Pacific Northwest - Seattle To Portland ride

I didn't really start riding last year until mid February, however, I poured it on March - June. First century was Tour De Cure in early May, one more (Flying Wheels) in June, then STP. Looking back at my log, I did 250 miles in Feb and then added 100 miles each month until May. Could've done more if I commuted.

I think the answer really depends on your current level of fitness, prior riding history etc...

You're a pretty strong rider, so even of you're just waking from your winter slumbers, you have plenty of time to train for STP.

As CliftonGK1 says, FW is a good test of your fitness level. I think if you can do it anywhere between 5.5 - 7 hours, you're ready.

Winter slumbers, that's me. I really didn't do much until Feb which equaled maybe 150 miles. But my fitness over 30 miles feels quite good. I just need to slowly increase it. I guess I just want to make sure that I'm on course.

I'm planning on doing Tour de cure and will also look into Flying Wheels.

Thanks folks

The only hill I remember is that short, steep, twisty hill at mile 197 when you get off the highway and head into Portland's downtown residential area.

Yeah, the one by the Hospital - that one was brutal after so much riding.

The hill in Vader wasn't too bad - I stop at that little store just before and guzzle a couple cokes for it. :thumb:

I've just been bike commuting 13 miles a day all winter, and done a couple of 20-mile rides in the last month or so. Been training for a marathon too, and running about 40 miles a week the last couple of months. Did the Wentachee Valley Duathlon yesterday. Now it's time to start riding more miles after work once or twice a week. Then after the marathon on June 7, RAMP UP! then do the STP in a day.

I'm also looking to do the STP one day this year and it'll be my first try at the STP. The CTS/CATS rides look like a nice way to train for it, but I'm also hoping to find some people to ride with and possibly form a paceline. It doesn't look like CTS/CATS does that though, from what I'm reading. Any other suggestions for finding groups to ride with? I don't think I'd mind riding solo, but I think riding it with a group would be more enjoyable, and certainly faster if we can make our own paceline.

Try taking the cascade paceline class. After you do that, you can probably find some groups that ride paceline some of the time fairly easily. It's really nice of ride like STP and parts of flying wheels because of the flats.

That will also teach you the rules for pacelines. You can find some good references online.

So how much difference is there between the STP Food Stops and the Mini-stops?

Are the Food Stops more crowded? Anything worth eating there?

I'm thinking of doing it in one day with either 2 or 3 stops between the start and finish. With 3 stops, that would be every 35-45 miles to empty one bladder and fill the other (CamelBak). And those 3 stops would all be at mini-stops.

With 2 stops, the better placed ones are Food Stops.

So how much difference is there between the STP Food Stops and the Mini-stops?

Are the Food Stops more crowded? Anything worth eating there?

STP food stops are free while mini-stops are run by local organizations and not free.

Food stops are crowded, but not so bad that you can't grab and go. Expect bagels w/ cream cheese or PBJ, fruit, chips, Cliff bars, and the like. Don't count on meat though; I carry my own beef jerky.

If you want to save time, skip the long lines at the Food Stop porta-potties. I've found plenty of alternatives at parks, construction sites, or espresso joints along the way.

If you want to save time, skip the long lines at the Food Stop porta-potties. I've found plenty of alternatives at parks, construction sites, or espresso joints along the way.

A couple friends who did STP in one day said they saved time by grabbing food and then eating while in line for the Blue Room. I don't know if my gut would take that much pressure.

A couple friends who did STP in one day said they saved time by grabbing food and then eating while in line for the Blue Room. I don't know if my gut would take that much pressure.

Start early, skip the first 2 stops, and then you'll be out far enough that the stops won't be so crowded anymore.

Has anyone done the one day and taken the shuttle back. I'm thinking that riding 200 miles and then sitting on a bus for 3+ hours maybe a little rough but I don't have a Lot of options at this point.

You won't be awake for any of those 3 hours.

Post above is absolutely correct-- after having a few brews and riding 200 miles, believe me you'll be sleeping like a baby! :)

i rode from kensington (northeast-ish philly) to the art museum, then the entirety of the schuylkill river trail (through valley forge and perkiomen creek), oaks, mont clare, and ended up in phoenixville for a total of about 40 to 45 miles, give or take... i think i'll be ready for STP 2-day next year!

You may not necessarily be sleeping, I didn't fall asleep on the ride back, but after riding for double digit hours you'll probably be happy to be anywhere but the bike. I did get a ride back so I can't speak for the shuttles, but from the time I got in the car we didn't have to stop anywhere until I got back to Seattle (of course I went to the bathroom before we got in the car).

