Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - STP one-day tips?

My big goal for 2010 is to complete the Seattle to Portland bike ride in one day. Does anyone have any tips particular to this ride, or general doulbe century hints? My current group is three, and we plan to do some long rides together prior to get used to riding paceline and swapping pulls. Two of us have done 200k plus days before, the third has a successful century behind him. The reccomended mileages on the double century training guides I have looked at seem plenty doable, but are there other issues beside just the miles that start to come up on longer rides?

thanks in advance

Your fit on the bike is the biggest issue. As the miles start adding up the little issues that pester you on a shorter ride can become ride enders on longer rides. STP is pretty flat and a relatively easy double. There are lots of fast pacelines. You three should have a lot of fun.

With about 1500 other riders doing STP in one day, you'll have no trouble finding pacelines. Take it easy at first, don't try to jump in the fastest groups or you'll be worn out before Centralia. Go at your own steady pace for the first couple of hours. By that point, you'll be in the group of riders matching your own natural pace so hop in a paceline if you feel like it. Don't spend too much time at the rest stops. Just eat, pee, refill the water bottles, and go. If you're on the tail end of riders, note that much of the food will be gone by the time you arrive, so plan accordingly (there are a number of gas stations/convenience stores along the route if you get too hungry). As Homeyba said, STP is mostly flat and a lot of fun.

If you can do a 200k+ day and not feel totally wiped, then STP shouldn't be an issue. Pace yourself, eat and hydrate properly, and don't dawdle at the stops.
If you can, pass on the first couple stops and use that time to gain some gap between you and the rest of the crowd. That way the rest stops will be less crowded when you do need to pit. That first stop at the 20-ish mile mark is a madhouse, with people losing upwards of 20 minutes waiting in line to use the port-o-johns if you don't get there in the first couple start waves.

With about 1500 other riders doing STP in one day,

More like 3500 one day riders.

Wow, that's really increased then. I did STP 3 times (1998-2000) and back then I remember there were only about 1500 one day riders.

Wow, that's really increased then. I did STP 3 times (1998-2000) and back then I remember there were only about 1500 one day riders.

Last time I did STP (mid '80s IIRC), it was the 10th anniversary edition - strictly limited to 10,000 riders. Even doing the 1-day ride, it was a constant crowd scene the entire 200mi. Ugh. No thank you, please.

SP
Bend, OR

Go to bed very early Thursday and Friday nights. Get up very early Friday morning. That will help with getting some rest Friday night.

I've always gotten to the parking lot plenty early and tried to get myself into one of the early waves. Then I'd go pretty good, as fast as was safe, and try to get ahead of the bozos. That's ignoring the advice of all the folks who'll tell you to take it easy at the start. The object of this game is to be cruising along at a nice pace after about the first 10 miles, just waiting for a lovely paceline to come along about 2mph faster than you're going, so you can grab on. If that one's too fast, drop off and wait for another one. It's amazing how much faster you can ride on the back than pushing the wind yourself. Don't be shy.

Your first problem will be losing contact with each other in the melee after the start. It's a difficult start, the roads are not the best, it'll be dark, islands will appear out of nowhere, there will be slow riders on the left, etc. So if you really intend to do this as a group, establish a meeting spot at a particular rest stop and wait for each other there.

Another thing that can go wrong is that your preferred foodstuff or drink can fail you. You just can't choke it down. So keep an open mind and be ready to branch out. Try to analyze what's going wrong and what you can do about it. A lot of the time it's not enough salt. Maybe some pretzels and you'll be fine again. Or maybe what's in your bottles is too sweet and you aren't drinking enough because of that, so you're both dehydrated and undercaloried.

My comments here are more for those interested in turning in a good time. I do think it's safer the closer to the front you can be - you get a better class of rider. If you go pretty good at the start, the wobblies and the folks who are riding way over their heads will be gone in the first 20 miles and you won't see them again.

Another good tactic if pacelines fail you is to look for some guy the size of a refrigerator, get on his wheel and take a nice rest, then go again when you feel better.

Another thing I'll do is put an absolute limit on my HR on the climbs, maybe 4-6 beats below LT. If I get dropped, I get dropped. Usually I find the droppers again, a bit further up the road.

