Another day, another box on the life list ticked

On July 17th, Nick B Brown & Carry Porter rode 208 miles at an average of 18.8 mph for 10 hours 59 minutes from Seattle to Portland. Every year 10,000 people make this journey on the flattest, longest, most boring route ever. Most do it in two days, but a surprising number in one. So why did we ride STP? As Nick wrote in an email: “Partly out of respect for Jerry Baker, partly because I live in Washington and you’re expected to do it in order to retain your citizenship, but mostly out of morbid fascination.”

Like a mountain climb, STP begins with an “alpine start” at 4:45 a.m. No one has headlights, but everyone seems to have remembered their rear flasher. Looking up the road, as we coast along with 2,000 other one-day riders, it’s blinking red lights as far as the eye can see.

The first rest area - REI headquarters - came quickly. We never intended to stop, but there was music blaring and the promise of a bathroom - much needed relief after the gallon of coffee and tea we downed after our 3 a.m. wake up call. The REI staff working the event were decked out in tuxedo shirts, and we took a moment to snap a few shots before rolling out again.

Because we were on the tandem cruising at about 21 mph, we were an attractive wheel to follow. I’d say we pulled riders for about 60% of the way. It’s work pulling people behind you, and most were really appreciative of the tow. Next time, though, I’m going to pin a “WILL TOW FOR BEER” sign to my back. Oh, wait, there’s not going to be a next time. Never mind.

By the end of the ride, we were tired of towing people (and more than a little sketched by the seeming inability of most riders to hold a straight line), so we adopted a passing strategy that involved swinging about 5’ wide of any group we intended to pass and mustering our best poker faces for an out of the saddle sprint. We usually passed going at about twice the speed of the group, which resulted in many “go tandem people” cheers and a few awestruck “whoa” murmurs.

And finally, after a detour through downtown PDX traffic, we made it to the finish line. The showers were hot, the burritos were tasty and the beer was about as wet and refreshing as it comes.

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