STP 2008 - Seattle to Portland Before The Sun Goes Down

326 km (203 mi) done! So it's not a 400k brevet over mountains, but it was still a challenge. And lots of fun. Great weather, good scenery, and mostly good roads - the 2008 STP.

Here I am finishing in Portland at 5:44 PM, very glad to be out of the sun, and done.

I'd flatted just outside Kelso, and the old tube wouldn't fit anywhere else, so I threw it over my shoulder. 
You know, like how they did in the old days:

My Approach to the STP

I had a goal to finish the ride at least faster than how long it took last year, which was 14.5 hours (7:30 PM) finish time.

I didn't really plan on going faster per se, just getting off the bike less. This ride is so organized that there are plentiful rest stop every 20 miles or so. You could bring no money and probably get by on this ride! In fact since (most) riders pay $80+ to do this ride, that's what you're supposed to do.

But now that I've been getting into the rando scene, the prospect of treating this like a 300k brevet was what I had in mind. Meaning, I would skip just about all of the official rest stops, try to minimize off-bike time, etc. I thought I could do it with stopping only three times, which was a little too bold - but I ended up only stopping about five times during the ride:

• 100 km: Roy, bought water w/ ice, gatorade, cinnamon roll, peanuts at a gas station (~10 minutes)
  
• 159 km: Centralia, half way - ate free ice cream, PB&J sandwich, and an orange slice. Only spent about four minutes here (last year was more like an hour at the half-way point). This rest stop was crowded with other riders, in the usual mayhem of strangers that is the STP.
• 168 km: Chehalis, more water w/ ice, chips, peanuts, jerky/cheese combo pack
• 230 km: Lexington area, stopped at a gas station, enjoyed some more ice & shade
• 299 km: Scappoose, bought water, mountain dew w/ ice. Sat in the shade for a few minutes.

The Ride

I left the house at about 4:25, and since I did a last-minute seat position change on the road, I knew I wasn't gonna make the official start at Husky Stadium - so I just followed Roanoke down to where the route goes, cutting off maybe two miles of the route. At about 5 AM I joined the riders, passing just about everyone I saw at 35-40 km/h (23-25 mph) - yeah, too fast for a reasonable start to a double century!

At about Seward Park a mini-peloton of about 10-15 riders caught up with me doing 40+ km/h - and thought I didn't hop onto the paceline right away, I ended up catching up to them and following a wheel or two for a while. The group ended up being split on Rainier Ave, and all of a sudden just four of us were left.

Eventually a guy in a full Garmin-Chipotle team kit (complete with crash-scars!) caught up to us, as did a few other random riders. While my plan was to avoid big pacelines altogether and do this ride more or less solo, the opportunity to cover so much ground at once just couldn't be passed up!

The Hill

At "the hill," a 300-foot climb that isn't all that bad, our average was just above 32 km/h or 20 mph! I've never averaged 20 for more than a half-mile, so this was a real surprise! But I knew my body couldn't push it like this forever, and I took it pretty easy on "the hill" in Puyallup.

Our little group split up pretty well at that point, and I never saw the Chipotle guy again. At the top I kept it solo for the most part, and just ignored pacelines that shot past.

I skipped the big rest stop at about 50 miles, and I'm pretty sure the guys that were ahead of me stopped at it. I kept on pedaling, skipping the crowded parking lot and long lines, in favor for pushing another 10 miles for topping off a 100k (62 mi) and getting supplies at a convenience store. The fast paceline I'd ridden with earlier passed me here, but I let them go. I'd decided that from this point on I was on a solo ride, more or less.

So for the next 10 miles I kept a pace of only 25-28 km/h (15-17 mph), and was mostly being passed. But I'd end up seeing just about all of those jerseys again, and even though many pacelines came by at their 40-45 km/h pace, I held off and just rode on.

Mostly because I didn't want to ride above a comfortable pace, and blow it too early. Or maybe I'd already done that.. But not stopping all that much meant that even thought many other riders rode faster than me, I kept seeing them again, and again.

Centralia - Half Way

Only stayed here for about 5 minutes, compared to the hour or so we spent here last year. Rolled out with a guy on a Ramboullet, who also rides with SIR! It's a small world I guess.

