We were down to the start location by 4AM and topped off air in the tires, dropped bags at the appropriate trucks, and then talked bike with other riders. 
We moved to the line about 4:20 and had our front wheels on the line and handlebars pressed against the yellow ribbon. We were like horses anxious for the starting bell!
This was Dave's second STP, but his first try at a one day ride, I'm sure there were a few butterflies! He had trained well and I had no doubt that he'd make it, and make it easily.At 4:45 the organizers said "go" and dropped the ribbon. Dave and I...and few hundred other earlybirds, were off. Our plan was to ride quickly, but carefully, until we got out of the mayhem that is often part of the first 10-15 miles or so. We pedaled within a few bikes of the leaders all the way to the first food stop at REI, 24 miles in. We heard one crash behind us as we made our way through some sharp descending curves as we neared Lake Washington but luckily we weren't involved. The sunrise over the lake is very pretty but we didn't have much time to enjoy it. We were moving quickly and in close quarters.
We made a very short stop at REI then continued a brisk pace. "The Hill" at mile 50 barely slowed us down. Neither of us resorted to the small chainring of our triple cranks. Even with a couple of water stops we arrived in Centralia, 100 miles in, at just under 5 and a quarter hours actual time. My Cateye said we had a 19.7 mph riding average, not shabby for a century. We had the advantage of a very light tailwind but still not a bad average.
That wind gradually shifted around to become a headwind and pick up a bit of intensity. It would be our unwelcome friend for about our last 75 miles or so. Temps were in the upper 70's to low 80's but with the head wind it was plenty warm.
The training rides Dave and I had done had paid off. As we'd pedal on the flats invariably faster riders would gain and pass, but if they approached as we approached a hill we would soon see them falling back! :-)
We both pedaled hard when we needed too, and smart when we could.
We fed and watered well. We had sent a "drop bag" ahead to the Castle Rock mini stop. In the bag we had some fresh clothes and special treats that we thought might be good to eat at this stop that was 137 miles into our ride. Once again this proved to be a very welcome thing to do. Something special about nice dry socks and riding clothes as well as some food that you don't get at the standard food stops!Before long we were in Longview and pedaling toward the Longview Bridge. It seems as maybe there was some work done it. The famously rough road surface and expansion joints didn't seem nearly as bad this year. I didn't see the road littered by water bottles that had rattled loose as in past years.
We were back in Oregon and only a 50 mile ride down the shoulder of Hwy 30 was between us and the rides end now. We poured it on. Yup, a bit tired, but it seemed that others were more tired. The little hills on Hwy 30 didn't slow us down much or even necessarily cause us to shift a gear. Before long it seemed we were entering Portland. Dave had dropped back a bit and was no longer in my mirror. I could smell the barn though and kept pushing. I made my way up the Montgomery Ward hill without dropping to my small chainring. I pushed hard from red light to red light, crossed the Broadway Bridge and stood on the pedals as I pedaled hard up away from the Willamette River. I wanted to beat 5PM if at all possible.
I didn't quite make it, but did manage to be able to say that in 5 years of doing STP (always in 1 day) that each year I've arrived back in Portland earlier than the previous year. ......clarification......... last year I had a faster overall average with a strong 19 mph..and brisk tailwind! This year with the 70 miles of varying headwind my average dropped to 18.6 but I took less time off bike and finished earlier in the day.
Dave wasn't too far behind me.
We walked around the finish line festival a bit before retiring to the beer garden where we relived the day while waiting for other members of our social bike club to ride in.
With our .9 mile ride to the start line we rode 203 miles today.
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...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........203...............0................203
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total.....860.....+.........0........=.......860
April total.....790.....+.........0........=.......790
May total.......901.....+.........0........=.......901
June total......543.....+.........0........=.......543
July total......625.....+.........0........=.......625
Year to date...4895.....+.........30.......=......4925
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Woo hoo! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for posting this; I had a great vicarious ride :)