I would consider myself a moderate cyclist. Nothing really over 35 mi at this point. A buddy has talked me into STP for next year. Aside from riding more....any thoughts about how to train. I really think I need the real basics like how to even sit on the bike to more effective and cut down on wind resistance. Any thoughts would be great.
Forums » General Training » Cycling
Training for STP 2009
(7 posts)-
Posted 4 months ago #
-
The STP (Seattle to Portland) is a great ride. For those of you from all over the world, who might not know about the STP, it's a very well supported Double Century ridden by about 10,000 riders every year. Most of the riders (about 8,000) will do the ride in two days, back to back century rides. There are great places to stop for the night at 100, 120, or 140 miles, making the second day either 100, 80, or 60 miles.
About 2,000 riders do the ride in "one day". I have ridden this ride each of the last 4 years, and have decided to make it an annual ritual.
For the most part it's a very scenic ride, through some very nice back roads. There are however a few stretches of the ride, where the best possible route are highly trafficked state highways with lots of truck and car traffic. Stretches like Hwy 30 in Oregon are really quite scary even for experienced riders. But the ride is very well supported with hundreds of motorcycle and car support vehicles, and food and water stops every 10-20 miles.
It's a very good goal, and one that I firmly believe anyone can reach, especially if they set their mind to it.
Now... to your question...
How do you train for this ride? Well, first of all, a year is a lot of time to train. In fact, most people don't officially start training for this until January or February, since the ride is in July. I think it's great that you're thinking ahead.
I would recommend that you basically set a goal of getting "lots of time in the saddle"... and so if you already feel comfortable doing a 35 mile ride, then you're in great shape to reach the goal of either a 1 day or 2 day goal. Most people say that if you can comfortably complete a 50 mile ride "without stopping" then you are probably ready to do a double century. The truth is that if you can ride 50 miles with only stopping for water and nature breaks... then you are ready. The point is, you're close if you already can do 35 miles.
I would suggest that you start by picking a "century" ride schedule d EARLY next season. As I recall there are a couple century rides in April in the Pacific Northwest. You can check out the century training schedule located in our library section to get some ideas on how to prepare for a century.
We are in the process of publishing a new guide for double centuries... and when we publish it, you'll have plenty of time to prepare to use it.
In the mean time, go out and ride your bike. Have fun... and slowly add distance to your rides. Add maybe 10-15% or less per week... and you will be safe from any over training injuries.
Good luck!
Posted 4 months ago # -
this first caught my eye because "STP" are my brothers initials...then i read about Brad doing it (and on a fixie I might add) and thought of how cool that would be to do this with friends and or family. I can't imagine doing 200+ miles, but I have done over 50 and really enjoyed myself. Keep an open mind, and keep in mind (correct me Brad, if I'm wrong) but this is more for fun than it is a race, for most anyway. I am thinking of maybe tryingto come out and do this ride next year, what a blast.
GK17
Posted 4 months ago # -
GreenKing is correct, the STP is NOT A RACE... :)
It's a fun ride.
Although certainly many people see it as an opportunity to set a new personal best for speed, total time, rolling speed, etc. And there are several "teams" who do the ride in a very aggressive race oriented mentality. But usually they stay clear of people who are just out to have fun!
Posted 4 months ago # -
The Cascade Bicycle club puts on a series of training rides which ramp up in distance specifically to train for STP. The distance guidelines work well and they have several groups on each ride so that you have a group to ride with at your pace. I'd highly recommend doing at least some of these to get used to riding in large groups. In fact that's my biggest knock against this ride. 8,000 people, 6,000 of which don't know what they're doing; it's dangerous because there's such a huge difference in speed and then you're all waiting in line at the same time for bathrooms and bananas.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I went from a 0 activity level in Aug 2007 to training for and completing the 2008 STP in July! I would have never thought I was one to even consider such a feat and I'm quite proud of my accomplishment.
I attend a local gym and the group I take spin classes with had the idea of training so we could all participate together. Our training began with increasing the number of spin work outs (I went from 3 to 5/wk) and there were a few planned endurance training sessions where we got together and peddaled on the stationary cycles for 2, 3 and 4 hours.
In April we started the road training. The first outing was for 35 miles and then every other weekend after that we increased our mileage...50, 60, 70, 85 and finally on July 4th weekend we completed a century. Some of the group also participated in the Flying Wheels. I didn't because I had to attend my daughter's dance recital but our final training ride gave me the Century feather I needed in my cap.
The STP was fantastic! I completed 130 miles the first day in 10 hours and completed the 2nd day in 6. The only complaint that I have would be the heat on Day 2 was horrendous and I didn't bring enough Chamois butter. OWWWWWCH!
All in all I had the best time. I've inspired my husband and he's going to one-up me by participating and completing the STP 2009 in one day. I look forward to showing my support by trailing him in the Jeep with the kids for the best road trip ever, just as he fabulously supported me!
Good luck to you!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Hey. Saw your post. It's very inspirational. I just started cycling about 5 months ago. I'm averaging about 110 miles a week now. Absolutely love it> I'm training for the Six Gap Century in Georgia. Lots of elevation change. Is the STP a flat ride? And, congratulations on your accomplishment.
Posted 3 months ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.