The Rest of the Ride

In between Chehalis and Winlock, I ran into a guy in a red jersey that I'd ridden with briefly on the Barlow Pass ride a few weeks ago. While riding with him, I saw a small black bug flying towards me, and it came straight for my neck! It must've been a bee, because the damn thing got stuck in the front of my collar, and stung the shit out of me! The pain wore off after a few minutes, but I'd forgotten how much those things hurt. Luckily I'm not allergic..

Just before Kelo/Longview, I was thinking to myself about how I'd flatted at a particular corner last year, and was glad not to have flatted yet.. So guess what happens about a minute later? Yup, flatted. No big deal, but I did find out that I was riding on an already-patched tube, and that my spare tube had a short stem on it, which my semi-aero Ksyriums don't work well with. Should've checked that before I left the house I guess..

I spent at least 20 minutes fixing this flat, far too long for a simple tube change, but with the short stem on the tube, it was a challenge pumping it up correctly. While I was fiddling with it the original fast paceline I'd ridden with 100 miles earlier, now with 10 more riders in it, passed me! I even heard one of them remark, "Hey there's that one guy."

It was the classic tortoise & hare scenario, but this flat ruined any chances of finishing before them. Not that it matters, but it makes for good pacing!

With the flat fixed, I rode on to Longview, and was really happy to hit the Lewis & Clark bridge, which meant about 80 km (50 mi) to go. I, for some reason, sprinted up the bridge, passing a bunch of people. Guess I was in my favorite riding terrain: tilted.

After the bridge I stopped for more water/ice, and bought some food I never ate. I hadn't really had a real meal by this point, and my stomach was protesting for sure. Left the store just behind a rider with a McDonald's team kit on - looked like a racer. Let him ride away though, I didn't want to do someone else's pace. But I figured I'd see him again.

The Last 50 Miles

The last stretch of the STP (Highway 30) is strip-mall hell, with five lanes of traffic. But at least at this point you know you're close to the end! I stopped in Scappoose for more supplies, and spent a while recovering from the sun here. Talked a bit with a local rider, who was asking about the STP. I didn't say anything, but at that point my stomach was turning, and I felt kind of queezy. But I answered all the questions, and enjoyed some ice water. "Laugh on the battlefield, cry in the dojo," I think is how the old saying goes.

The last 30km were slow but steady, and I saw quite a few familar jerseys (people that had passed me earlier in the day) go by. But I was ready to be done, for sure! Had this been a 400k I certainly would have had to stop for real food, but I plowed on.

Coming into Portland I saw the familiar sites like that bridge you cross to get into Downtown. While I felt slightly ill, I looked at the time and knew that I'd met my goal for this ride, and had cut off 1.5 hours from last year's time!

Thanks to all the riders I rode with, all the support staff, and Cascade too - I'll be out next year, with a goal of cutting off even more time! 

Timeline

Left Seattle at 4:45 AM
Arrived in Roy, WA at 8:05 AM
Centralia College at 10:15 AM (100 miles, 161km, roughly halfway)
Scappose at ~4 PM
Finish in Portland at 5:44 PM

STP Ride Stats

Distance: 323 km, 201 mi

Time: 13 hours overall

Average Rolling Speed: 28.6 km/h (17.7 mph) (This was 31 km/h at the halfway point, and 30 mk/h at 150 miles - those last 50 were much slower than the rest, for sure)

Flats: 1

Rest stops skipped: 15

Snakes seen: 1

2007 STP Photos

Just ordered some photos from this year's STP double-century! Once I get the larger versions I'll throw 'em up here, but for now here are some tiny versions.

Here's Dennis and I a few miles into the ride:


Not sure exactly where these were taken:





Here I am finishing (and finished) in Portland:


Here's me (on left) and Dennis in Portland, proudly holding our STP one-day patches!



Can't wait 'till next year!

The 2007 STP - Two Hundred and Ten Miles in One Day

At 4:45 the one-day STP (about 2,000 riders I'm told) rolled out to cheers, and with the sun not even up yet we headed off. One woman fell in the first few feet of the ride, that had to be a hard start to the day! I hope she made it..

It was weird looking at my cyclo-computer and knowing that the 0.01 miles it read would eventually read 200-something later that day.. I still think the hardest part of a double-century is the mental side, although the physical toll can't be discounted.

