Been There....

Done That,
Bought the T-Shirt and Wear the hat.

I realized this morning is the 10th anniversary of me riding in the STP (Seattle to Portland) bike ride. I did a little over 200 miles in one day with the help of three others in my group and a whole bunch of volunteers and organizers for the event.

When I first decided I wanted to do the event I didn’t even own a bicycle. It was July of 1997. I saved up a few pennies and started riding. In January one of my peers at work said she would ride with me if I did it in one day. So I started training harder. I bought a stand that allowed me to ride in my living room. I would ride for an hour each night and then hit the Burke Gilman trail on Saturdays.

By March I realized I needed a new bike and my co-worker decided she wasn’t going to be able to make it. I had put too much effort in by that time to back out now.

In April I did my first Century, road 100 miles in one day with only one rest stop. It was the Daffodil 100 in Orting. This was a huge hurdle because I really didn’t know if I could make it 100 miles, let alone the full 200. After completing that 1st century, I knew without a doubt I would finish the STP. In fact the very next Saturday I rode 125 miles on my own up and down the bike trail and around Seattle.

In June I went on one of the training rides that the Cascade Bicycle club puts on and I met three strangers that became my riding partners for the STP. It is 30% easier to ride and draft with someone than doing it alone.

We started out that 2nd Saturday morning in July, 1998 at 5am. The amount of adrenaline at the start was amazing. ½ way to Portland, one of our team had to pullout with severe back spasms. The 3rd segment was probably the toughest; the wind was blowing in our faces the whole time. I myself was actually the strongest in the last segment. I did most of the riding in front the last 50 miles.

I remember riding up that last hill to the college there in Portland and really had to fight back the tears. Tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of knowing I had accomplished something that I had worked hard for and invested in for that last 12 months. To this day when I see someone out there riding there is a part of me that would still like to be riding and then I remember all other commitments of time and resources I have and go on with life.