Jman007

how many of you have ridden the the STP? How did you prepare?

mattm

i've done it three times now, it's a great ride. are you planning a one-day or two-day adventure?

for me, training started out with 30-50 mile weekend rides during the winter, and continuing through the spring.

then in the summer time, kick it up to 70 mile rides on the weekends, and eventually at least one 120-150 mile ride (if you plan on doing it one day).

the cascade site has a much more structured training program here: https://www.cascade.org/EandR/stp/stp_mileage.cfm

i think the hardest parts are:

1) eating the right foods (that work for you)
2) conditioning your butt to sit on a saddle for half a day or more

luckily you've got quite a while to figure all this out!

Jman007

as of right now I would to try and pull it off in one day. Thanks for the link. Are there any groups that ride together to prepare for this.

cheg

Cascade has a couple of groups that train together for one day STP, check here. The Cycle Tuesday crowd are serious hammerheads that train for fast pacelines on STP. It's a good idea to look at the recommended mileage on the STP web page for some general guidance. You don't really have to follow it to the letter. I've done STP 4 times, two one day rides on a single bike, one two day on a tandem, and a one day on a tandem. Most of my prep for the first time was a lot of bike commuting, like 4 days/week, and some weekend metric century and century rides. I think I did a couple of centuries and 4 or 5 metric centuries between Chilly Hilly and STP that year.

There are a ton of rides in the Seattle area to pick from. A good reference is here.

Have fun with it. It's quite a spectacle and about a flat as any long ride as you will find in the Northwest.

dbikingman

I am considering doing the STP too. I will be doing it in two days and have a place to stay along the route. What recommendations for the night prior to the start and getting to the start is there an official start or is it more of a rolling when you get there type of thing?

Daveyboy

++1. Apart from proper conditioning, the most important part is eating & drinking enough of the right foods. You'll really want to have that aspect nailed down well before the ride. Take time to find what does and doesn't work for you on your longer training rides (4+ hours).

I've done it twice, both times in one day. The longest I had ridden this year at one time was 110 miles in June (Flying Wheels + some.) But I had ridden a total of about 2,200 miles in 2008 before the STP - it helps to have some miles under your wheels. A large part of the ride is mental - having the fortitude to keep pushing yourself when you just don't feel like being on the bike anymore.

Also, while the course is "relatively" flat, be prepared for lot's of rolling hills in the second 100 miles. Cascade's official total elevation is about 2,000' - but it's probably more like twice that. The first year I made the mistake of really hammering the first 100 miles (we rolled into Centralia at about 10:30) only to die on the rolling hills in the hot afternoon sun. So, pacing yourself is also important.

Good luck, it's a pretty cool feeling when you roll across that finish line knowing what you just accomplished in one day!

abadoki

Jman, if your in the Seattle/Tacoma area, Cascade has a great training program, call the Cascade Training Series. CTS starts in March with a slow, easy ride and each week they increase the length and difficulty of the rides. There are 5 different pace groups, so you can pick one that your comfortable with. If, it's either too fast or too slow, you can move up or back. The Red group is the slowest pace (11–12 mph), Yellow is (12-14 mph), Green is (14–16 mph), Blue (16-18 mph) and Orange is (18+ mph). I'm one of the ride leaders and this year lead both Yellow and Green. All though next year, I planning on riding with Blue. A riding buddy and I are planning on doing STP in 1 day. Hope this helps and check back on Cascades web site for more information on CTS.

Jeff Wills

I've done STP a couple times as two-day events. I've stayed overnight in Vader- the Assembly of God church offers indoor space for sleeping bags and an unending feast. (Which is quite a feat with gangs of hungry cyclists descending upon them. However, they were serving homemade pies and cakes for breakfast Sunday morning.) Vader is at about 130 miles on the route, which makes the second day quite easy.

The official start is at the University of Washington. You might want to start a little later (6AM-ish) since the one-day riders tend to make the first couple waves very crowded. The very first (4:45AM to 5:15AM) waves are reserved for one-day riders, after that people are let off in groups of about 200.

The U of W dorms are decent lodging for the night before, and they're a couple minutes from the start line.