Once we got onto open road the pace lines were plenty to choose from. We ended up on a 50+ person-paceline that was going a good 22-24 mph, and then jumped onto a 25-27 mph paceline and stuck with that for at least 20 miles. Thanks to everyone that pulled me for so long! Sure, I took some pulls at the front of a few of the lines, but some of them are so long and unorganized that you can sit on the back forever.

We finished the first half of the ride by 10:45 A.M., rolling into the half-way festival at the Centralia Community College. Our average speed at this point is still 20+ mph, which is way faster than my usual, but with so many pacelines to choose from it's not too hard to keep your speed up.

After a huge plate of spaghetti and some more sun-block and we were off once again at 11:30 or so. After Centralia is where you start hitting the really tiny/wacky towns that dot the route. Winlock has the World's Largest Egg which sits proudly on their 'main' street. (From my quick searching it looks like there's some dispute as to who's got the biggest egg, but their egg is just about all Winlock's got going for it!)

I love the interesting town-names that dot Washington and Oregon! Tenino, Bucoda, Yelm, Vader, Puyallup, Goble - too bad some of the towns' names don't match their atmosphere!

At mile 150 we took another break, and at this point were starting to get a sense of just how hard it is to do a double-century. It was about 3:00 P.M. and we were definitely slowing down. Dousing my head with cold water of course helped, but at some point I can only eat so many Odwalla Bars, and I can only drink so much Propel. I'm human god-dammit! I should start eating more food made for humans; I'm not an robotic athelete who's sole purpose in life is to consume energy gels and eat odd-tasting 'energy bars.' Luckily the organizers of the STP always have bananas and bagels at the rest stops, guess I'm not the only human in the pack! But at some point even real food doesn't seem to give me a boost. If only I could've had some Phad Kee Mao! Now that would've helped..

The organizers of the ride (Cascade.org) do a great job with the route, taking you on some of the most scenic country roads of Washington State, and showing you some of the most quirky towns along the way. But once in Oregon they decide to throw you on a four-lane highway (Highway 30) for the last 50 miles of the ride! The last 30 miles of hwy 30 are nasty strip-malls and cars pulling in and out of them.

Maybe they're trying to make us hate Oregon? That would make sense because Highway 30 has nothing but fast-moving traffic and worthless towns that weren't even towns. I suppose this is the 'quickest' way to Portland, but can't they tack on 10 or 20 miles somewhere and put us back on country roads? Sure, it's better than the interstate but it stands in stark contrast to the rest of the ride.

So I was beat at the end, and was glad it was over fore sure. But it felt great to accomplish a new milestone, a double-century! Next year I'll try to see just how fast I can do it!

Total Distance: 210 miles (4 miles from my house to the start)
Total Elapsed Time: 14.5 hours
Total Saddle Time: 10.5 hours
Overall Average Speed: 19.1 mph
Flats: 1
Roadkill seen: 7+ (including two birds stuffed in a drain in Portland, go figure)
Mountains seen in the distance: 3 (Rainer, St. Helens, Hood)
Energy left at the end of the ride: zero

Update: got some pics of me during the STP - see here.

STP starts in less than twelve hours!!

At 4:45 AM tomorrow about 1,000 cyclists (including me) will start a 206-mile journey: the Seattle-to-Portland ride. The fastest will do it in 10 hours or less, while the slowest will take 16 hours, and of course some will give up. The one-day finish festival closes at 9 PM, so that gives us 16 hours and 15 minutes to 'officially' complete it. I think my riding partner and I will make it in about 14 or 15 hours, but we'll see how it goes. I really hope we make it before the close or we won't get our special one-day patches!

I think the hardest part about the day will be getting up so friggin' early (roughly 3 AM!), but I'm probably wrong and the hardest part of the ride will be after 150 miles or so, when I'm dead tired and way sun-burned. In total I'll do about 209 or 210 miles, since I'm riding from my apt on Capitol Hill to the start in the U-district.

My cycling log's graph shows the spike in my mileage over the last few months:


As you can see this will be my longest ride in quite a while! I hope to top it one day with an even longer ride.

