Bike enthusiast

Anyone doing the STP in the Northwest? It's a good 204 mile ride. It's near Seattle so I am reluctant to ride in the rain for that long ...... Just kidding, I live there (Go Hawks and Huskies!!!).

https://www.cascade.org/EandR/stp/index.cfm

Any past experiences and tips?

Thanks,

55/Rad

Great ride - my favorite. Done it 3 times in one day, though I missed it the last 2 years.

Mash Master

Check out the Pacific Northwest forum lots of us have done it. It is a great experience, a personal triumph. It is not always rainy, it was wonderfully sunny this year. It is a long way if you it in one day but not too bad. The two day is a total party I've heard. I did it in one day and I will always be proud of the fact that I completed a double century in one day.

Go for it! I started training in March and was plenty ready for it. I never rode more that 25 miles in a day until I started training for it.

unixd0od

I've done it the past two years and always enjoy it. It's become a regular event for the road club I'm with and each year a bunch of guys all drive down for the ride. The first year I did it in two days, last year I did it in one day (just shy of 11 hours ride time). This year due to some health issues I think I'll be doing it in two days again; that way I also get to spend more time at the beer garden too.

DinoShepherd

I'm in for a one day ride.

Should we reserve rooms now?

Mash Master

Yes! you can always cancel the hotel booking.

55/Rad

Dino - you and me baby...we are riding together on this one next year. Lets set some goals!

Bike enthusiast

Three times in one day! That's awesome... I'll probably skip this year though and start next year. Too many college issues right now and not enough time to train. I've been off the saddle for about a month now since I left my bike at my house for the summer..... Just got her to my apartment yesterday! - let the fun begin.

55/Rad

The ride is in July...plenty of time to get ready.

Bike enthusiast

Yeah I know, my furthest ride has only been 50 miles.... Two hundred seems far off!!!! I'll definately try to put in some time though.

Mash Master

You can do it! Just start slow and add 10 miles each saturday.

Patriot

Boy, would I love to do it again.

Even better the next time around. Better trained, and better prepared.

Tourmalet

That didn't quite come out the way you intended, eh?

Riding 600 miles in one day is quite a feat!

He finished a one-day STP three times. As opposed to a two-day STP when riders spend the night half way between Seattle and Portland.

I have not attempted STP yet. My personal record is just 70 miles. But when I got back home I felt like I could have gone another 30, so a 2-day STP is not out of the question for me.

DinoShepherd

OK, I will get with Rad and figure out the hotel deal. If someone has a connection in Seattle at someplace nice, that would be great. Otherwise, my bike and I are riding to the nearest Marriott.

I have toured, but never done a point to point like this before. The challenge seems to be getting one's @ss and bike up to Seattle with the minimum amount of stuff and then travel as light as possible.

I imagine the logistics look something like this.

I. Get to Seattle
- Amtrak or sympathetic sucker (I mean friend/spouse). I am leaning toward the train. Alaska also has a super-cheap shuttle that runs like 30 times a day.
- Like to get there kind of early, get settled. Bike checks, check out sites, hit Fish Throwers, etc...

II. Get to hotel
- We do have bikes, so this shouldn't be an issue.

III. Packing list
- My initial plan is to pack VERY, VERY light. Just what I need to survive overnight. And then mail it back to myself from the front desk of the hotel.

IV. Ride gear list
- Seems like there are lots of stops along the way, so food/water should not be critical.
- Is the full route supported for the one-day riders?
- My thought is to keep all the crap on the bike (as opposed to a CamelBack or Hipsack) and just to run one of those silly little frame bags to hold snivel gear.
- Seems the only issue with holding gear is whatever clothes we strip off from the morning. Otherwise a standard loadout. (cellphone, couple tubes, patch kit, multi-tool)

V. Bike Choice
How are the roads/pace? My initial thought is to bring the MTB on slicks or the c-cross bike. However, it sure seems like the right thing to do is to hook onto the big pack hammer dogs at the beginning of the event and hold on until PDX.

