The B

Howdy

Didn't get registered for the STP in time... missed it by about a week (must have been drunk). Now my pregnant wife's August due-date is causing me to miss out on some other big rides, and mid-July is probably about the latest I'm going to be able to get away for anything epic.

Surely people do this...? Ride the route, mix and match with different groups, hit up 7/11s and Plaid Pantries along the way

j-law

The ride is on public streets and paths. Nothing stopping you from doing it that way.

Congrats on the kiddo.

The B

Thanks! It's a girl. Kinda scared.

Anyone wanna ronin this **** with me? Single-daying it, want to try to finished close to the front.. will be difficult without any support.

Black wallnut 

There are reasons for the field limit of 10,000 riders. Buy a bib on craigslist or wait until next year.

The B

Didn't rrealize that was an option.... good lookin' out! I'll watch for it.

B. Carfree

Yes, the event is limited to 10,000. However, there is no limit on the number of people not affiliated with the event who choose to use the public roads. The event needs to take care of their own; other road users are on their own.

Personally, I rather enjoy seeing people ride their bikes. Obviously, some folks feel differently about it.

daihard 

This year's STP jerseys and shorts are still available on Cascade's website.

Black wallnut 

Who says otherwise? I like to see folks ride their bikes. Do you go to open air concerts and stand outside the gate? Riding along the route at the same time as an organized ride to me seems the same. Hundreds of hours of volunteer time to make this event happen and safe for the participants who nearly all pay an entry fee and you think it is acceptable to tag along benefiting from the experience just because the venue is a public space? To me that is like going to the public library and reading over someones shoulder after all it is a public book.

karenashg

Another option is doing the STP route, but on a different weekend. For fun and for training, my husband rode it earlier this year, leaving in the evening and riding through the night, then riding the train back the next day. There's also Jan Heine's alternate route: Seattle to Portland through the Backdoor | Off The Beaten Path

Yes, they're public roads, but if you ride on the STP weekend, you are going to use and benefit from the traffic direction and intersection closures that Cascade has organized (and riders have paid for). People who ride without signing up, hiding behind the excuse of "I'm just riding on public roads" are legally within their rights--but it's a socially ******baggy move.

Shifty

I tend to agree with Karen, do it a different weekend. Having ridden the STP, the last thing I want to do is ride with 10,000 riders again!!! I found it unpleasant and, at times, dangerous. It's an OK ride, just too many riders for my taste.

Northwestrider

10,000 riders, I enjoy watching them pass by in mass. I'd bet the start is interesting / fun.

daihard 

I will be one of the 10,000 riders next month. Not aiming to finish in one day, though.

My riding friends and I will be starting around 7:00 AM. The earlier, the less mess at the start line (I hope).

velocity

Shifty! That's because you never road it with me How are you my friend!

V

Northwestrider

Good Luck to you, So you'll be in a group , that ought to make it a blast. I've thought of doing the STP, but not this year, maybe next if I'm able to ride more than I did last year ( knee injury ) Apparently one needs to apply very early for it. and You and your friends have a good ride, enjoy a tailwind hopefully lol.

B. Carfree

Just what are the registrants paying for that a self-supported rider is depriving them of? They pay for food, but the self-supported rider brings/buys his or her own. They pay for porta-potties, s/he's on his/her own (although human decency and public health does rather indicate that people in need will be provided access). Sure, there's more law enforcement out, but a not-insignificant portion of that is provided by small jurisdictions along the route independent of Cascade and with the purpose of picking nits at stop signs. Much of the traffic control is at the beginning for the mass starts, which I doubt any pirates partake of.

One of the things registrants pay for is the camaraderie of riding with thousands of other cyclists. The few pirates along the way add to this. Basically, self-supported riders add to the ride without taking anything from those who were attentive enough to get registered in time. And while I wouldn't stand outside an open-air music venue to listen, if I was inside a sold-out show I wouldn't feel that the folks outside the walls were taking anything from me. On the contrary, they would be helping to reinforce my decision to get a primo seat/lawn space for such a popular event. Thus they have added to the value of what I purchased.

