Sidebar: STP 2005 - 205 Miles of Blood, Sweat, and Fun.

We knew it was going to be a good day when several of the Great Race cars passed us in Spanaway early Saturday morning.  Seattle to Portland 2005 had nearly perfect weather (at least for the one day riders).  It was overcast most of the way and we didn’t feel a drop of rain.  Given the rain in Tacoma today, I hope it wasn’t too wet for the two day riders that are finishing today.

If you aren’t familar with STP, it’s a 205 mile bike ride from Seattle to Portland.  8000 people registered this year.  Most people stay in Centralia or Chehalis on Saturday night and complete the ride on Sunday.  20% or so complete the ride in one day.  Who would want to wake up after riding a century and do another century.  I’d rather do it all at once.  Plus, I hate crowds.  So one day is the only option that makes sense to me.

There were a lot of fancy bikes and gear on display yesterday.  Of course not all of it was moving at its full potential.  As one friend reminds us constantly, “It’s not about the gear; it’s about the engine.” It’s not the fancy bikes and gear that impress me on rides like this, but the people that complete the event in off-beat ways.  There was the guy with the beagle on his back.  He finished in one day.  There was the middle aged woman riding a vintage 1950s Schwinn. 

I’m thinking that next year I should ride the STP on my vintage English steel 3 speed.  Maybe we’ll deal with the crowds and do the ride in two days.  Anybody want to join a paceline of vintage single speed or three speed steel bikes? 

The TNT ran a story on this year’s event:  Daisy, Daisy, this is crazy – The News Tribune