If the three of you are riding your own paceline, you'll have to decide whether or not to let others work in. Obviously it saves energy to drop all the way back, but sometimes pacelines split and you'll get separated. If you're concerned about it, just drop back to your group's last wheel and point to your spot. They'll let you in. But I've usually dropped all the way back. I'm a wussy. But without your group pulling, maybe they'll be too slow, so you'll have to get your group together and attack. I've usually seen a fair bit of fluidity.

You may encounter pacelines with a rear guard, who will not let you in. It's OK to draft the guard. Their riders will pull in in front of the guard.

Work on your aero position. Save energy. Ride in the drops if you are first or second rider. Don't pull more than 3 minutes.

Find a local fast group ride, and ride with them this spring and summer. You'll want to do 70-80 mile group rides that are fast enough to do you some damage. Work up to 200 mile weeks. It's not necessary to have ridden over a century, all at once.

Don't do anything to your bike except pump the tires that last week. Do any maintenance a couple weeks before. Deflate your tires and check them for glass, then pump back up. Or run new tires and tubes.

Eat a sandwich at Lexington and take a little rest, but not too long.

Just gut it out on the bridge. Hardly anyone ever gets killed on it, even though that seems likely.

If the weather's good, you should be able to absolutely fly from the bridge to Portland. That's when I get after it and put the hurt on my legs.

Enjoy! It's a lot of fun. Always reminds me of salmon migrating.

Wow, that's really increased then. I did STP 3 times (1998-2000) and back then I remember there were only about 1500 one day riders.
I rode it last year and there were just over 3000 1 day riders.


Last time I did STP (mid '80s IIRC), it was the 10th anniversary edition - strictly limited to 10,000 riders. Even doing the 1-day ride, it was a constant crowd scene the entire 200mi. Ugh. No thank you, please.
They're upping the cap this year to 10,000 riders. I figured out last year (with a 9,500 rider cap) that if they evenly spaced riders along the course, it would be 1 rider every 112 feet for 203 solid miles.
I'm glad I rode it once for the experience, but I'm not a party crowd guy so I won't be doing it again.

Another good tactic if pacelines fail you is to look for some guy the size of a refrigerator, get on his wheel and take a nice rest, then go again when you feel better.


That would be me. But at least let me know you're back there. And buy me a beer when I get to Portland several hours after you. :-)

Start with the first wave, at 4:45am.

Control yourself, ride your own ride. Don't worry about those who are hopped up on adrenaline, let them drop you.

As stated, ignore the stops before Puyallup or Spanaway.

Don't overeat at Centralia.

Don't worry about your speeds dropping significantly during the second half. This is normal, and you'll still have plenty of time to make Portland before nightfall.

Don't be too anxious, you guys will do fine.

great advice, carbonfiberboy!

<>
Don't overeat at Centralia.

<>And fergodsake, take the wrapper off the muffin before you eat it, unlike me.

Thanks for the tips so far. Based on what i saw in '08 riding STP as a two day, I had planned to skip the "official" aid station to avoid the crowds and lost time there.

Thus far, I have found I have pretty much of an iron stomach on the bike as long as i stay away from too many sweets. I've been using a product called Nuun in the water bottles as an electrolyte replacement since most of the sports drinks are too sweet for me, but that means getting calorie replacement elsewhere.

I am considering getting a triathlete style behind the seat 2-bottle cage to augment the current cages, and a small handlebar bag to keep foodstuff at hand on the ride, again trying to minimize the need for stops. Sound reasonable?

I am not incredibly fast, but I have found that I can usually establish a reasonable pace and keep going. this will be my longest challenge of that to date. Maybe try a rando series next year.

Thanks again.

Those triathlete cages can be notorious for ejecting bottles. You might remember in 2008 the bike path detour between Yelm and Tenino was in pretty rough shape (although it was smooth this year.) I saw one rider lose a bottle and almost cause a pileup by slamming on his brakes and pulling a quick u-turn. There are also those expansion joints on the Longview bridge that cause many ejections.

For me personally, I have concluded that I prefer to carry only two bottles of water. Slightly less weight, but more importantly in the hot afternoon, getting refills of COLD water more frequently.

This year, my sole source of supplemental on-board nutrition will probably be a 8 oz softflask (flip top) of espresso Hammer Gel, for use during the last 70 miles or so.

