Name of Race

Link to Web Site: www.cascade.org
Rating:
Date of Run: 14-15 Jul 2006
Reviewed By: Foo
Comments: I believe this is the largest bike ride (organized or not) in the U.S with 8000+ riders. Most ride the 206 miles in two days -- that's back-to-back centuries. And while the bike ride can be tough (I'll get into that later), the hardest part is the logistics of getting your entire team and all its gear to the start at 5:30am at Husky Stadium, arranging accomodations for Friday night in Seattle, and Saturday night somewhere near Chehalis, and then gathering it all up and heading home Sunday night. The cost can be quite high, but we did it pretty cheaply this year. We camped out on the playfields next to the start for $5 per vehicle, and we stayed Saturday night at my folk's place in Curtis, one valley over from Chehalis.

Now for the ride (it's not a race). Depending on the weather, it can be fairly easy, or quite hard. The good weather pattern brings sun, 70-80 degrees temperatures, and a 5kt North wind (tailwind). The bad weather pattern brings rain on and off, 60 degrees, and 5-15kt headwinds. Last year was bad weather. This year was gorgeous. I think you can count on good weather 7 out of 8 years.

As for the course, It's surprisingly flat. One 500 ft hill at Puyallup, rollers on and off south of Vader -- some good and short (easy to pop), others a bit too long. Things flatten out on the Oregon side of the Columbia, with the major problem being traffic on hiway 30 around Scappoose. Oh yes, traffic is also a problem from Spanaway to Roy. Cars wiz by at 50mph pretty close.

Excellent support all along the route. There are food stops about every 30 miles. DON'T MISS ONE. We missed the one at Lexington last year and it hurt us bad. We limped into St Helens. If you stay fueled and go at a reasonable (and stable) pace, this is a pretty enjoyable ride.

We already have 8 monkeys signed up for STP in one day (a double century) next year.