I rode STP many times, every year for a while. I always got there early and positioned myself as near the start as I could. Then I rode hard until after the lake, passed as many folks as I could. I also stayed back from the big collections as much as possible, got around a lot of that by only stopping about every 50 miles and never eating the STP food - I carried my own food and used a water bladder - in and out quickly. Never had a problem with crashes. I did see a few over the years, but from a distance. Start with strategy and then apply tactics. Trick is to get as near the front as one's fitness allows. Faster riders are more predictable and better tacticians. First time I rode it, I was pretty hyped up coming into Centralia. I grabbed a muffin and ate it paper and all.

Yes, it's great training for RAMROD. My last training ride for that was to start from Ohanapecosh and ride over Cayuse and White passes. If you can ride that no problem, RR will also be no problem. Good luck to all who will be riding tomorrow. Next year will revert to the new normal clockwise ride.