), 2 power bars, 3 sandwiches, 6 watermelon slices, 1 large muffin, 2 popsicles, grapes, bag of popcorn, pretzels, 6 cookies, 6 Goo's. I was even pretty hungry afterwards and ate a huge pile of Yakisoba and BBQ teriaki chicken...now THAT was yummy!

I saw several dozen Serotta's (no Ottrots but I was surprised how many of Ben's bikes were out on this coast) about a dozen Davidsons (fewer than I'd have thought), bunch of C-Dales (not as many as you'd guess) and it seemed every 6th bike was a Trek (that DID surprise me as we don't see too many Treks in Eugene). Couple of Sevens. No IF's. The only 2 Calfees were mine and Gasman's. At any rate, there were a TON of nice bikes. Doing some quick math, if the average bike I saw cost $2,000 (there were some cheaper, mountain type bikes too), there had to be $16,000,000 in bikes on the road between Seattle and Portland on this ride yesterday.

Anyway, it was a fun day because I did it with good friends and we had all prepared for it. Any time you can put in >200 miles in a day is a good day on the bike :)

[shinomaster]

I did the STP in 2000 with three friends from Boston. It was a blast. We opted for the more fun two day ride..Did you see a guy on a unicycle?

Also, almost every bike I see in Portland is either a Trek or a Lemond..

[vaxn8r]

Yeah, that's right, there was a guy on a huge-wheeled unicycle.

Yes, I saw hundreds of Lemonds and Treks, maybe more.

That was my third STP. I also did it in '98 and '99.

[gasman]

What Vax fails to mention is the monster pulls he took. He was out in front at least 2/3 of the time pulling us along at 24-25 mph. When we hooked onto a smoking tandem at 29-30 mph he was the only one not wasted after an hour behind them. I think he should be talking to T-mobil,they need a good rider.
It was a great ride and my arse is not too sore today. If you ever have a chance to do the ride it has to be one of the flatter double centuries around. It was well supported with plently of food available every 50 miles with smaller water stops along the way. The finish had showers and plenty of food (for sale).
I did ride the next day, I said I wouldn't, but it was only with my daughter for 10 miles on the river bike path. :D

[rnhood]

What does "STP" stand for? And, 21.3 mph average over back to back centuries - very, very decent.

[dave thompson]

STP = Seattle-to-Portland, the proper name of the ride. It was sold out at 8,000 riders. Boy talk about a peloton!

I've done it twice, in 2001 on my Atlanta and this year on the Ottrott. My ride was a bit more modest than vaxn8r: two days with a 14.8 mph (personal best)average. Saw a couple of crashes the first day, one serious, but none the second day.

The party at the finish line was a blast! Like a huge bike/food/mechandise show with the Fat Tire beer garden thrown in for good measure.

A nice thing of note was the inclusion, in all riders packets a Lance Armstrong 'Livestrong' wristband. I don't know who the donor/s was/were, but it was rewarding to see thousands of yellow wristbands everywhere on the ride. It caused many non-riders to ask about them and hopefully they were made aware of the LAF.

[rnhood]

Oh yes, Seattle to Portland. Thanks Dave. Sounds great. 8000 riders - Wow! Love to join this someday, if I ever again get out west again.

[Dekonick]

Sounds like it was a good time.

[vaxn8r]

Dave, you were out there this year? I must have missed that Ottrott. Did you see any others besides yours?

We left at 5AM sharp. The amazing thing is we were passing some really slow riders well after the hndred mile stop...wondering if some of these people left the night before?

I'm still wearing my Livestrong bracelet :)

[dave thompson]

Dave, you were out there this year? I must have missed that Ottrott. Did you see any others besides yours?

We left at 5AM sharp. The amazing thing is we were passing some really slow riders well after the hndred mile stop...wondering if some of these people left the night before?

I'm still wearing my Livestrong bracelet :)
Nope, didn't see any other Ottrotts. A majority of the Serottas sighted wore the red/yellow fade; Legends, CSi's, Atlantas and some Colorados. You were well ahead of me. Ran into a guy at a rest stop the second day that rode to Portland in a day, returned to Centralia to ride the second half, again, the second day!