You may not necessarily be sleeping, I didn't fall asleep on the ride back, but after riding for double digit hours you'll probably be happy to be anywhere but the bike.
Even after double digit hours, I love being on my bike. My last 300k was 17h 03m starting on a Saturday morning and finishing 3 minutes into Sunday. I rode to work on Monday morning!

I did get a ride back so I can't speak for the shuttles, but from the time I got in the car we didn't have to stop anywhere until I got back to Seattle (of course I went to the bathroom before we got in the car)
The busses are really nice! If you don't want to take the red-eye back on Saturday night, get a Sunday bus ticket and find a place to crash in PDX for the night. Not far from the finish line is the Lucky Labrador bar and grill, and they've got awesome food and site-brewed beers (and root beer and ginger ale, for the non-drinking crowd.) That's how I did it last year; ride down, catch a shower at a friend's place, ride out and get some food, ride around the city a little bit and check things out, then get some sleep before catching the bus on Sunday morning.

Well...I did it, signed up for the first time and will try the one day. I'm doing Tour de Cure, maybe 7 hills of Kirkland & Flying wheels plus long rides in between of course.

I'll be taking the shuttle back on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.

What length of training ride should I build up to to consider myself ready for the one day?

Well...I did it, signed up
congratulations
[QUOTE**What length of training ride should I build up to ?[/QUOTE]

Flying Wheels at 99.5 miles or whatever is actually a good test since, with the climbing (I'd reckon 3x the amount on STP) it's kinda the equivalent of 125 miles or so. If you could work in a 125-150 mile ride the weekend after FW, you'd probably feel like the STP was just coasting.

One nice ride, at about 110 miles, up north is Arlington - Sedro Wooley - Rockport - Darrington - Arlington. One climb out of Rockport, 2 smaller ones before Arlington. Nice scenery. Enough mini-mart/gas stations for caloric intake, but do top your bottles off before leaving Darrington. If you want to stretch it out to about 140 miles, start in Snohomish and ride up and back to Arlington on the Centennial Trail.

congratulations
[QUOTE**What length of training ride should I build up to ?

Flying Wheels at 99.5 miles or whatever is actually a good test since, with the climbing (I'd reckon 3x the amount on STP) it's kinda the equivalent of 125 miles or so. If you could work in a 125-150 mile ride the weekend after FW, you'd probably feel like the STP was just coasting.[/QUOTE]

The climbing on FWSC is less than the TdC century route, and way less than the 7 Hills century.
FWSC is only 3800' total (about 2x STP)
TdC is closer to 6000' (3x STP)
7 Hills is near 7200'

STP is 1900' of gain over 203 miles, and there's only 2 long climbs and one short steep one (if you don't count the bridge into Oregon.) If you can do a 200k (Ride the FWSC 100 and 25 mile loops back to back) then you're set for STP. It's more the mental challenge of a 15 hour day in the saddle at that point.

Well...I did it, signed up for the first time and will try the one day. I'm doing Tour de Cure, maybe 7 hills of Kirkland & Flying wheels plus long rides in between of course.

I'll be taking the shuttle back on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.

What length of training ride should I build up to to consider myself ready for the one day?

Good for you!! My longest ride last year was FW + some for about 110 miles and I was totally ready. However, it wasn't my only ride of that distance. I did two centuries plus a handful of hilly 70-80 milers to get ready. STP isn't that hilly. Sounds like you've got a bunch of rides planned that will prepare you fine for the one-day.

Nice!!

I am taking my 16 year-old godson on STP this year.

I picked up a 1998 Cannondale XR800 (I traded a guy from work a paint sprayer for it. We are fixing it up together and doing some training rides.

I am taking my 16 year-old godson on STP this year.

I picked up a 1998 Cannondale XR800 (I traded a guy from work a paint sprayer for it. We are fixing it up together and doing some training rides.

:thumb: did my first STP at 15, two days though. Good times!

Flying Wheels at 99.5 miles or whatever is actually a good test since, with the climbing (I'd reckon 3x the amount on STP) it's kinda the equivalent of 125 miles or so. If you could work in a 125-150 mile ride the weekend after FW, you'd probably feel like the STP was just coasting.