A hydration pack might be a better solution. I don't like using them on longer rides but for a short double century one might be the perfect solution.

Jasper Storm, now that you mention it I do remember that stretch, and plenty of bottles on the road other places as well. Agree on the Hammer Espresso gel, it is one of the few I can stomach.

Homeyba, what do you consider a long ride? :) I realize a double century is shorter than many brevets, but I'm still not sure that makes it short. But, I may change my mind after riding it. At one point, 100k was a long ride for me.

...Homeyba, what do you consider a long ride? :) I realize a double century is shorter than many brevets, but I'm still not sure that makes it short. But, I may change my mind after riding it. At one point, 100k was a long ride for me.

I forget myself sometimes ;) It's 115 miles for me to ride "around" the block... I do a lot of ultra races as well as brevets.

By Homeyba's right in a way: STP is a short double compared to others. Probably the easiest double out there. Only about 3000' of climbing, usually tailwinds, and on a flat ride like that, lots of people to hide behind. 10 saddle hours is very achievable for reasonably fast recreational riders.

Yep, it ranks up there in the easy department with the Solvang double. :) Both, very enjoyable, "relatively" easy rides.

Okay, I read a few of Homeyba's posts on other threads, now I understand why he considers 200 miles a short ride.

I stand in awe.

Okay, I read a few of Homeyba's posts on other threads, now I understand why he considers 200 miles a short ride.

I stand in awe.

I appreciate the thought but you don't need to stand in awe. My wife certainly doesn't! I'm just another guy who likes to ride and race his bike...just a little further than most people. :)

My two coppers of insight:

1. The UW start line is one big cluster. Start there once and never again. The old kingdome start could handle traffic -much- better. It's funny how many Eastsiders you see starting from their houses and connecting up at the Renton Airport.

2. Make your first stop in Spanaway. (Said by many previous posters)

3. Keep the heart rate low until the Spanaway stop.

4. The most dangerous section for pace lines I have seen is along the Fort Lewis 507. It's flat, straight and a massive shoulder

5. Crossing the Columbia bridge as a one day rider is not enjoyable. Please, please ride it strong for the sake of all the other riders. I really hate it when I get behind a sketchy tanked person.

6. Remember the STP is an EASY 200 ;-)

Carefully wrap the other half of your subway sandwich so it doesn't all fall out on the road when you pull it out of your back pocket for a snack.

And for sure, if you drop that sandwich halfway up on of those 'rolling' hills, don't turn around and scrape what's left of it off the road 'cause your hungry and it's all you've got....:rolleyes:

I LOVE STP! It is one of favorite organized rides.

I agree with Carbonfiberboy in that your biggest challenge in the first 100 miles is to arrive in Centralia safely. Most of the people who have little group riding experience stop in Centralia for the night, so the 2nd 100 miles feels safer to me.

I have seen three HORRIFIC wrecks in my two years doing STP One Day.
1) 2006: In a huge group about 15 miles before centralia...a woman ran into the rear wheel of a rider and went down into the crowd...we were doing about 21. She was about 10 people ahead of me but I still hit her on the ground. I ran over her shoulder so hard that it blew the tire off of my front wheel. She was pretty mad at me but I really could not have avoided her without causing others to wreck. I felt horrible about it.
2) 2006: A dude in his aero bars (STUPID, STUPID, STUPID) swerved in front of another 3 riders. All 4 went down and the leading rider of the trailing 3 shattered his clavecle. It was kind of sickening.
3) 2008: Coming into St Helens...a guy was lying face down in the center of the highway looking dead and all crumpled up...he was making choking sounds on his tounge and others around him were trying to get his airway clear. There were 20 or 30 riders around him so we just moved on...thinking it was the safest thing to do....others were piled up in bloody heaps off of the road all around him...it was sobering.

I have to get to a meeting....I will post more about real tips later.

Alright, enough blood and gore...here are some of my tips for what they are worth.

1) Can't agree enough with the comments about getting in and getting out of the rest areas.
In planning before the event you can make all the rules you want about time limits, etc; but something about fatique mixed with food and socializing makes it possible for 25 minutes to go by without hardly even noticing it. Add this up over 8 or so breaks and you have about 3 hours off the bike in the middle of your double century. Watch out for the Black Holes of time.....swinging into a gas station for a drink and not getting out of there for 1/2 hour. That kind of thing. Both times I have done it we rip along at about 21-25 mph and pass the same old guys crusing along time and time again. They are working much less than we are and simply managing their rest times better.

