Pacific Northwest - STP expectations!!! =)

Hi all.....

I am hoping to do the STP this year for my very first time this year. I am trying to get started with my training, and I know its a little late, but I can do it! Hopefully the weather starts cooperating. I was just curious to know some of the expectations I should have or if any of you have a good reccomendation for me or for my training. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks guys!!

Ride a lot. Seriously.

20 mile rides until you don't notice them.
50 mile rides until you can come home feeling ok.
100 mile rides can be survived

Confidence is pretty key - you've got to know you can reliably ride smaller distances.

Here is a link to a pdf with a training schedule on page 7.

http://www.cascade.org/EandR/stp/pdf/stp-preride-guide-2008.pdf

I did the STP for the first time last year and my advice would be ride, ride, ride. The more miles you have under your belt the better. At this point on the training schedule it calls for two 50 mile days back to back on the weekend. This is a good idea as it prepares you for riding both days.

Last year I had ridden 1500 miles before the event and done one century. I was very well prepared and had no problems.

Ride safe.

Check out some of the threads on the Long Distance forum.
Look at the training information on http://www.ultracycling.com/
Ride a whole lot. Do long back-to-back days. If you're planning on StP as a back-to-back century, then get to where you're comfortable with b2b 65-75 mile rides on a weekend. If you're planning it as a double, aim for having a double metric under your belt before StP, and not feeling like you're going to die afterwards.
I've talked to many people who've done StP and they all say it's a very easy route, and if you can ride a strong century then you can finish StP.

Pay attention to your bike fit. If you have pain in your neck, butt, wrists after a 50 mile ride, it's only going to be worse on longer rides. So, make a trip to a good bike fitter if you need to.

Hi all.....



Hi cyclenewbie, welcome to BF and the PNW forum!

Good luck with the STP. What are you planning on using for the ride?

East Hill

All good advice in this thread. I did STP for the first time last year - and did it in one day.

I would add that you should experiment with different food/drink types WELL before the stp. Preferably you should ensure that you (and your stomach) are comfortable with the food/drink you'll use while doing some longer rides (50+ miles.) I made the mistake of trying a completely new type of energy drink the week before STP. Halfway through the ride I had some serious GI issues - fortunately they resolved after I dumped the offending sports drink. So, I would have all of that worked out before you ride.

Good luck, you have plenty of time to get into riding shape if you start training now.

All good advice in this thread. I did STP for the first time last year - and did it in one day.

I would add that you should experiment with different food/drink types WELL before the stp. Preferably you should ensure that you (and your stomach) are comfortable with the food/drink you'll use while doing some longer rides (50+ miles.) I made the mistake of trying a completely new type of energy drink the week before STP. Halfway through the ride I had some serious GI issues - fortunately they resolved after I dumped the offending sports drink. So, I would have all of that worked out before you ride.

Good luck, you have plenty of time to get into riding shape if you start training now.

Great advice!

I've been experimenting with different gel/drink/bar combos to get things right. Good lord was Hammer ever a mistake for me! Some people swear by it, but I'm one of those that can't.

This will be my 12th STP. I did my first in '84 and missed 2 because I went to the TdFrance and one due to injury. I started just as others said....I rode one long ride each weekend. I increased by 10% each week. 50 miles seemed like a million miles but ultimately it wasn't a big deal once i had done it several times.
I refined, (I still refine) my equipment. if it takes expensive shorts and saddles for comfort, it is worth it. A cheap short left me raw on long rides. Better shorts seemed to work better. Money doesn't eliminate rearend pain but, in general, I would pay any price to remove that kind of discomfort on a long ride. I experimented with many brands. I have, finally, the saddle I can endure for hundreds of miles. I ride a selle anatomica. www.mcwin.com I think that is it. Spendy though. Going cheap is great for short rides but 200 miles can take the joy away. Than any price is right.
I have learned that hills and short fast painful rides have huge impact on your long ride strength. Don't avoid "hard" "grinding" slow climbs. A ride from Longmire to Paradise is a good training ride. Mind you, i am not speaking as a killer powerful speed racer. I am a very slow rider, still suffer on hills, am passed by 70 year olds and could lose 20 pounds.
Another key to success, from my view, is to plan on riding past 100 miles (go to castle rock) on STP's first day, because on the second day you have only 85 miles. That is a huge mental deal.
Food, as mentioned is huge. I try to spend my time on a bike eating calories rather than laying at a rest stop eating, but that takes time to learn. One thing that used to help was to get off my bike and stretch every 20 miles. Huge difference. Last year I rode STP on Saturday and rode back to Oly on Sunday...slowly, mind you but it is more of a challenge. I stopped every 50 miles to stretch.
As mentioned previously, Merckx said "ride the bike" ....Miles of any sort have a payday. happy spinning
John

papawizo -

Good to see you bringing your experience to this thread!