I got my Livestrong bracelet at the Bike Gallery when I went to Portland to pick up the Ottrott a couple of weeks ago and have been wearing it ever since. I like what it represents and stands for.

One of the neat things about the STP is the huge variety of bicycles represented. Everything from the latest and greatest to some real 'rat' bikes, complete with very squealing chains and other death rattle noises. Quite a few young kids, both on solo bikes and on tandems or trail-a-bikes riding with presumably, parents. Saw a guy pulling a Burley trailer with his bike. He had a registration number and the trailer had its own number. I passed the trailer and saw there was a very young kid, maybe a year old, helmet on and sound asleep!

[Ozz]

... When we hooked onto a smoking tandem at 29-30 mph he was the only one not wasted after an hour behind them....

A friend of mine was riding a tandem with his brother and offered me a "fast wheel" to suck if I wanted to ride with him...this sounds like them and I'm glad I passed!! What kind of tandem was it??

(Spent the weekend painting a baby room and putting together a crib...now just waiting for baby (and end of cycling season)) :banana: :banana: )

[gasman]

It was a couple, a male captain and a female stoker. I think they were on a Co-motion but I'm not sure as I was several back in the line and by the time we got to the rest stop I was pretty pooped. They were young, strong riders.

[vaxn8r]

No, it was a couple (man and woman) out of Portland on a beautiful lime green aluminum racing Co-Motion. Both were thin and real strong. I'll bet total weight of bike and team was under 290 lbs. We didn't run into any other tandems which were faster than our group but that Co-Motion team had the ability to inflict pain after a while :)

I did see a beautiful Seven ti tandem with full Campy Record 10 including dual carbon cranks. I personally don't care for the ride of ti tandems---too whippy, which they confirmed, but it was a beaut....as well as a huge chunk of change$$$

[jeffg]

Ride stats: 207 miles, 3,450 ft of climbing, 21.3mph avg speed (not including stops of course). I was going for 24.9 mph...like on the last mountain Tour stage...right!



I think the Terrible Two will be a cakewalk for you next year! Perhaps you should make use of your form a go ride the Mt. Tam Double or find a way into the Ötztaler Radmarathon! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[vaxn8r]

I think the Terrible Two will be a cakewalk for you next year! Perhaps you should make use of your form a go ride the Mt. Tam Double or find a way into the Ötztaler Radmarathon! :banana: :banana: :banana:


Are you serious about that? When I finished the STP, not that I was really out of gas because I wasn't, but I was fatigued. The thought crossed my mind about doing the same distance but with 17,000 ft of climbing instead of 3,400 ft. and honestly it made me think maybe I wasn't up for that much punishment. A big part of that is simply not knowing what to expect I suppose. Terrible two...it still blows my mind thinking about doing that ride.

[Wanker]

The lime green comotion tandem you saw out there were some very close friends of mine whom I frequently ride with. They'll be very pleased to hear that they were noticed. They told me that they had a blast towing all the soloists and watching them drop off after awhile. Take no prisoners! Their ride time was 9:20. They just bought the custom (steel) comotion a couple of months ago and really enjoy it.

[jeffg]

Are you serious about that?

Very serious. If you are riding over 20+ mph over a DC, just plan on being out there a bit longer due to the climbs and presto! Consistency and endurance rather than 1800 VAM is what you need to finish these rides and still have fun. I really believe that 200 miles of a hilly and challenging ride beats flatlands any day.

In fact, a woman (who placed second for the gals -- not including insane twice-around Catharina, of course) whom I rode with after the Fort Ross climb (2.6 miles, 11.5% at mile 160 something) complained that she hates that flat section between through Napa and Alexander valleys and much prefers the climbs. I think we are very much alike since I struggle a bit comparatively on the flats (people can push me to the brink on the flats that I then drop on climbs :confused: ). Try it, you'll like it! :banana:

[vaxn8r]

The lime green comotion tandem you saw out there were some very close friends of mine whom I frequently ride with. They'll be very pleased to hear that they were noticed. They told me that they had a blast towing all the soloists and watching them drop off after awhile. Take no prisoners! Their ride time was 9:20. They just bought the custom (steel) comotion a couple of months ago and really enjoy it.


