Our family Seattle to Portland virtual Finish Line Party

There are several highlights of the STP that Dan and I looked forward to each year with anticipation.  They include the start line in Seattle and riding along Lake Washington, cycling through the Joint Base Lewis-McCord, the 14 mile Tenino Trail, eating creamsicles at 100 miles in Centralia, finally reaching the top of the Napavine hill and spending the night at Nightmare Farm with Mindy and Wayne, our solitary early ride through the morning mists as we leave Napavine on the second day of the STP, the Longview Bridge as we enter Oregon, riding across the St Johns Bridge into Portland, and crossing the finish line onto the grass where we are handed our STP Finisher patches.

2020 Finisher patches:

Another highlight of the STP is the Finish Line Party!  

I felt honored to be at the Finish Line Party with Dan, Sean, and Jules in 2011:

Finish Line Party with Jules, Ian, and Adam in 2012:

This is the final celebration after 1500+ miles of conditioning and training rides that begin in the late winter, after our “rest” week before the STP that includes the final bike, food, and gear preparation, catching the ferry and driving to Seattle to spend the night with our cycling partner/son, Jules and his family, and of course, the long, sometimes grueling, unbelievably moving, and fun two day ride from Seattle to Portland.  

And then we get to celebrate our incredible achievement at the high energy, exuberant Finish Line Party where everyone is wearing their STP Finisher patch and riding high on adrenaline and joy....and beer! 

Our family, children, and grandchildren are at the finish line party with us this year too.  It is a virtual celebration, but it is the best Finish Line Party ever!

Bill in Fort Collins, Colorado with Kathy’s canned red wine (yes, this is not a typo!) that she so generously shared with him.  Dan especially appreciates it because now he doesn't have to worry that she will give that canned wine to him the next time we visit.

Jules, Diane, Ian, and Adam celebrated finishing the STP in Seattle, Washington with their Finish Line Badges pinned to their t-shirts and one bottle of Fat Tire.  Their finish line party soon erupted into “who gets to drink the ONE beer! “

Jules started the congratulatory toast, but Adam insisted on his sip.

Adam proudly possesses the Fat Tire:

It was a super Finish Line Party in Seattle.  Spin the bottle ended up with Diane getting to toast all of them and all of us.  Congrats!

Sean, Emily, Sebastian, and Soren celebrated their STP ride Briarlake Forest Park, Georgia.

 

Our Finish Line Party at our home in Mesa, Arizona:

We had the best Finish Line Party ever celebrating with so much of our family!  Although we celebrated our STP rides in Atlanta, Fort Collins, Mesa, and Seattle we were “together” toasting each other.

Our STP ride this year in July of 2020 was a virtual bike ride from Seattle to Portland.  Our family rode it together from all over the United States.  It was Dan and my most memorable STP ever, because we rode this STP with Emily and Sean, with Jules and Diane, Bill and Kathy, and with our grandsons, Sebastian, Soren, Adam, and Ian!  

Thank you to all of you for giving us this experience and memory.