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MJK: You’ve been riding STP since the beginning, 25 years ago. What keeps you coming back each year?
JB: Habit! And I enjoy the social aspect.
PW: Hard to say. By now, of course, it’s gotten to be the record thing, having ridden every time. I guess 200 miles is enough of a challenge to look forward to each year.
MJK: What year was the most memorable for you and why?
JB: The first year has left me with the most memories. There was a cold rain from Spanaway (around mile 43.5) to Bucoda (around mile 80). Bucoda was the first time on the ride I felt any warmth, and it was still raining.
There was a headwind most of the way. Sumner to Puyallup was the only time I was in a big chain ring. And they lied when they said there was a tailwind on the Oregon side of the river.
There were not any food stops, and the car that was handling my food did not catch up with me until Story Hill (Centralia, midpoint). I would have been even hungrier, but I stopped at the side of the road in Puyallup where my folks lived. My mom said the peaches were a little green so she put some sugar on them and “was that OK?!”
Dave Shaw and Bob Freeman were on a tandem close behind me. My neck was very sore the next day from looking over my shoulder to see if they were catching me!
The other memory I have is from 1983 or so. My wife and I stopped for breakfast at my folks’ mobile home in Puyallup. Every time we got up to leave, the rain just came down harder on the tin roof, and we sat back down for more breakfast. Finally my Father said, “Puyallup. Portland. They both start with P.” So one year my STP was only to Puyallup.
PW: I remember things about each year, but they all start to run together after this many times. I can’t remember any one year distinctly. I guess I’d have to say 1979, the first one. I had never done it before, so it was different. It was only the second time I’d ridden 200 miles in a day. The whole idea of a 200 mile organized ride struck me as a bit unusual, and I was surprised that there were people willing to do it. I remember that the weather was miserable. The maps were photocopies with a yellow highlight line that became unreadable when it got wet.
MJK: How have you seen the ride change over the last 25 years?
PW: It’s gotten bigger and more professionally run. The one had to come with the other, or it would be chaos. The discouragement of personal support vehicles (PSVs) in later years is a big plus. In some of the earlier years when the ride had gotten quite large, some sections had more PSVs than other traffic. It was quite a hassle. I always ride in one day, so I don’t have to deal with the large hordes. Although on the way back—I’ve been riding back the next day since they stopped using the train to return—the last several years when the two-day riders arrive in Portland the day after the one day riders do, it’s interesting to watch the cyclists going the other way. For an hour or two there really is a continuous stream of bikes!
JB: The food stops are terrific. Later in the year is drier. Clothes and equipment have really improved. The first year I rode in wool shorts with real chamois and on tubular tires. Even so, it still rains but now there is Gore-Tex.
MJK: What do you do to prepare for every STP?
PW: Nothing much. I don’t train or anything. I just continue to ride my regular commute 5 days a week (21 miles each way). I’ve discovered over the years as I’m getting older it takes a little longer but I always get to Portland without much trouble.
JB: Ride my bike and proactive eating. Actually, eating and drinking is one of the things that many riders do not do enough.
MJK: What tips do you have for a new rider to make every ride for the next 25 years?
JB: Remember this is fun! But make sure your bike and you are ready.
PW: Just do it.
MJK: How long do you think you’ll keep riding the STP?
JB: That is a good question. I am still doing the ride as a one-day, but as I get a bit older, two days might happen. So I am shooting for another 25 years!
PW: As long as it keeps being held, and I’m able. I imagine eventually there will come a time when I have to back off and do it in two days, but not for a while yet. And there could come a year when I’m busy with something more important or injured or something that would keep me from riding it. Not yet, though.
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