Portland never looked so good… STP Ride Debrief!

The STP is over! We finished it!

For those of you who didn’t catch my pre-ride blog (you can read here if you like) last Saturday (15th July) Dad and I rode from Seattle to Portland, in 1 day, on our bikes! A quick 330km (205 miles), with 10,000 others!

1,000 riders complete the ride in 1 day, the remaining 9,000 complete it in 2 days, therefore were in the top 10%! Of the 1,000 I estimate we finished somewhere after 900. We were on the road for 16 hours and 45 minutes, with 15.25 hours (approx) of actual riding time. We crossed the finish line in Portland at 9:45pm, 45 mins after the official closing time. If it were not for our crash and my flat tyre we would have been on target for official closing time of 9pm. But they are very generous and kept it open for everyone!

There were 4 in our team – Dad, Shawn, Chad  and me, plus 3 in our support crew Mum, Bonnie and Jennifer – we drove to Seattle the night before and stayed in a hotel, we all had dinner together and aimed for an early night, I think I got about 4 hours sleep. The day started at 3am to get prepared, we headed for the start line at 3:45am, unloaded and set off at 5am. (While we rode Mum, Bonnie & Jennifer went back to the hotel for a swim, breakfast and then a fun day in Seattle climbing the Space Needle and enjoying the sunshine outside with street performers and playing in the park! With enough time to drive down to Longview to meet us at the bridge)!

It was first light when we left. We followed the loopy roads out of the city. I was excited and could not comprehend the task ahead, my game plan was to take in each step (wheel rotation) at a time. We pedaled past Lake Washington just as the sun was coming up, stunning! You could see Mt Rainer in the background all covered with snow, it looked like a hologram in the crisp, blue, morning sky.

The first rest stop felt unnecessary, however important. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. It was at the REI headquarters. The atmosphere was pure excitement and anticipation from all. There was a funny mix of people doing the ride, from an appearance point of view, some looked superfit and others looked like it would be hard to stay upright or be comfortable on a 20km ride let alone all the way to Portland! But nonetheless everyone was in good spirits anticipating the day ahead!

I was enjoying riding, getting the km under my belt, we had another rest stop, and got back on the road…
…then we crashed, at exactly 100km! We were making great time, and had been keeping pace with a bigger bunch. We were in a pace line (about 20 riders), single file as we were sharing the road with cars & trucks, riding through Washington forest (see pic below). Dad and I were at the back, it takes some skill and experience to ride like this, knowing the hand signals and etiquette to keep everyone safe and moving, the guys at the front braked hard with no warning, everyone managed to pull up with a near miss except for us at the end, there was another guy in front of dad that went down too. Thankfully we were ok, my first worry was the cars, but they were far enough  back, they were able to stop and go around. There was a bit of some blood and bruises, Dad smashed his Garmin and drink bottle holder, the guy in front needed to have his wheel aligned by the mechanics at the next rest stop. Dad was probably the worst, and is still finding bruises now. Our bikes were fine hardly a scratch. Shawn is a doctor, he gave us the all clear and we got on with it. We still don’t know why they all braked with no warning… weird.

The next 60km was fairly uneventful. We had creamsicles to celebrate half way at Centralia, lunch was provided, I felt very American as I inhaled in a PB&J Sandwich! It was interesting watching the 2 day riders pull up for the day while we had to muster the energy and excitement to do what we had just done all over again!

The headwind started just before lunch, It started off not much but by the time we reached Longview (260km mark) it was about 30km/hour. Sometimes the wind or the road would change direction, or the forest would be thick and you would get a small reprieve from the headwind, which we welcomed. As the scenery changed to farmland it was cute and quirky, just like in the movies. The road was mainly flat, there was some undulation in the forest, but no killer hills, some small ones. I really like hills, I enjoy the challenge and a chance to use your leg muscles a little different, and the down hill, I love the downhill!

We needed to keep our average km/hour above 25 to get in to Portland on time. The crash and the headwind had slowed us but we were doing ok. There were a bunch of rest stops, where the 4 of us would regroup if we had been separated and have some fuel. We never stopped long. The longest was 30mins for lunch at the halfway point.

With so much time on your hands, you think a lot. Even when you are riding in a group there was not a lot of talking (this is not always the case but the wind made it hard to hear), just enjoying the journey together. The latter half was when I noticed the ache in my neck. My toes kept going numb. My quads, just above the knee had a dull ache when riding, that would intensify and then ease when we stopped! I kept saying to myself – it is just pain, that’s all. At no point did I feel weak or tired or like I could not go on. It was the pain of my toes, after a while they would really hurt. But as soon as I stopped it helped. Strangely my butt and my legs were fine on the ride and after.

I got a flat just after 220km. This slowed us up, during an already oppressive headwind! I am glad I was with dad at that point, another tyre change avoided = WIN.

Fresh tyre, we had a rest stop, then pressed on to Longview. Mum and Bonnie were waiting at the bridge. This bridge was significant! Once we crossed this bridge we would be in Orgeon, the 30km headwind would be a tailwind and  I got those encouraging hugs and cheers from Bonnie and Mum. We were elated!

I wish I could describe in words what it felt like on the decent of the Lewis and Clarke bridge as we wound down the loop and were heading towards Portland with the wind at our backs!!! PURE JOY. We could do this, I always knew we would but this was the downhill run. 80km to go, with a breeze pushing us home!

The last 80km did drag. It was the best and the hardest part of the ride. The wind stayed at our back, it would be weak then strong, we were riding Highway 30. We all split up, Chad was powering, he would have finished long before us if he wasn’t such a fab team player! We would regroup at rest stops. Towards the end we decided we would all meet up at the 8 mile mark to ride in the last bit together. We pressed on. I went ahead of Dad and Shawn. It was awesome riding with the sun setting, on my own, with my thoughts. Thoughtwere – this is only pain, you are fine, wow this is almost over, I can’t believe it! And lots of other thoughts were about headspace and mindset. We are capable of great things, we just need to believe it. It doesn’t make it easy, it makes it possible.

We all met up, and rode that last 15km together, the sun was down, it was dark and I was wishing the finish line to be quicker! It did feel like a very long time, the longest 15km I have ridden! And then it was there, we were riding in to the gates, they were lined with people, you had to enter single file. Portland never looked so good!
I saw Bonnie first. She was cheering and so excited. It made those 300+km feel very short, that look on her face. And the accomplishment. It hit me straight away. Instant hugs from our crew and our team. And then it was done. We got our shirts and our food and we went home. It was all very bizarre. Such a long time on the road and then in a matter of half an hour we were packed in the car heading back to Longview. We got back at 11:45pm.

I showered and collapsed in to bed! No thoughts, nothing – just sleep.

The next day, when I opened my eyes I expected to be stiff and sore and feel a whole world of pain, but to my utter surprise and delight I was able to get up and walk, no problems! My toes still tingled. And my neck was tender. But everything else was fine! In the days since I have continued to improve, but I have been tired. I am not sure if it is the jet lag or the ride, or both… but it doesn’t matter. I did it, and I am in one piece and it feels amazing!

STATS:
332.5km
1,509 elevation gain
Time: 15hr 16min (riding time)
Total Time: 16hr 45mins

If you had of asked me that night, the night we finished would i do it again, my answer would have been no. But the next day, after a good sleep it is a definite yes! I love the goal and hard work and achievement.

So BUF Girls, what’s next? I want to do something together!

xx Shell