We made it! Seattle to Portland (STP) 2014

And had a great time.  Jules, Vicky, and I once again enjoyed this terrific event sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club.  It was Vicky's third, Jules' fourth, and my fifth.

The first day was HOT!  We saw temperatures of 95, and heard they went up to 101.  Vicky and I stayed hydrated by purchasing cold water and ice all day.  Jules stayed hydrated the same way, plus he's so much faster that he got to Napavine before the hot afternoon weather became really bad.  Some riders were struggling with the heat.  But we were in shape for it and knew how to keep our cores from overheating.  It wasn't bad, actually.

Doesn't this ice-water look good?

Riders have all sorts of verbal warnings to assist other riders. "Car Back"  "Rolling."  etc.  Riders repeat them along line to other riders.  At one point there was a dead crow in the road.  One rider pointed to it and yelled "Bird."  Another, behind him, following protocol, yelled "Bird."  Then another:  "Bird."  Then one rider started singing "Bird Bird Bird Bird's the word.  Have you heard about the Bird....." Then the whole line started singing it.   One woman said "Oh that's mean, that poor little bird."  Sadly, everyone else was laughing, including Vicky who heard the entire exchange. 

At Centralia, the mid-point, we had our customary creamsicles.  They are always delicious, but in that heat they were REALLY delicious.

  

The next 15 miles, from Centralia to Napavine are some of our favorites.....usually.  One goes through some nice countryside.  It's more fun when the temperatures aren't so high.  But you know what people did for us?

In this 15 miles about 25 different folks either stood along side the road with hoses or set up sprinklers to spray water onto riders.  All the riders who went through them gasped in relief and yelled "thank you!!!!" to sometimes empty yards--it being too hot for the friendly folks to even sit outside to watch the riders.

 Water from sprinklers on my GoPro:



 

We spent the night with our friends who we have stayed with previously.  Their family adds a lot to our experience on the STP.  They are friendly and warm, and provide hot showers, beds, beer, and meals.  It wouldn't be the same without them.

 

The next day was predicted to be even hotter, so our hosts got up at 4:00 a.m. and made breakfast so we could get on the road early and avoid the hot afternoon sun.  Wasn't that nice of them?  As it turned out, the weather was not as hot as predicted, but we found that leaving earlier than in past years had a lot of advantages anyway.

Jules getting ready to leave early the next morning.  No flat tire for him this year.

We left about 15 minutes after he did.  That partly explains why he got in there two hours before we did.  We are still scratching our heads about what could have happened to that other hour and 45 minutes.

Leaving in the dawn's early light:

 

The 15 miles south of Napavine is one if not the most favorite parts of the ride for all of us.  Very pastoral.  A really nice road surface.  This morning the mists were lifting from the fields, making for an even more beautiful ride than usual. 

 
 

 The sun came out for awhile, and we thought we were going to get our very hot day.

 
Usually there are a lot of groups that stand and sit along the side of the road to yell encouragement or watch the riders.  There weren't as many this year, because of the heat of the first day and the cold of the second.  One group, though, had made signs: "Seriously Tough Riders," "Way to go!"  That kind of thing.  One teenage girl made one that said "Boring Parade." 

 

One of the thrills each year is crossing the Longview Bridge.

  

On the other side of the bridge is Oregon!

 

This year we avoided the food at rest stops.  We don't each much sugar, and most of the snacks and so on have a high sugar content.  Instead, we stopped into McDonald's for some "real food."  (bet you don't see that description of McDonalds very often).  But after five hours, an Egg McMuffin and coffee was awfully delicious. 

 

A common sight.  Just glad it wasn't us.  Before we left Seattle early Saturday morning I had our only flat tire of the year.  It was good timing, I guess, if one is to have one.  

 

The day turned cloudy again.

 

See the two people in the yellow/green jackets?  The drafted after me.  Never had that before.  An adolescent boy doing the ride with his mother.  Think she's a happy mom?

Approaching the bridge into Portland.  It can be seen in the distance over Vicky's shoulder:

 

Taking the last hill to the bridge into Portland.  Almost there.   Still no rain, so we thought we might get lucky. 

 

An hour or so earlier Jules had called to tell us he was crossing the bridge, and it started to rain on him.  Vicky called him to tell him that we were ready to cross it, but WE didn't have rain!

We were no more than 20 feet onto the bridge when it started to rain.  He who laughs last laughs best.  Rained all the way to the finish line.  Oh well.

Here is a video of the last minute of our ride.  We felt so good.  It's not the world's biggest accomplishment, but it is a meaningful one, and one we have worked hard for.