There are busses to the dorms from Portland on Friday (run by the Portland Wheelmen) or busses back to Seattle on Sunday (run by Cascade Bicycle Club). Take your pick.

CliftonGK1

I did it this year for the first time, and as a one-day ride.

For preparation I did a lot hilly century rides (so flatter rides would seem like a cakewalk), and the longest ride I did in preparation was a 200km (125 miles).

Make sure you're properly fitted to your bike, because a one-day ride will take anywhere from 11 (fast) to 15 (moderate) hours. Even a slight maladjustment can become a majour pain after 10-12 hours.
Learn how much you need to eat, and what you can stomach for 13 or so hours. Some people can eat anything. Others, like me, can survive on gels and Clif bars for the whole ride. Figure out what you need to stay hydrated, and whether or not you'll be taking in calories via liquids. I used a combination (Accelerade, Clif bars and Accel Gels) and only used the rest stops for filling my water bottles.
Learn to pace yourself. This was my biggest challenge. Early in the year I couldn't help from burning myself out by 75 or 80 miles into attempted 125 mile rides. I'd feel good, and go out too fast... Learn your "all day pace" early in your training, and learn to stick to it.

ericgu

If you feel pretty comfortable doing a century, STP one-day isn't that hard to do. The biggest challenge is nutrition and hydration. You can make mistakes on a century and not have them effect you very much in a century, but they may kill you on a double. I had a great first century two years ago and a horrible last 80 miles. Turns out I was down on salt, and was hyponatremic. Nothing like riding by yourself and being miserable for 5 hours.

So, figure that out ahead of time.

As a comparison, STP one day is pretty easy compared to a ride like ramrod, as long as you can pace yourself and not be stupid in the first century.

Oroluk Lagoon

Both of you ought to use the "Search" feature and search this forum for old threads on the subject "STP" or "Seattle to Portland". There is a wealth of great tips and info to be found.

I stayed overnight in my van at the Start and my wife drove it to an RV park near Vader. By going 130 miles on the first day, the 70-mile second day feels much easier by comparison. Plus the RV park is at the top of that nasty 12% grade coming out of Vader, so I had that behind me as well.

I arrived at Vader at 1:30, so probably could have done the one-day relatively easily. Maybe next year.

moleman76

https://www.cascade.org/Community/for...es.cfm?catid=7 Cascade Bicycle Club's Community Forums has a topic for their rides, including, as you would expect, many questions and comments and good information on the STP.
This year, it was hot ... temps at the 150-mile mark into the 90's. A little different for most of us from the wet side of the mountains.
If you do any organized rides as part of your training -- a good idea, if you haven't been on the road with 100's of other cyclists, just to get used to anticipating where others might steer their bikes -- try to do at least one where a goal is to cut your stays at the rest stops as short as possible. Think of it like a 2-minute drill in football; the goal being to give yourself as much time, during daylight, to pedal those 204 mile.

Jman007

Thank you all so much, I really appreciate all of your suggestions and links.

CliftonGK1

Not 100's... Thousands. They're considering upping the rider cap next year to 10,000 people. While I had fun with the ride this year, I'm not making plans to go back again because of how many people there are. I didn't have any problems with the standard scary things you hear about (newbs riding paceline on their aerobars, etc.) but I'm just not a fan of the huge crowds.

One of the best things is definitely to make those rest stops as short as possible, and if you can pass up the first two of them, then go for it. It will give you a distance advantage by rolling past the first couple of stops, where everyone is rolling in for coffee, hanging out and chatting, regrouping their giant crew which got split up through the U-district right after the start, fixing random stuff on their bike which wasn't adjusted properly, and so on.
I didn't hit up a rest area for anything aside from bottle refills until around the 60 mile mark. This gave me to opportunity to get out of the clumped up gaggles of riders, and settle into a steady pace where I wasn't surrounded by a dozen people.

