Finishing the STP Classic

This was such an incredible ride. I loved it all too much. We rode from Centralia, Washington to Portland, Oregon for Day 2 of the Seattle to Portland Classic Bike Ride. The views were even more incredible than before and I wish wish wish so much that I could have had my camera out and snapping the whole time.

A few of the highlights:

Leaving Centralia


Stopping to see the World's Largest Egg (Yep, you can be impressed

Just a road we rode along

Cross the Lois & Clark Bridge
(This was fun because they could only let so many bikers on at a time. They stopped traffic and made us wait 15 minutes and all the bikers went up in groups. It was a steep bridge but not too bad to climb. It was fun to look at the ground underneath through the cracks on the bridge and realize how high up we were (I LOVE HEIGHTS). Also I guess the area was a large logging town because there were trees that had been made into logs all over. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Nothing I could ever fathom. The bridge took us from Washington to Oregon.)
Barbara & I waiting at the bottom of the bridge

Starting up the bridge

View from the bridge





Leaving Washington and entering Oregon




We went over a few more bridges before the ride was over. They were closer to Portland. I can't imagine how the city folk felt with 10,000 bikers taking over their streets. They really need to try it though.






As soon as we hit mile 200 the course took an incredible steep turn and we ended up taking on some mighty hills right at the end. One bridge was closed so we had to detour though another. It was crazy but I was so happy to say that I did it without walking an inch.

Around mile 140 I was so hungry. I hadn't had anything to eat all day and i was running out of steam and just starving. Mile 145 was the lunch stop and it was compltely ridiculous. A single file line that had a 45 minute (at least wait). I rode to the next gas station around mile 160 and got myself a chocolate milk and a hamburger. Best thing I could have done for myself. I had so much energy throughout the rest of the ride and all night long.

This really was a such a fun experience, I would love to bike from place to place all over the world because i feel like I can take in so much more of the scenery that way.

Oceans Shores, WA

In between biking Seattle to Portland I met up with Mike and his family. They were visiting his grandparents in Oceans Shore, WA and that happened to be pretty close to Centralia, the halfway point for us bikers.

Oceans Shore is located off the same exit as Forks, WA - for all you Twilight fans. Even though the movies weren't filmed in Forks the area looked crazy similar to the real movies. It was fun to see.

After eating some homemade Clam Chowder made by Mike's grandpa - and it was delicious - we went to the ocean shore only a few blocks from his grandparents house. I guess I forgot what beaches are like off of the Northern United States but the water is cold and the skies are cloudy. It was still lots of fun and we did a lot of neat things.

This is Mike & I walking to the beach

Coming out of the Pacific Ocean after playing in the water

A line of Seagulls flying across the ocean

Climbing on the rock jetty




View of the ocean & beach




We had a blast on the beach; playing in the sand, sitting by a campfire (so fun!) and Mike and his dad moved a log to the top of a rock and made a teeter-toter, lol - it was all really fun!



FUN FACT: If you have read the Twilight series (which I have not), this is a casino that is actually the name of Jacob's Indian tribe in the book. Stephanie Meyers really knew her stuff about the area.

Ride Like the Wind Bullseye

Today I finished phase 1 of the Seattle to Portland (STP) Classic bike ride. It was a really nice ride. We started at the University of Washington in Seattle and rode to Centralia College (also in Washington), a little over 100 miles. To everyone who told me this was a flat ride – you lied. The rolling hills were very beautiful and nothing like the mountains I am used to in UT. The ride was basically a pure incline, sometimes it was steep and sometimes it was very slight but I recognized that it was a constant uphill. Sometimes... yes sometimes... at the top of the hills we got to go down but not all the time. ;)

The ride had only a few big climbs. There was one hill around the 45 mile mark which was a mile long and was a 7% grade. That was the only MAJOR hill on the first day. I was pedaling and pedaling up that hill just hoping that I was near the top and then I look over to see a poster saying, “1/4 of the way!” with a stick figure biking up a hill and being at the very bottom. Lots of people started walking their bikes up the hill but I didn’t want that to be an option for me so I just kept pedaling and I made it! After that there was a slight incline and other hills but nothing quite as major. I figured if I could do that, I could do any of them. (Good attitude right? It worked.)

The area was so lush with tons of trees and lots of green. The streets were beautiful, the horizons were beautiful, it all was just so much to take in. I wished I could have a camera on the top of my helmet and just snap pictures with a hand held button to capture all the fantastic views. Although I couldn't I did tried to take pictures while I biked but wasn’t able to muster very many; however, I did capture these few shots:

(At the starting line; they cap this ride at 10,000 riders!)

(View of Seattle from the road.)

(Another view from the road)

(While biking, it typically always looked like this - lots of thick green.)

(Barbara and I waiting for the rest of the team at the 11 mile mark. Yep, just getting started.)

These next shots are photo's by Barbara's husband Mickey of us riding into the rest stops:






(Me pulling into the finish (behing the man/lady) in Centralia, WA)


10,000 bikers on the road made the course somewhat chaotic at times but if we ever got caught in a group of bikers we passed them so that we could avoid the wrecks and stress that come with them. It worked really well and the ride was calm and enjoyable. I really tried to take in as much of the landscape as possible.

Day 2 will resume tomorrow wish me luck!

Highlights of Seattle

The drive to Seattle ended up being REALLY long. Next time I take a bike trip in another state - I am going to look into how much it costs to ship the bike while I fly.

I guess that the bonus of driving instead of flying is much like the benefit of biking state to state - you get to see a lot of really neat things that you would have otherwise missed.

Traveling from Utah to Washington I got to see Mt. Rainer and Mt. Adams, two volcanoes. We did get closer than this to them but these were my favorite pics:


I saw a lone of red cars as we got closer I noticed that they were all red Corvette's - all except two; one was blue and the lead car was yellow. It was fun seeing them all right in a row. They must have been part of some Corvette club because they were apparently traveling together and all took the same exit.

After we checked into the University Inn, our hotel, I took a walk around Seattle. This was a view of the city from close to where we were staying.

I went to 'The Cheesecake Factory' for dinner with Mike and his parents who were in Washington visiting his grandparents and with my mission roommate Carly Anderson and her husband Scott Taylor. It was really fun seeing everyone and getting some amazing pasta for dinner - next time I will totally try the ever popular Seattle fish & chips.


The night before the big race - heading back to the hotel.

I really loved Seattle and wish I had been there longer or that I had been able to do more things. I will definitely be going back to visit.