I met you at the Daffodil Classic on Sunday. (I'm the Sasquatch on a black Surly) keithm0 and I did go on to finish the Buckley loop for a total distance of 103 miles with a rolling time of 07h 15m. There was a wicked hill at the 98 mile mark! It was a great ride, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer, especially StP.

Thank you all so much for your advice and wisdom! I appreciate it all very much!! Sounds like I still have yet a long way to go, but I can do it, I know I can! Every bit of advice helps me out greatly, as I am still learning!! Again thank you!!

Also look into "chamois cream." There are numerous brands that can be bought at REI or your LBS.

I use "Chamois Buttr" for rides over 100 miles, it really does help on longer rides.

Also, if you're doing the two-day event, make sure you've got your overnight plans worked out well beforehand, as the hotels/campgrounds fill up early.

See you on the road!

Clifton...
Yes, we bumped into each other several times... I know the miserable hill if its the one after flying down the long descent and a few miles out from the finish down in the valley. A particularly painful hill....Ramrod has a 9 mile hill/climb at mile 100. Fun. Sometimes that smooth spin that I think I have turns into lead footed weight lifting event with my blood pressure ready to blow...Good job on your century. My ride this weekend in Oregon postponed till next weekend. On STP, I'll be the little guy drafting you, "sasquatch".
PW/John

Get in lots of butt-on-saddle time. Do not fear smearing things on your nether regions.

Get in the habit of eating and drinking on the bike (or off).

The Lake Washington loop is a pretty good training route.

If you're riding with a group try to train together as often as you can.

Make a checklist of what to bring if it helps. Knowing you have everything together will make it easier to sleep the night before.

Great advice here, particularly the chamois butter and riding past 100 miles the first day. We always stayed in Toledo. By going 120 +/- miles the first day the second day, when you're really tired is enough shorter that it seems easy. We've done STP 4 times, twice in two days and twice in one day (on tandem). The one day is actually much easier a training time commitment. With the 2-day you must ride back to back days to prepare which is unnecessary for the 1-day. Following the Cascade training schedule really makes the difference. Another thing I think really helps is practicing taking short rest stops. If you let the rest stops be social they start eating into your overall time.
You're welcome to check out our STP training and ride reports at http://www.s2cycle.com (look under S2Cycle in the years 2000-2003).

Sheila

+1 on the great advice

Will be my first STP as well...at age 61. Riding solo, but hope to join a group with a 17MPH +/- pace. Been riding 300-500 miles a month this winter here in Mexico, but mostly on the MTB due to the roads here, or lack of them. Hope to see you out there, Cyclenewbie.

I am also planning on riding my first STP. I need to crank out the miles over the next 6 weeks to get ready. I bought a new seat. I am hoping that helps on the long ride.

Good luck! I did my first STP somewhere around 1995 (?). At the time, I was young, had lots of seat time, but didn't know what I was doing for a long ride in terms of food, avoiding dehydration, etc. I also did it on a mountain bike with slicks mounted. That year I survived 114 miles to Winlock on day 1, then the balance to Portland on day 2.

Honestly, the worst part of the whole thing was getting back on the bike on day 2.

The next time I did it, I shot for the 1-day in 2003. I was in very good shape from rowing but had no recent cycling experience. Got into town, borrowed an all aluminum road bike (a double), did a 40 mile training ride and a 20 mile training ride the week before, then just went for it.

It wasn't pretty -- left at 4:45am and didn't get in to portland 'till 8:30pm -- but I made it. Also, I was numb for about a month afterwards.

Let me just say that now that I'm getting back into cycling, I make sure I have the proper gear. It makes hours of seat time so much more survivable, wicks sweat, etc. Just did 144 miles and 10k feet on Sunday. It still takes a couple of days to recover, but it's better than being numb for a month.