Full disclosure: Yes, I put on a ride each year. However, the other organizer and I pay all the expenses out of our own pockets so the ride is free to all who choose to show up. Feel free to pirate the Duncan Ride this September. (It's the opposite of STP: hilly, no traffic, beautiful scenery, few riders.)

I have also ridden along the route of a double century without paying. We were intending to do a longer ride that merely began along the same roads until my wife took ill, which caused us to cut short our ride so that it coincided with their route. The registered riders we encountered were universally happy to ride behind a tandem that cruised along at 30 mph.

Black wallnut 

B.Carfree we'll just have to agree to disagree with out being disagreeable. Consider this. It is likely that the field limit is because jurisdictions along the route that permit the ride require it. Folks that tag along or poach the ride jeopardize the ride in that regard. Kudos to you for putting on a ride with the help of one other. I'll hazard a guess that you can produce 2 of the 4 aspects you mentioned, no traffic and beautiful scenery well there is plenty of the later and not much of the former on STP considering the region it goes through. I have a somewhat different understanding about what no traffic means living and riding in a rural area with a smaller population than Eugene/Springfield. For most of my rides no traffic means less than one car per mile travelled sometimes even when on the state highways.

vwchad

While the transfer of registration is not permitted by Cascade, there are plenty of them available on CL as the ride approaches. The key is to have the original purchaser pick up the packet and meet up to make the transaction. Once you have that bib number, Cascade doesn't know you from the next guy. I would do this or just ride the route another day, just my $.02.

B. Carfree

That would be high traffic from my point of view, particularly when I get to choose my route and time of day. It's not unusual to not have a single car pass me over the first hundred miles of the route of the Duncan Ride. My personal record for when the first car passed me on a paved-road ride that began and ended at home was 137 miles into a self-supported double century.

We have some nice places to ride. It's a pity there are so few cyclists around here to enjoy them. It sounds like you have some good cycling roads as well. Ride on with joy.

ChinookPass

If you are so disorganized that you could not sign up in time and feel you have to poach, it is only fair that you never sit on and always pull when in a paceline.

The B

Actually I figured I'd just break away and chase the next line every time I get spit out the front.

ChinookPass

Well played!
You will be in a different plane of existence from the actual ride. Where there are no honeybucket lines, no tacks on your road in Winlock to pierce your tires, and a motorcycle waiting just for you to pace you over the bridge into Oregon. Enjoy your ride!

VeryPrivateGent

I agree. There is no waiting list and registeration is not transferable even though there will be last minute cancellations. What choice does one have?

VeryPrivateGent

Anyone else doing it unregistered? Are there any registeration options open at this time?

Jseis 

There are a few poachers on the ride. They aren't poaching the route, any fool can ride it. They are poaching the support services including breakdown/mech repair, food stops, accident assist, traffic control, baggage delivery, accommodation planning, bike security route designation and the planning & coordination that goes into that. If I was you I'd blow it off for this year and spend quality time with the wife. I ride it and my wife goes shopping in Seattle and Portland; A win-win.

My one beef is the cost. At some point the fun v. PITA factor may equalize for some of us and the cool factor dissipates to the point where the dollars (we spend travel/overnight $ 'cause we are 200 miles from Seattle) aren't really worth it BUT my reasons for riding it are more along the annual benchmark of health AND that is priceless.

Andy_K 

I was a registered rider last year, but managed to get a late enough start that I barely got any support the first day -- missed the baggage truck, most of the feed stations were closing as I got there if not before. Honestly, I wasn't very impressed by the offerings at the official feed stations anyway (judging mostly by what I found on the second day when I was with the pack). If I were to do it again I would plan to bring my own nutrition and just rely on bio support and a tasty snack here and there from the organization.

There were definitely some things I liked about starting late. I got the well-marked course without the crowds of riders. The crowds weren't so bad the second day, probably due to a lot more variation in start time and start location.

Since you want to do it in one day, you could consider doing it Saturday instead of Sunday. The course would still be well-marked but you'd have it all to yourself for the first 100 miles or so (probably more like 150). Then you'd pick up a bit of companionship at the end where that's really helpful, though you'd likely be much faster than anybody left on the road at that time. As I recall, the route passes through a lot of places that allow for self-support. Even as a registered rider, I stopped in more than a couple businesses along the way.