Seattle-to-Portland in 1 day

[thenewguy11]

Anyone else participating in STP this weekend? This will be my first time so does anyone have tips to make the experience go smoothly.

[skijoring]

Go as early as possible before it gets warm, find a nice group to ride with and take smooth pulls up front. Only one significant climb in the whole ride, other than the Longview Bridge. Watch out for squirrelly riders. Headwinds on HWY 30 are a distinct possibility; may add some time to your expected finish... Truthfully, not the most scenic ride but it is still fun and pretty easy to go complete....

[Ozz]

...Watch out for squirrelly riders. .. Truthfully, not the most scenic ride but it is still fun and pretty easy to go complete....
+100

If you can manage, get to the 4:45 or 5:15 start times, as they are one-day riders only and probably more experienced....otherwise, be cautious for the first 10 miles or so until the crowd thins.

Have fun...weather should be perfect.

[gasman]

As above the crowds are nuts at first.
Keep a solid tempo, eat, drink and try to be with experienced riders.

[Mr. Squirrel]

As above the crowds are nuts at first.
Keep a solid tempo, eat, drink and try to be with experienced riders.


this thread warms my little heart.

mr. squirrel

[jlwdm]

Agree with what was mentioned above. Start in the first wave and have enough food to skip the first rest stop. Stay ahead of the masses and you should be fine.

I do the one day every 20 years. 23 years ago; 3 years ago and in 17 years I will be back again. Maybe sooner as I have a new custom Spectrum ti with Chorus 11 and HED Ardennes that has been in Seattle for over 9 months and I have never even seen it.

Too much work.

Jeff

[gasman]

this thread warms my little heart.

mr. squirrel


You could collect MANY wheels.

[CaptStash]

Snip...I have a new custom Spectrum ti with Chorus 11 and HED Ardennes that has been in Seattle for over 9 months and I have never even seen it.

Too much work.

Jeff

No worries. I can pick it up for you. I'll take REAL NICE care of it heh heh.

Stash...

[jlwdm]

No worries. I can pick it up for you. I'll take REAL NICE care of it heh heh.

Stash...


I at least need to get photos so that I can post them on the forum. The frame was a raffle on the Serotta and VSalon forums so I need to let everyone see the end product.

Jeff

[ljmiller]

Idk about what to expect (my first time as well), but hopefully it shouldn't be too bad if you are leaving with the other one day riders. If you see a skinny kid in black shorts/jersey then you may have found me there as well haha

[thenewguy11]

Thanks for the responses. I was in the first wave off so the crowds weren't too crazy at all. Weather was perfect, a little chilly in the morning but otherwise crystal clear. The view of Mt. Rainier during the first 30 miles was pretty spectacular. The guys I was riding with kept the pace high but not crazy and we were able to jump into some pretty big groups of 15-30 riders.

The first 100 miles went by very smoothly, legs felt good. The next 30 miles were a little less fun as the course turned into rolling hills. By mile 150, I was ready for a nice lengthy rest stop. And by mile 190, I was ready to be done with it, my knee hurt a little and my backside was saying no mas. Soon enough though, we rolled through the finish line and headed to the beer garden. Interestingly, in a city that prides itself on its craft beers, Colorado beers from New Belgium were being poured. It goes to show that even Portland folks know that better beer comes from Colorado.

To top the day off, my buddy took me to a brew pub called Hopworks which had the Tour on TV and a cycling motif along with a nice selection of house brews. Good stuff.

[gasman]

Good job.Hey the beer served depends on what company wants to pay. Oregon microbrewers know they don't have to pay someone to drink their beer, they can charge ;)
I'm sure you were glad to finish. I just wanted it over the last 10 miles myself.
Long day on the bike.

[bironi]

Good job.Hey the beer served depends on what company wants to pay. Oregon microbrewers know they don't have to pay someone to drink their beer, they can charge ;)
I'm sure you were glad to finish. I just wanted it over the last 10 miles myself.
Long day on the bike.

True that, and Colorado beers suck. :beer: I drank a Fat Tire this weekend because it was the only thing left in the cooler on our rest stop. Sucks.

[CaptStash]

True that, and Colorado beers suck. :beer: I drank a Fat Tire this weekend because it was the only thing left in the cooler on our rest stop. Sucks.

Hmmph! Methinks that after 200+ miles there's no such thing as a bad beer.

CaptStash....

PS: I did the STP in a day thing a couple of years ago. At 130 miles me and my buddy took a fifteen minute nap. MAde all the difference in the world. Good job on a long ride.

[thenewguy11]

Hmmph! Methinks that after 200+ miles there's no such thing as a bad beer.

Ain't that the truth. As it happens, I'm not a fan of Fat Tire either but I like the Somersault summer ale. Easy drinking.

I was thinking about some of the other stuff I noticed during the ride. There was someone actually riding a unicycle which I found rather incredible. Then the aero helmet wearing triathletes always made me chuckle. Now, I have nothing against triathletes as I got into cycling through triathlon. But is the aero helmet really necessary when you're riding in groups most of the time anyway? And please stay out of the aerobars unless you're hammering on the front and even then I'd feel better if they could hold a line.

[ljmiller]

Finished it in a day as well! congrats to all the people who did it. Did any one else see the triathlete in full USA gear? I thought that was pretty hilarious.

[fourflys]

And please stay out of the aerobars unless you're hammering on the front and even then I'd feel better if they could hold a line.


I'm kind of surprised the organizers allow a Tri bike with aero bars... seems like an accident waiting to happen...

[thenewguy11]

It didn't seem like there was any restriction whatsoever on bike types. There were fully faired recumbents, tandems, unicycles, tri bikes, you name it.

[jlwdm]

Four years ago I saw a unicycle on the two day STP. Always crazy looking recumbents and tandems (like a 1/2 recumbent).

Jeff

[fourflys]

Four years ago I saw a unicycle on the two day STP. Always crazy looking recumbents and tandems (like a 1/2 recumbent).

Jeff

but I'm guessing these guys (unicycles and 'bents) aren't trying to get into a paceline... I have no issues with anyone as long as they are basically riding by themselves, I just think riding a tri-bike in a paceline is pretty dangerous... but I guess if the line allows it, shame on them...

[ljmiller]

Another oddity I saw on the ride. One 2 day rider was on a recumbent with what appeared to be a Zipp 404/1080 set up. Made me almost as happy as seeing my dad fall over at the finish line, they both shall live in infamy!

[CaptStash]

Cascade Bike Club doesn't put any limits on the riders beyond requiring helmets. With 7500 doing the two day ride, it can be pretty dangerous considering all of the inexperienced riders.

The year I did the one day we got a tremendous pull for about about 20 miles at 22+mph from a dude on a fully faired incumbent. HE finally dropped back when we hit "the hill".

[petitelilpettit]

I did the STP in a day as well. In fact, my buddy and I were the first ones into Portland. We left off in the 4:45 wave, and it took a long time for us to get settled with some strong riders. Ended up doing the 204 mile ride in a ride time of 9 hours and 36 minutes (average was over 21mph).

That was absolutely crazy! However, it was an awesome ride, and would be glad to do it again. It was a great tribute to Mark Bixby, a strong bicycle advocate that rode and trained with us for years and was killed in a plane crash in March of this year.

If any of you were out there, this was our train (that's me in the middle):

Pettit