Has anybody ridden the Death Ride? How does that ride compare (in saddle time not climbing) to the STP? I have always wanted to do the STP in a day. Have ridden the Death Ride a couple of times in around 9 hours. Am I in the ballpark for this ride? Do I need to train differently?
Thanks for the advice in advance

I would say if you can do 130 miles w/ 15,000 ft of climbing you are more than on pace to do a 1 day STP. The main training difference is fast flat riding instead of climbing. Cruising at 22-24 in a paceline is a much different ride than 8mph grinding up a mtn pass. Check out cascade.org for a training guide and rides. They have more than one ride series that builds up to doing a one day stp.

Hi All, Like cyclenewbie i am also thinking about the STP (first time). I just wanted to thank everybody for all the helpfull information that was given out. I live in the seward park area so if any new bikers would like to train with me let me know. I am not to fast but i don't give up. Thanks again to all the seasoned bikers for there input.

Has anybody ridden the Death Ride? How does that ride compare (in saddle time not climbing) to the STP? I have always wanted to do the STP in a day. Have ridden the Death Ride a couple of times in around 9 hours. Am I in the ballpark for this ride? Do I need to train differently?
Thanks for the advice in advance

the biggest climbs on the STP lasts about five minutes, if that. you'll probably be able to do it in 10-12 hours in a paceline.

if you like the death ride, have you checked out the ramrod (http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/RAMROD/RAMROD_course_information.html) & sir brevets (http://seattlerando.org)?

It took me 16 hours. but I took plentu of time at the later rest stops, as I had less than an hour of sleep the night before. And I was getting excess friction from the drive train for the last 30=50 miles couldn't figure it out, thought maybe I was just getting fatigued, I would stop spin the wheels and check that coasting distance was good, everything checked out, then a week later I discovered the problem when I rode to the store and my freewheel fell apart.
(freewheel lockring was rubbing the derailer claw and actually unscrewing it's self making it rub even worse. But the cogs had to be turning and under the right load [big ring+ mid-large sprockets] so my wheel spinning showed all was fine, when all was not.)

Has anybody ridden the Death Ride? How does that ride compare (in saddle time not climbing) to the STP? I have always wanted to do the STP in a day. Have ridden the Death Ride a couple of times in around 9 hours. Am I in the ballpark for this ride? Do I need to train differently?
Thanks for the advice in advance

I think you should be fine for STP if you did Death Ride in 9 hours.

Previous to STP, my longest ride was a 200k that took me about 9 hours total time.
I completed my 1 day STP in 13h 33m rolling time, and 14h 45m total time. I kept my stops to a minimum and hit up the mini-stops for bathroom breaks instead of the main stops, that way I avoided the 15 minute lines for the port-o-johns. I kept my break times to 5 - 7 minutes each, with the exception of a 20 minute lunch break at Centralia College and a 10 - 12 minute shade/water break about 30 miles later. If your butt is OK with 9 hours in the saddle, just make sure to bring a baggie with an extra handful of chamois creme for the later portion of the ride, and you should be fine.
BTW, I didn't paceline except for a couple miles just outside the PDX city limits when a polite group asked to swing in behind me for a bit and then kept my pace for a while to drag me along for a bit after they rested up.

I kept my break times to 5 - 7 minutes each, with the exception of a 20 minute lunch break at Centralia College and a 10 - 12 minute shade/water break about 30 miles later.

Clifton, that must have been just after the Napavine Hill?

cyclenewbie - The death ride probably compares more to our RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day). If you can do that, you shouldn't have problems with STP, given you're in the same condition as when you rode the death ride. As other have mentioned, STP is flat by comparison. The first hundred is really flat, there are continual rollers on the second half.

The heat was really the biggest factor for me. I finished in about 11 hours rolling time, but a few more hours total time (I stopped and chatted a bit.)

Clifton, that must have been just after the Napavine Hill?

...The heat was really the biggest factor for me. I finished in about 11 hours rolling time, but a few more hours total time (I stopped and chatted a bit.)

