Preparations for the STP

Our final training ride was five days ago.  But there is a lot to do to get ready in the interim.

We had our bikes in for their final checkup, and Vicky got two new tires.

We are getting our bike gear together, the clothes/miscellaneous we will need for the first night in Napavine and the clothes/miscellaneous we will need for staying overnight Sunday in Seattle.

This year's STP has two wrinkles.  The first is that we are flying back to Seattle to make sure we get back in time to get a good night's sleep.  The reason for that is that early the next morning (Monday) we need to be at the airport very early to pick up grandson Soren who is coming to spend the week with us.

The second wrinkle is that temperatures during the ride will be high, as in HIGH!  They could reach the high 90s by the time we get to Seattle.  We need packages of Skratch and Nuun to replenish our electrolytes, and clothes to make this work in the high heat.

Tomorrow we will head to Seattle to meet Jules and be ready to go bright and early Saturday morning.

Our 7th STP with Jules.  We are excited and, because of the hot weather, a little anxious.  However, we are as prepared as two people in their late 60s/early 70s who have had multiple orthopedic issues can be.

Our preparations:

Vicky is in charge of food, for the morning we leave and for what we will need on the ride.  The Cascade Bicycle club that sponsors the STP has plenty of food stops, but we find that we do better if we eat food that resembles what we usually eat:

 

I am responsible for getting the bikes in order, for the tools and so on that we might need on the ride, and for the electronics:

Vicky gets our clothes together, as we need a change of clothes for the evening we are in Napavine, for our second day of the STP, and for after the STP:

We are ready.  Portland here we come!