Best hint (IMO): The smaller rest stops typically have fewer port-o-lets, but they're less frequented. You can hit up the smaller stops for a bio-break without having to wait 10 minutes in line for the toilet. Fill your at the big "sponsored stops" where they'll have all the free goodies. Empty out at the little stops where there's no line for the can.

dbikingman

I appreciate the links and information. I don't know how I feel about a ride this big, but I have to give it a try, I won't be in a hurry and just enjoy the adventure. I know I will do the ride in two days thats a given. I have family that lives along the route, my brother lives just North of Winlock and that will probably be my goal for the first day getting me past the half way mark.

moleman76

Very true, but in my one-day experiences, you only have that sensation at the start, when there are 750 other bike-nuts standing around at 0445 waiting for the start. Once people start rolling out, you're really only aware of the other riders around you, and maybe the really quick ones ahead of you. The other 9,450 of them aren't going to crash into you anyway. However, from the pictures I've seen, it does get more dense among the two-day groups. Starting the second day with "only" 80 miles or so to go is a good idea.

If your "Fircrest" is the locale near Tacoma, you could incorporate much of the STP route from Puyallup to Tenino in some extended training rides. You can download the map from Cascade's site and/or find various tracings of it at bikely.com and other places.

drdoodlebug

I'm riding STP this year and am looking for anyone to share car transportation from Salt Lake City, Utah to Seattle. If you know anyone interested please have them drop me a line. Also, if anyone has suggestions on other boards to post about this, I'm open to advice.

VaultGuru

This will be our first STP and plan to do it on one day. My good friend and riding buddy is slightly taller than my wife, so I can easily adjust our tandem to fit him. We are both preparing for the Death Ride (as an alternate), so lots of hills and saddle time.
I have read about the paceline crashes so I am listening closely to any and all of you regarding your recommendations regarding getting in a paceline early in the journey. I'm thinking around 60 miles might be a safe time to join up. Comments?

FlowerBlossom

You mean, at the 60-mile mark, join up with a pace line?

I don't see the logic of this. Sure, there's a ton of bunching up at the beginning, but, it's not necessarily bunching-up that causes the problems. Even seasoned veterans of the STP can crash in a paceline.

I rode most of the way solo, i.e., w/o a paceline, except once I found myself at the tail end of a paceline that lasted for about 3 miles. It passed me and then did not maintain speed---I caught up to it but could not pass. I kept a half-bike distance minimum, and finally lost it at a rest stop.

If you train properly, including hills as part of your training, you'll do fine w/o a paceline.

VaultGuru

Good advice FB. I was thinking that most of the testosterone might be gone by 60 miles. Might be relatively safe after that.

gageplate

Wow thanks for all the info. I am also signed up for the STP (first time). I am planning on doing it in two days with my stop just pass the halfway point. I am thinking of getting a hotel room for my wife and kid. Anybody have some suggestions for where to stay and somewhat cheap. Like i said i know i want to go past the halfway mark. Somebody had once said to stop in a certain town just before you hit a hill. Sugested hitting the hill on the second day when you are well rested. Thanks

Luwin1026

I did it back in 2007 in one-day, and it was my first century/double at the same time. It was an ordeal flying up there the day before and my bike being missing and not turning up until the wee morning hours the day of, but it all adds to the adventure at the end of the day.

The first 100 miles weren't bad at all, and pretty much the only real climb is a short hill in Puyallup (if I remember correctly). The hardest for me were the "middle" miles around 110-150ish - the rollers, and a large part of it is mental. A lot of good suggestions offered up here - make sure you figure out which energy bars/gel/drinks/etc. work for you before the ride instead of trying new things that day.

It's a ton of fun, and I'm leaning towards doing it again this year. But I'm going to fly up a few days prior this time around.

moleman76

Centralia is halfway, Chehalis is about 5 STP miles further along, and the climb up to Napavine starts about 7 miles after that - half a mile long but seems longer in the middle of a one-day attempt.

So -- start searching for Chehalis lodgings now - they may be sold out already. You might be able to stay somewhere nearby / off to the side of the route / and have your support team shuttle you to and from the place where you spend the night.

sharkey00

Well if you don't mind a bit of camping you can sleep on the baseball field in Chehalis. It is a great place to stay (has a community pool, showers, and some kind of food available). You really can't beat the price ( $0 dollars) and availability (plop your tent down wherever you please).

Daveyboy

I remember reading about some poor guy that had to put his bike together the night before STP after his flight up from LA was delayed. Ouch.