2) If there is someone in the group you are riding with that seems unsafe/unpredictable...slow up and wait for the next group or speed up and catch the tail of the group 50 yards ahead of you. There will always be another one coming along. The crowds on this ride cannot be imagined until you do it.

3) Unless you are in the front 20 riders or so, avoid those high speed trains of 100-150 riders. They are oh-so-much fun...but crazy dangerous when you take everyone's inherent risk and multiply it by the number of riders in front of you. I looked back at one time and we were leading a group of 100 or so WAY above 25 mph.

4) Eat and drink more than you want to but not all at once. Just keep the intake pretty constant. If this is your first double, the entire game is pretty much about nutrition and hydration after 70 miles or so. There is no way you can digest the amount of calories you are expending so you need to make sure you are getting about 250 calories per hour in (YMMV).

5) Anticipate where the photo ops are going to be and make sure you are leading a huge pack of riders as you come around the bend....makes for great photos ;) LOL

Have fun....I try to do STP every couple of years because it is so much fun. Just be aware that your day can be ruined by a yahoo pretty quickly and always be cognisant of those around you.

[QUOTE=Jasper Storm;10209606]Those triathlete cages can be notorious for ejecting bottles. You might remember in 2008 the bike path detour between Yelm and Tenino was in pretty rough shape (although it was smooth this year.) I saw one rider lose a bottle and almost cause a pileup by slamming on his brakes and pulling a quick turn. u-

That wasn't 2008 by a guy on a yellow softride right after a set of horizontal tracks about 60 miles in, was it? I was right there and I hate to admit that guy was in our group. Nice guy though. Boy, he just about creamed a lot of people, though.

My father just about pulled the same move this year at the MOAB century. Luckily he came to his senses and just let everyone ride over it.

+1 on previous recommendations.
We rode it last year. Great ride. see post http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?561805-Seattle-Portland-Ride
It rained and hailed the second day, so we are glad we opted for the one day option. A couple of suggestions (if not already full). Stay at the Hotel Deca. It is only a couple of blocks from the start. Just ride out of the hotel and go down to the start. It will be really backed up with cars going down the hill, so use the sidewalk. Allow 20 minutes.
Secondly, drive the first couple of miles to get a feel for the course. There are some narrow streets, roundabouts and hairpin turns prior to getting to Lake Washington. People are amped up to get going and some don't have a lot of bike handling skills. There were a few crashes. Also, watch out for water bottles and people pulled over with blown tires. Maintenance on some of the bikes is pretty bad.
Thirdly, know how to paceline and beware of those that don't know how. You can get into big trouble in the first 100 miles. After Centralia, people riding it in a day generally know what they are doing. Also watch out for railroad tracks that run about 30º off the road line. Someone else will know what I am talking about and where the bad ones are. I saw some really bad crashes where people dropped their front wheel into the track space and gor tossed headfirst off the high side.
Third, if you are not used to riding in the rain (what's rain?) consider entering another event as a backup. We were going to do the Death Ride again if STP got rained out. We sold our Death Ride slots in a heartbeat when we found out the weather was going to be good for STP.
Don't know where you are from, but Solvang has a century and a double on the same day in SoCA later in the year.

I usually do this ride in two days. I ride for fun. I like the social aspects of this ride. However, I have known quite a few people attempt a one day ride and eventually DNF (Do Not Finish). The most common physical complaints are low back pain and arm and shoulder issues. I would suggest you consider doing 100 push ups per day for a month or two prior to this ride to increase upper body strength.

Lots of good recommendations. I met VaultGuru at the Deca and Yes, I agree it is the best place to stay. I elected not to start at the starting line to make it easier for me. I started at 4:00 am at the hotel. The staff is friendly and were not too concerned about bringing in a tandem to the 8th floor in the elevator [yes it fit but upright only]. They had a special room for bikes if you wanted to keep them down below. From my understanding it was not bad. We kinda got lost in the dark at the beginning so I would think it is a good idea to check the route at the beginning.
Keep a good pace, do not loose track of time, and watch your HR. The rest was fun and enjoyable.