The climbing on FWSC is less than the TdC century route, and way less than the 7 Hills century.
FWSC is only 3800' total (about 2x STP)
TdC is closer to 6000' (3x STP)
7 Hills is near 7200'

STP is 1900' of gain over 203 miles, and there's only 2 long climbs and one short steep one (if you don't count the bridge into Oregon.) If you can do a 200k (Ride the FWSC 100 and 25 mile loops back to back) then you're set for STP. It's more the mental challenge of a 15 hour day in the saddle at that point.[/QUOTE]

The 1900' elevation gain is supposedly incorrect.
http://cascade.org/Community/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=11403

Altimeters are not the most accurate measure for ascent but it looks like it's probably somewhere between 4000 and 5000 feet climbing. It's not that hilly of a ride, but 1900' is practically nothing over 200 miles. Pretty sure that's incorrect.

As far as training, it won't take as much as you think if you ride alone most of the time. I did the Flying Wheels Century last year, my next longest ride was 60 miles which I did twice and a few 50 mile rides. The STP is so packed that you're going to be drafting most of the way, and chances are if you're not drafting you're just pulling for your turn. Just make sure you can last a day in the saddle, that's what Flying Wheels is for. If you just stay in the aerobic zone, eat, and your muscles are in shape to ride a long time, you won't have a problem. I woke up the next day feeling like I could go for a 50 mile ride, no soreness at all. Heh, I was more sore today after my 50 mile ride yesterday, so I've got a little work to do this year.

You'll be drafting HALF the way. After Centralia, the packs spread out as the tired riders start slowing down. Just don't kill yourself on the first 100.

Interesting. I agree 1900 sounded absurdly low. There is probably 1900 feet of *actual* climbing ("the hill", the bridge, and going up to St Helens)... and then add the rollers on top of that, and that's how you get to 4500ish.

Any way you slice it, it is not a "hilly" ride, it would be hard to design a flatter double outside of Kansas :) The rollers can get tiring after many hours in the saddle though.

I would always tell my east coast friends about STP and about how surprisingly flat it is and they wouldn't quite believe it. They picture mountains to climb.

My wife and I are doing STP on a tandem. We've been trying our best to follow the 2-day training schedule posted on Cascade's website. We did a century 2 weekends ago, and 70 miles last Saturday. We neglected doing the Sunday rides though. We were wondering what's the rationale of peaking so early, hitting up 70 x 70 last weekend when the ride is like 2 months away. We are somewhat getting weary of dedicating our entire weekend to training but want to enjoy STP too and not SAG out of it. Our biggest hurdle is saddle sores the next day, not so much fatigue. Should we just stick to the training schedule or do you guys think we can take some slack?

Thanks

My wife and I are doing STP on a tandem. We've been trying our best to follow the 2-day training schedule posted on Cascade's website. We did a century 2 weekends ago, and 70 miles last Saturday. We neglected doing the Sunday rides though. We were wondering what's the rationale of peaking so early, hitting up 70 x 70 last weekend when the ride is like 2 months away. We are somewhat getting weary of dedicating our entire weekend to training but want to enjoy STP too and not SAG out of it. Our biggest hurdle is saddle sores the next day, not so much fatigue. Should we just stick to the training schedule or do you guys think we can take some slack?

Thanks

i think their schedules are covering all bases, e.g. the lowest common denominator.

so the training schedule might be set up for someone who has never done anything over 30 miles before. for them, it would make sense to do such a heavy load of training.

so if you're doing 70x70 and feeling ok afterwards, you should be fine. of course you'll want to keep general fitness up, but you don't need to do that each weekend.

maybe they put those out so far to make sure people have time to try again, in case it was too hard? just a guess.

Sounds like you're way ahead of the game. Especially on the tandem I'd just do it in one day. Getting back on the bike on day 2 is no fun :)

I'm pretty sure I'll have to "go rogue" and do the 1 day on my lonesome this year. My typical group is flaking/wussing out and wants to ride the 2 day :(

I'm pretty sure I'll have to "go rogue" and do the 1 day on my lonesome this year. My typical group is flaking/wussing out and wants to ride the 2 day :(

for the one day option, personally i think the doing it solo is the way to go. i did it with a friend a few years back and his training wasn't at the same level as mine, so i had to hold back a lot. and stop, a lot.

plus, you'll be able to brag and say "i did stp all by myself!"

I rode alone, or as alone as one can get on a ride with 9500 people, last year for the 1 day option. Intentionally avoided the packs and pacelines, and just did my own thing. (I did take a draft for about 2 miles off a crew around the 180 mile mark.) I think that was the best way to enjoy that ride, and having done a few 150+ mile rides on my own since then, I still think that solo is the best way to enjoy the ride. I enjoy chatting with people for a little while, but mostly I like the quiet and the scenery.