Check out an approximation of the STP in 3D using Google Earth. (and turn on elevation exaggeration!). Don't have Google Earth? Here's what the route looks like, but you can zoom in and see the elevation profile in 3D!

STP Training and the Three Feet Campaign

I'm still preparing for next weekend's Seattle-to-Portland double-century, although I haven't been getting in the miles I'd like to. Dennis and I did the Lake Wa loop yesterday, putting in a hot 55 miles with some nice hills. The STP-training guide says to do a 140-miler a few weeks before the big day, but screw it, I'm going for the mind over matter! I've been putting in 100-200 miles per week in the last few weeks, so hopefully that'll be enough saddle-time. (Oh yeah, and don't forget the ass cream!)

My longest ride in a day was 110 miles during the first day of the 2005 STP. 206 miles will take a long time, but it will be a great ride. I wonder if the route is similar to the 2005 route? I'll have to study the map and check it..

As a side-note, check out Cascade's Give Cyclists Three-Feet campaign, it's a great idea!


I'm lucky if I get a foot of space from cars on some roads here in the North West... as I'm sure is the same across many a car-opolis in the U.S. and all over the congested globe.

2007 Flying Wheels Century - Training for the STP

The plan yesterday was to ride the Flying Wheels 100-miler as training for this year's 206-mile STP (Seattle-to-Portland) ride, which I'm doing in one day. Century riders started early, between 8 and 9 AM, the course a kind of figure-eight that went from Marymoor to Carnation to Snohomish to Duval to Fall City and back to Redmond. The Flying Wheels ride attracts thousands of riders, all of them training for the STP, including me and Dennis.

We got there at about 8 AM and rolled out by 8:30, and our wheels were flying indeed. We held 22-24 mph for the first few miles and passed at least 100 bikers on the first stretch before the first climb, good ole' Inglewood Hill Drive, just off of Lake Sammamish Pkwy. 12% grade for a half-mile, it's not long but damn it's steep! Big-rigs can barely go up it at about 10 mph, no kidding (I almost beat one going up that hill last week).

Going up Inglewood , I felt great - the legs were fresh and nobody was passing me, most were slowing way down considering the grade! I've done that hill a few times, as recently as last week, so I knew what to expect and just how much I could push on it. Made it to the top and felt fresh, ready to go. This was only four miles into the ride, so luckily the lack of warmup didn't hurt me as I'm sure it did others.

The next climb was up Ames Lake Road, just off of Highway 202 out by Carnation. At the beginning I'm out of the saddle, pushing past many folks as the not-very-steep but long (two miles?) climb started. And then my problems began!

I heard a pop, figuring it's just a piece of metal on the ground.. but the guy behind is saying, "I think you broke a spoke." Indeed, I sure did, and my wheel was so far out of true it couldn't even get past the brake-pads... My Mavic rims have straight-pull, bladed spokes that I've always read are a pain to repair/find on the road. And shit, I didn't even have my spoke-wrench!! So here Dennis and I stand, watching literally hundreds of cyclists we'd passed earlier coming up the hill, passsing us.

All I could do was release my rear brake and 'hobble' at 10 mph to the next rest-stop, where hopefully we'd find a mechanic with my spokes. It was torture riding at 10mph descending down Ames Lake Road, having more and more riders pass me!! I should've been pushing 40 mph, blazing, not hobbling on the side of the fucking road!! But I guess that's what I get for not checking my spoke-tension often enough, and not carrying the right supplies and tools.

We finally got to the rest stop, and after 15 minutes of tinkering with the wheel, the mechanic didn't have the right size spoke! Fucked is what I was.... fucked. 15 miles into the ride and I've got an almost taco'd wheel.

So we detoured over Tolt Hill (I'm still hobbling this whole time) and back to Marymoor park. In total we did a whopping 30 miles! So much for a century... god dammit! Big ups to Dennis for hanging with me... next time we'll nail that ride.

Now that I'm not employed by the man any longer, I've got plenty of days to do centuries for fun and training, although not with the thrill of hundreds of other riders on the road with me. So remember kids, always carry the shit you need to fix your ride! Don't depend on the mechanics to fix it for you... I think for the STP I'm gonna carry spokes, an extra chain, everything I need.

[6/23/07: included pic of me before the mechanical breakdown.. I had no idea what would happen only 10 miles later..]