By the Numbers: Seattle To Portland Bicycle Classic
Miles ridden on the course: 202.25
Miles ridden to the starting line from home: 3.5
Number of registered riders: 10,000
Hours of sleep the night before the ride: 3.5
Miles ridden on day one: 136.7
Miles ridden on day one before I reached the outer limits of my sanity: 110
Miles of uphill distance: 30.87
Feet of altitude gained on hills: 1,951
Months spent training for ride: 6
Mileage of my longest ride before STP: 70
Knees injured during training: 1
Ibuprofen pills taken for knee pain over two days: 10
Ibuprofen pills taken for knee pain that actually helped: 0
Oldest rider on the course: 87
Youngest rider: 2 years, 4 months
Approximate number of people twice my age who passed me: 1,500
Number of states represented by registered riders: 46
Number of countries and territories represented: 7
Riders who have participated in 20 or more STP rides: 51
Number of STP rides I’ve participated in: 1
Number of riders seen on a unicycle: 1
Number or riders seen on a Razor Scooter: 1
Number of riders seen on a skateboard: 1
Number of men riding New Belgium cruiser bikes in flip flops: 4
Number of men riding New Belgium cruiser bikes in flip flops with 12-packs of Fat Tire strapped to their bike racks: 2
Number of men seen wearing animal tails attached to their bike shorts: 2
Number of women seen wearing bunny ears on their helmets: 1
Number of volcanoes passed on the route: 3
Number of volcanoes visible on the route: 1.5
Rain showers ridden through: 2
Dead, smashed birds seen on roadway: 7
Dead, smashed birds seen on roadway that I accidentally ran over: 1
Number of unidentifiable road kill: 4
Course maps seen dropped on road: 5
Melted Clif Bars seen on course: 12
High temperature on first day: 90
High temperature on second day: 67
Hours spent on the course over two days: 22
Hours spent driving home after the ride: 3
Dreams had on the drive home in which I’d ridden only half of STP: 1
Weeks until next 200-mile event: 5
Community Connection
Interested in getting into long distance group rides? Check out Megan’s guide on How to Train and Prepare for Your First Multi-day Ride.