They'll probably remember us. They pulled our group of 4 the last 18 miles or so into Centralia. We had a few fleeting conversations with them....one as she dropped her water bottle on the pavement. Dang it but we just didn't feel right about leaving them like that so we retrieved it for them and jumped right back on their wheel :cool: :cool: Too bad we didn't find them after lunch.

[Too Tall]

Are you saying Kat doubled the double? Thought her back was giving her fits??? She is amazing. We talked briefly about doing FC together. You never know.

[Kevan]

is full of lust.

Gotta do this ride someday. Extremely :cool:

[Marron]

I rode a very conservative STP this year, averaging just over 19 mph. With RAMROD only 11 days after and my old body not having the recovery speed it used to, I didn't really want to take anything out of the tank at all. So I just cruised down to Portland keeping my HR below 139 the whole way and still had my first encounter with an IV.

I got to the finish line and was chatting with my daughter when I suddenly felt sick. I sat down, then lay down and continued to feel sick for the next hour. Ultimately an EMT was summoned who decided I was severely dehydrated. This after drinking very carefully the whole way. His theory was that the extra humidity was causing some people probelms and I was one of them

After a hooking me up and running in a few litres of fluid I was back in business.

What was strange was that I wasn't feeling this STP was particularly hot or difficult in any way, in fact I went riding on Sunday and had no stiffness or fatigue at all. It was a weird experience and just reinforced the need to drink, drink, drink.

[Wanker]

They'll probably remember us. They pulled our group of 4 the last 18 miles or so into Centralia. We had a few fleeting conversations with them....one as she dropped her water bottle on the pavement. Dang it but we just didn't feel right about leaving them like that so we retrieved it for them and jumped right back on their wheel :cool: :cool: Too bad we didn't find them after lunch.

The stoker (she) remembered you. Said you were a nice guy, a very strong rider and was from Eugene. And yes, they are young- he's 50 and she's 40. I brought them into the cycling world (no brag, just fact); he's been cycling for about six years and she's been at it for going on 3 years. Both started from scratch. The stoker is a awesome/natural climber-hundred pounds - 80% of it legs!

Are you doing cycle oregon this year?

[dave thompson]

* 8,051 riders
* 1,845 one day riders (23%!!)
* Oldest rider: 82
* Youngest rider: 3
* 27.8% female and 72.2% male
* Riders from 42 states, plus British Columbia
* 75% from Washington; 15% from Oregon; 4% from California; 1.5% from British Columbia and 1.5% from Idaho

That 3 year-old rider must have been the one that I saw, alseep, in the Burley trailer.

[vaxn8r]

The stoker (she) remembered you. Said you were a nice guy, a very strong rider and was from Eugene. And yes, they are young- he's 50 and she's 40. I brought them into the cycling world (no brag, just fact); he's been cycling for about six years and she's been at it for going on 3 years. Both started from scratch. The stoker is a awesome/natural climber-hundred pounds - 80% of it legs!

Are you doing cycle oregon this year?

Cool, yeah, at one point 2 guys fell off the paceline about 20 yards back and I went back for them and pulled one of them back on, the other guy was fried so he just rode in to the next stop. It was a real bear getting back on their wheel. I can't believe they've only been riding a few years. They had great form.

I thought about Cycle Oregon but decided against it. Are you doing it?

[Wanker]

Cool, yeah, at one point 2 guys fell off the paceline about 20 yards back and I went back for them and pulled one of them back on, the other guy was fried so he just rode in to the next stop. It was a real bear getting back on their wheel. I can't believe they've only been riding a few years. They had great form.

I thought about Cycle Oregon but decided against it. Are you doing it?

Yes I'm going on cycle Oregon. It's a really great cycling tour/vacation. No phones and no worries for seven plus days. No better way of exploring and experiencing the many beautiful regions of Oregon than on a bike! This will be my sixth year in a row. This year's tour is covering less mileage than past tours; which is disappointing to me. I'll probably do some extra mileage on my own for kicks. If you haven't gone on the Cycle Oregon, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once.

wanker