I'm not sure where it was (coursewise) but the stop was at a big high school and they were selling sodas and candy bars, and there were some awesome sprinkler nozzles out front. It was 90+ degrees by then, and I took my shoes off for a bit and got cooled off.
The trick that I used to combat the heat a couple times in the second half was putting a couple handfuls of ice in my jersey pockets.

I'm going to be "that guy," you know, the one that chimes in with the buzzkill when everyone's happy and smiling. You'll read about this on plenty of StP threads, but no one has mentioned it herein; the first 20 miles is pretty dangerous. I saw no less than 5 crashes just in my close proximity (no, not due to my riding!) and heard about many, many more. The huge crowd in Seattle at the start can be pretty twitchy and nervous. You have guys doing pacelines at 24+ blasting past without warning, folks on Target brand bikes just out for the experience of riding the first few miles weaving in and out of the flow, and just a general mayhem of riding. Some folks really groove on that environment...I learned that I do not.

2008 was my first (I did the 1 day) and it will be my last. I am glad that I did it once, and after about 40 miles things really start to string out and it gets safer. I'd certainly not steer you away from doing it, it's a huge accomplishment, but just be very wary through the first 20 miles at least. And remember to yield right/pass on the left...after some sort of warning.

If you really, really love your fellow man disregard everything above

Has anybody ridden the Death Ride? How does that ride compare (in saddle time not climbing) to the STP? I have always wanted to do the STP in a day. Have ridden the Death Ride a couple of times in around 9 hours. Am I in the ballpark for this ride? Do I need to train differently?
Thanks for the advice in advance

I did the STP in one day on zero training (as in, barely ridden a bike in 2 years). Granted, it took me 15+ hours to finish, but I did it! :roflmao2:

I trained a decent amount this year (logged over 65k of climbing in June alone) and did the death ride in ~13.5 hours total time (including close to an hour at Pickett's waiting for the hail to clear).

It's a different type of riding, sure, but if you can do the DR in 9 hours, you'll have no prob on STP -- not so much because of the DR experience, but because it implies you're not just a casual cyclist.

As some have mentioned, the start is a bit dangerous, but if you want to do it, don't let that scare you off. No different than passing 4 wide @50+mph coming down Monitor with 3 coming uphill at you!

Thanks to all you PNW's for all the responses to the Death Ride. (How do you ride in the rain? I'm a CA - no rain - wimp.) Sounds like more than a few of you have done it. It is a grueling SOB, especially by-passing Turtle Rock and grinding up Carson Pass.

I don't mind pace-lining, but think we will do so after the dust has settled. My experience tells me that there are a lot of people in a pace line, at the beginning, that have no clue what to do. It gets a little dicey.
I am looking forward to next year. Hopefully we can get in.
Cheers

Thousands and thousands finish each year without ever crashing. (Only 8000 can sign up)

I didn't do the paceline thing until I was warmed up, settled in, had my gear stowed, and my brain on; about five miles in. After that I was in a very fast [24+mph] paceline, passing other pacelines, until Puyallup, were I ran out of steam(that lack of sleep is a killer) and there was road construction that slowed down all the fancy bikes (I kept zipping along in the dirt on my 27x1-1/4" 36spoke steel frame bike.)

Last year I worked the mechanic station at REI headquarters in Kent(huge stop about 20 miles in, near the warehouse district) Mostly did the little stuff and triage, Park Tool and Pedro's mechanics did the fancy stuff.
I saw a lot of ??? stuff, especially once the two day riders start rolling in around 9:00. Really, if your going on a 200mile ride and your bike hasn't been used in a few [or 25] years, don't you think a visit to the mechanic for a tuneup, a couple of days before the ride, would be useful? It's not a last minute decision, enrollment generally sells out more than a month ahead.
It was fun though, I'm starting to think I like working on bikes more than riding them.

Thanks to all you PNW's for all the responses to the Death Ride. (How do you ride in the rain? I'm a CA - no rain - wimp.)
Cheers

The same way you ride in the sun.

Thousands and thousands finish each year without ever crashing. (Only 8000 can sign up)

The rider cap for 2008 was 9,500 and they're talking about opening it up to 10,000 for 2009.

If you string all 10,000 riders evenly over 203 miles, that's 1 rider every 107 feet... but let's be more realistic about it.

