This year’s STP was by far the best I’ve ridden! The weather was clear and warm, and a tail wind all the way to Portland!
My day started by getting up at 3:30, getting dressed, lathering on sun block, removing my micro from the van, checking my panniers and readying supplies for the day’s main event.
The STP begins with an “organized mass start” starting the one day riders off at 4:45 am, I started the ride at 4:48 am.
Having tested my ATC3K camera with some success, I thought I would bring it along and shoot some of my ride. At best I would have 3 hours of the begining of the STP, at worst I would have nothing. Checking the camera at my first rest stop, the camera didn’t function as planned – such is life.
I made a total of four stops during the ride, stopping at the 50 mile in Spanaway, halfway point at 100 miles in Centraila, 140 miles in Castle Rock, and the last rest stop at 176 miles in St. Helens before arriving in Portland. Over the years I have found that stopping at every rest stop takes to much time away from riding and not very productive, I stop only when I need to – and that works out to be about 50 miles.
The ride from Seattle to Centraila went by really quick, taking just over 5 hours. This first 100 miles has over 1500 feet of climbing. With climbs comes of descents and speeds over 40 mph! Speaking of climbing, riding with hundreds of other cyclists is an awsome experience, however some pace lines can get pretty long and don’t quite finish passing me as we crest the hills along the route. Since I am faster on the flats and descents, if I’m caught in a wall of riders I’ll force my way out and pass them as I power down the hill… hearing “holy crap” as I pass these riders as if they were standing still was not an uncommon expression, still makes me smile!
With most of the riders stopping in Centraila, the ride to Portland was a little lonelier, harder (heck, I just rode a century!), and hotter (the temperature reached 95f). My average for the first 100 miles was 19.8, the second 100 miles I averaged 17.0 for an overall average of 18.4 – my fastest STP so far!
One thing that stood out for me this year was that when I arrived in Portland, they announced my name “Our first recumbent, Charles Foote #2135 from Newberg Oregon, Welcome to Portland!”