VI. One or two day
I definitely recommend the one-day. I have never woken up the day after a century and said to myself, "That was great, I really feel like doing it again, say.... right now".

Once you hit one hundred miles, you might as well keep going.

iansir

One day is the way to go. Anyone can ride a century, and the double only takes a little bit of training (and a bit more suffering). I had a blast this year at STP.

RedVVing19

I just bought my first road bike a month ago and I hope to do the stp next year. Right now ive done ~100 miles on the bike and I'm still not totally comfortable on it but hope to do lots of training after december

EffSizzle

Wow, it's late October and we're already talking STP...I like it!

I'm participating in my first STP in '08. I understand the feeling of accomplishment one must get after completing the ride in one day, but I heard the 2 day is more fun.

racer21

Not out of the question at all. If you can ride 70 miles in a day, then you can do the 2 day STP. You may want to make sure you get in some back to back rides prior to STP, just so you'll know how you feel starting out on day 2.

Also the hotels are starting to fill up at the mid way point. Something to think about for those doing it in 2 days.

Coyote2

I'm planning to do it in '08 - one day all the way.

My wife and I will drive almost 2000 miles out there to visit her family...We'll make it a leisurely trip, so I can ride a new place each day. Then after hanging around in WA for a few days, I'll do STP and meet her in Portland - hopefully!

Seattle has a rep as rainy, but statistically, STP occurs at the time when it rains the least out there...So I'm hoping for the best.

Coyote2

Say, somebody tell me: what hotel is decent and near the start line?

DinoShepherd

Rad and I will be looking into this. Will advise. You'll have to define "near" for me.

Because, you know, we'll have bikes and a few extra miles on a 200 mile ride is probably OK, right...?

Watch this space.

-Z

Phantoj

I did it (the one day) this year. I rode it with four other guys. Two or three of them had only been riding for a year or so, and hadn't racked up a whole lot of miles, and didn't follow any particular training plan, other than riding a lot in May for the Cascade commuter challenge. But they did OK. Based on this, I'd say that if you're reasonably fit, you have plenty of time to get ready for a one-day STP.

With long distance riding, if you ride at a mellow pace, and eat well, the only thing can can cause you trouble is discomfort related to fit and equipment. So if you can figure out how to eat & ride (i.e. what foods work for you, what foods make you sick), and can resolve your comfort issues, you will be fine.

I used a handlebar bag, and stocked it with a camera, lots of gels and a little candy. It was good.


I found the STP a bit anticlimactic, because I rode with riders who were not as strong as I, so I found myself holding back the whole time to keep from breaking up the group. Also, I felt like my riding mates dawdled too long at the rest stops. Personally, I had more fun on the 85-mile Tour de Blast ride - more interesting scenery, better terrain, less traffic, much better eats, and I rode with a stronger and faster group. Not to mention the logistic simplicity of an out-and-back ride.

I am leaving the Pacific Northwest, and I don't plan on doing the STP again any time soon. If I flew up here for an organized ride, I think it would be RAMROD.

marqueemoon

I've done it twice. The first time in two days and the second in one day. Get a decent number of miles with your butt on the saddle beforehand and you'll do fine.

My advice is start as early as you can stand and skip the first major REI food stop. It's a major bottleneck. The more you can stay ahead of the masses, the better. Also, the first 10 miles or so are the sketchiest. The rollers and the long, lonely stretches later in the ride are the toughest so don't use up all your energy in the first half of the ride. If you're doing two days try to get as much of the ride out of the way in the first as you can.

The much-touted Puyallup hill is a piece of cake provided you're not trying to set any speed records. The toughest part of that climb is picking a line when people are weaving all over the place around you. Ride at your own pace and stay out of trouble and you'll have a great time.

myclem

hot damn! 3 times in a single day? that's 612 miles! you're my hero.

Bike enthusiast

RAMROD? I don't think I can do 10,000ft over 150miles in one day......