Seattle to Portland (STP) bike ride, July 8, 2000

In early 2000, I decided to do the Seattle to Portland (STP) bike ride. I don't really remember why anymore. Part of it was a desire to strengthen my knee after having had ACL reconstruction in 98. Running was too painful, still, and doctors recommended cycling instead. I had wanted to do STP in 99 but had no idea what it entailed. This time, I was going to be serious about it. 200 miles, one day.

That meant buying a road bike. I trained for a long time on my mountain bike, going on rides with Rachael. I actually wore out the knobs on my mountain bike tires (which I'd only notice later when I slipped and slided down Tiger Mountain on my mountain bike much later). A little research and a few trips to Gregg's, and I had myself a beautiful painted Serotta Legend Ti.

One other thing...I became a big Lance Armstrong fan after he pulled off that miraculous comeback victory in the Tour in 99. Having lost my mother to cancer, I have a special admiration for his accomplishment. So I became interested in cycling as a sport, started watching road races on television.

I can't remember now who joined my team when. I know Scotty was the first to say he'd do it, and he was the only alum, having ridden STP a few years back. Then somehow I convinced Jenny and Todd to sign up, and then I think Laura and Kate signed up after that. Other than Scott, I think the others must have been drunk when they pledged to join up. None of us other than Scott had any idea what we were getting into.

My earliest memory of training rides were that they hurt. The first time Rachael took me up her hill off the Burke Gilman (I think it's 65th Ave.) I had to get off and walk the last leg. Ouch. I was not in good shape. I made lots of long lonely rides on my mountain bike. One time I was on the Burke Gilman and had ridden to the top of the lake when it started pouring rain. I was drenched and frozen, and had to ride all the way home into a headwind. I think that qualifies as the most miserable training ride I went through. Another time, I was on Mercer Island in the middle of the night, and halfway around the island my calves cramped up really badly. If a bike can limp, I limped home.

But slowly, as the miles piled up, I started making progress. Some milestones and happy memories:

• Making it up Rachael's hill without getting off my bike and walking
• First time I completed the Lake Washington Loop on my own, including the big hill near Kirkland. Got lost and ended up riding all over Bellevue, but when I finally got home, near dark, I felt like a king
• First time I did sub 33 around Mercer ave. around Mercer Island
• Sometime after STP, going out and just climbing all sorts of hills. Madison Ave., Fremont, Rachael's hill, and Queen Anne hill.
• Group ride around West Seattle with Todd and Laura. First time I fixed my own flat. Got rained on in a big way.
• First time I made it to Marymoor park, visiting Scott in the DogDog.com truck.
• Riding to Marymoor with Bill and Laura, and getting stung on my eyelid by a bee that hit me on the face and fell down between my sunglasses and my eye.
• The Bainbridge island loop with Todd and Laura. As with the first time on any ride, we got a bit confused and ended up riding up a huge hill twice. Poor Laura fell off her bike in protest.
• Completing the Flying Wheels century with Bill. That last 10 miles, I got stronger and didn't let anyone pass me. That gave me a lot of confidence. My first ever century.
• Kate and Laura took me on a cursed bike ride in Eastern Washington. We ended up lost in the woods, carrying our bikes up some rocky forest road in the rain, on some mountain near the town where Kristin lived before she moved to Seattle. I almost froze to death in the back of a pickup truck, owned by some random guy we flagged down in desperation. And all I can remember is Kate expressing her displeasure at the thought of having to huddle naked in a ditch with Laura and I to share body warmth if we ended up stranded out there.

I remember wondering how Scott would make it, considering he only went on two training rides with us. I sent out weekly e-mail newsletters, counting down the days to STP and suggesting training schedules for the week.

Consumed lots of Cytomax, Gu, and Clif bars. Learned to use a Heart Rate Monitor. Learned about drafting, and spinning, and cadence, and intervals, and all sorts of crazy cycling terminology. Mostly, lots of lonely miles in the saddle, thinking about what?

I finished the ride in 448th position.