portland or bust

Six months ago, when Jenna decided she was going to run her first marathon in Chicago, I was super excited and immediately supportive. However, after a few days in comparison, I felt somewhat “fat and lazy” myself. I wanted a healthy goal too, but despising running as much as I do, I looked to biking since it was something I enjoyed in my teens. I decided to train for an annual bike ride from Seattle to Portland, appropriately dubbed the “STP”. The STP is put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club, a non-profit organization creating more livable communities by promoting health & recreation through bicycle activities, advocacy, & education.

The ride is 204 miles in total, starting from the University of Washington Campus in the heart of Seattle and finishing at Holladay Park in the heart of Portland, and is the
largest multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, with up to 10,000 participants riding the entirety in one or two days. For reference, here are some similar distances that you might be more familiar with:

• For my family in the Chicago area, this is like a ride from St. Charles, IL to
  Green Bay, WI
• For my family in the Charlotte area, this is like a ride from Charlotte, NC to North Charleston, SC
• For my family in the Omaha area, this is like a ride from Omaha, NE to Sioux Fall, SD

I opted for the two day ride. The route takes you through the scenic valleys, forests, and farmlands of western Washington and Oregon and Bicycling Magazine has listed it as one of the best cycling events in the nation. Here are a couple facts about this year’s ride, which was the 32^nd annual:

• There were 10,000 registered riders
• The oldest rider was 85
• 18% of the group were riding the STP for the first time
• 100 safety and medical riders were present on the route
• 30 ride referees were present on the route as well
• 228 of the riders had participated in more than 10 STPs in the past
• One rider was with us who has ridden them all: Jerry Baker!
• This year riders came from 42 states plus Canada (Alberta, B.C. & Ontario) and England

After deciding I was doing it, I looked for a partner and landed one almost immediately. A close friend of mine, Dan Smith, was up for the challenge as well. Neither of us had ridden in some time, so we felt we’d be on the same training pace, face the same challenges, and have a blast together! We laid out a training regimen that had us riding 6 days a week, increasing length over time, and at least completing two “century” rides (100 miles) prior to the STP. I bought a new bike – a Fugi Roubaix. Dan got his out of storage and had it tuned up. We bought clothes. We bought accessories. We bought Power Bars, GU packs and water bottles. We were ready!

As with most good intentions, the result was a little off-target. We trained for certain, but nowhere near as much as we’d planned in the beginning. Riding takes a lot of time – 3 hours for 45 miles – and weather is a pretty significant factor. I rode in the rain, but I’ll take the sun any day. In the end, we felt pretty well prepared, but as ride day approached, I for one started to get a little nervous. Was I ready to sit on a bike for that long? There are a couple well known hills in the ride – had I trained enough to climb them? Could I make it after all this work? Well nerves turned to excitement the night before and come that Saturday morning, I was pumped.

Jenna drove Dan and me to Seattle Saturday morning and we rolled off the starting line at 6:05am (about 30 minutes after our planned start). There were so many people!
There were announcers, TV stations, radio coverage – it’s was cool to say the least.

We started in a pack of about 100 people, skirting Lake Washington, headed south to our first official sponsored food stop at the REI corporate headquarters 30 miles away.

The sponsored stops had free food ranging from whole grain muffins to turkey sandwiches, to cookies, bananas, and tons of other healthy energy items. A different company sponsored each, so at some the focus was Gatorade, some Cliff Bar, some Nuun electrolyte boosters, and so on. They were spaced out at 28, 43, 61, 86, 100,
140, 169, and 200 miles. In between smaller stops were provided by schools and businesses, offering similar food and drink for a small cost. Frankly, the food is necessary – you burn so many calories riding that long that you have to keep the body replenished. But more importantly, they are a chance to stop and get off your bike. The seat is your biggest enemy, followed by sore shoulders, knees, back and neck. The time to stretch was important and we took full advantage when we could.

As the day’s destination came closer and closer, I remember riding down a small country road, coming around the corner and being face to face with Mount St. Helens. This was poignant for me since I’m used to seeing Mt. Rainer. That was so far back
now that I couldn’t see it anymore – and the landscape was changing. The sun was starting to close on the horizon, the weather was still warm, and the smell of the pastures reminded me of where I grew up. It had been a long ride so far, but I was honestly having one of the best times in my life.

Day one for us ended in a town called Napavine, in southern Washington. Most two day riders stop at the official halfway point at Chehalis College, but we pushed on, rounding out a 113 mile day. Some people stay in hotels (as hot showers and soft beds are good things), but many will stay at churches and schools that open up for riders, for a small cost. Dan and I stayed at the Napavine elementary school. For $25, they gave you a place to lay out a sleeping bag in a classroom, a place to shower, and provided an all you can eat spaghetti dinner Saturday night, followed by a pancake and eggs breakfast Sunday morning. All of the money they raised from the 300 people who stayed there went directly to the school.

Now as this was the first time we’d done this, we were happy to have the full experience of a night like this. That said, waking up Sunday morning at 5:15am on the floor in a sleeping bag, sore and tired, looking down the barrel of another 90 mile ride, was maybe one of the toughest things I’ve done. In the future, a hotel will be part of the equation I think!

Our second day started during dusk and was chilly. It took 10 miles and a stop for coffee to get the body warmed up and loose. We were sore, but not as bad as we’d feared. About 30 miles after coffee, about 155 miles into the ride, we were officially
stopped off to the side of the road. We were about to cross into Oregon, but to do so always means crossing a bridge over the Columbia River which sits on the border between the two states. The police were closing the bridge in intervals to allow groups of about 200 riders to cross without traffic. We waited our turn, and then started up the challenging and long incline of the Lewis and Clark Bridge. After a good 15 minutes of uphill battle, we crested the top of the bridge, looked down into Oregon and were rewarded with a welcome 2 mile coast to the bottom and onto route 30, our new home for the next 40 miles.

We made some stops over the last half of day two for food and water, as well as opportunity to ride through misters they’d set up as the day was pretty warm – closing on 85 degrees. In fact, as we rode through some of the smaller towns, residents would set up sprinklers pointed out in the street for the bikers to ride through. People were a big morale boost on day two. As we rode through small towns we encountered people on the side of the road cheering us on, ringing a cow bell now and again, and telling us we were doing a great job and almost there. It was cool to experience that – makes you realize that there are genuinely nice people out there.

But nothing was better than crossing the finish line. Not because I had accomplished something big (though that was reason to celebrate), but more because one of the first
people I made eye contact with was Jenna who had driven down that morning to see me finish. She, along with thousands of other people (including Dan’s wife as well), were crowded into the park, huddled around the red carpet that we rolled over when we got to the line, cheering, screaming and smiling. There were bands, a beer garden – basically a big party in the park (with a bunch of sweaty people in spandex). I estimate that we did the ride in 14.5 hours (that’s actual saddle time). We probably spent another 2 hours off the bikes stretching and eating.

I enjoyed a beer or three with our group, and then Jenna and I spent the night in Portland, enjoying room service, an in room hot tub, as well as a good night’s sleep.
While driving back the next morning, I couldn’t help think about doing it again
next year, and I’m certain if I can, I will!

If you’re intersted in some more pics from the event, check them out here on Flickr!

<matt>

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