Around 2,500 riders leave in the first 90 minutes to get a jump on the 1-Day finish. Let's just pull them out of the equation and discuss the remaining 7,500 2-Day riders.
If the fastest of them leave first at 20mph and the slowest leave 2 hours later, that's a 40 mile gap to cram 7,500 riders into. Evenly spaced throughout the 40 miles (like that would ever happen) that's down to 1 rider every 28 feet... for forty solid miles. But remember, it's a wave start (at least early in the pre-dawn hours it is) so you have clusters of a few hundred riders starting as a pack rather than a steady trickle of riders heading onto the course.

It's a well organized ride, but it's still a really hairy first 30 miles to get out of the really thick crowds. I didn't actually take more than a water-stop until I got almost 60 miles in.

I didn't actually take more than a water-stop until I got almost 60 miles in.

me too - i found that avoiding the official stops was a great strategy for saving time!

ok, so i spent a few of my own bucks on water & snacks, but the restroom i used had A/C!

next year i'd love to only stop 2-3 times overall (last year i stopped 5-6 times).

Agree with the comments above that the first 50 miles are dangerous. I would add the 2006 route had a municipal trail that paralleled a road for some miles and there were these raised metal spots along with the anti-car barriers at intersections that were downright dangerous. I saw more than a few close calls and heard of many more accidents. Please be careful out there.

(How do you ride in the rain? I'm a CA - no rain - wimp.)

Same way you ride in the bloody hail on the death ride -- cursing the whole effing way! :roflmao2:

I am also thinking about doing the STP for the first time this year and would like to do it in one day. The training tips are very helpful. I have been commuting to work on my bike 3 days/week. It's 40 miles roundtrip with about 800 feet of ascent each way. It sounds like if I continue that riding as a base, and add some longer rides on the weekends to get used to more continuous saddle time, I should be in good shape?

I have a question on pacelines. I've ridden in a paceline with friends, and understand the basics (keep a steady speed, no sudden braking, signal and move left when dropping off the front, etc.). But I will likely be riding the STP by myself and have never done an event like this before. in this situation, what is the etiquette on hooking onto a paceline?

The polite think to do is to tell the person on the back of the line that you are on their wheel and to drop off if they ask you to. Some pacelines don't mind you drafting as long as you stay out of the rotation. If so, make room for the person coming off the front to pull in in front of you. Some less formal pacelines will expect you to pull when your turn comes up. It's best to speak up, don't be shy.

I am also thinking about doing the STP for the first time this year and would like to do it in one day. The training tips are very helpful. I have been commuting to work on my bike 3 days/week. It's 40 miles roundtrip with about 800 feet of ascent each way. It sounds like if I continue that riding as a base, and add some longer rides on the weekends to get used to more continuous saddle time, I should be in good shape?

I have a question on pacelines. I've ridden in a paceline with friends, and understand the basics (keep a steady speed, no sudden braking, signal and move left when dropping off the front, etc.). But I will likely be riding the STP by myself and have never done an event like this before. in this situation, what is the etiquette on hooking onto a paceline?

I think you'll have the base miles just fine. Do a few century rides early in the season, and maybe a 200k to get accustomed to longer hours in the saddle, and you should be fine. My longest ride was a 200k before doing the STP.

Pacelines come in 3 varieties (that I saw) on the STP:
- Organized teams; and for the most part they will not let anyone hang with them. Watch the Starbucks, Honeywell or Amgen teams rip past at 25mph. All the outfits, exactly the same. It's a team training session and you're not invited.
- Fast impromtu lines; 20mph+, not a corporate team, but everyone is experienced with close quarters paceline riding. Expect the standard order barking, etc. that such a style of riding necessitates.
- Slow impromptu "lines"; 16mph, long strands of riders that glom together out of jovial conversationalism rather than any desire to crush their previous finish time. Not really fast enough or close enough to benefit from the riders surrounding them, it's more like a big rolling garden party. Fun to ride in because the conversation takes your mind off the miles.

In reading this thread I realized I forgot all the first mile or 2 of the start. I saw a lot of crashes most minor but one broken shoulder within the first 2 miles. It is some sketchy going those first 2 miles.

Yell a lot and you should be fine.

Also, if you plan on riding with other people either wear the same jersey or make meetup points. I started the ride with 12 friends and saw 0-2 at random points. Anyone more than 5 feet away is effectively lost in the sea of people.