I was quite ready for the STP. The only problem I had was temperatures above 32°C (90°F). This led to the need for more frequent rest stops and 9 liters of fluid consumed on Saturday. Not good. But, I was minimally sore by the end of the ride and felt good the entire distance. The ride was done with Jonathan Kamke and Lucas Anderson. Lucas was definitely the strongest rider of the group and helped set a fairly fast clip that had us mostly passing others, rather than being passed. Hills are getting easier, and bike control is better. It was nice being able to draft in a team, which added several miles/hour speed to our ride, and we were averaging about 18 mph (29 kph) on hills, 20 mph (32 kph) on flat, and 25 mph (39 kph) on downhill stretches. We started on the UW campus at 6 am Saturday AM looking rather fresh…
and arrived in Longview at 16:30, where we stayed overnight. The next day, we had only 50 more miles, which took us without stopping from 7:00 to 9:45. We didn’t look quite so fresh at that time…
The weather already was in the mid-eighties by the time we arrived at the finish line at Lloyd Center in Portland. We were able to meet my brother and his wife in Portland at the finish line to celebrate the occasion. Thanks Lew & Carol. Betsy also acted as the SAG vehicle, which was a super help.
Would I do it again? Absolutely!!! Next time, I will pray for a light Northwest drizzle, try to do it in one day… and, make sure Lucas (and his dad????) accompany me! I would really like son Jonathan with us next year. Perhaps I could also get Ara out next time. One day. You can do it. It’s sort of fairly flat.
