STP really snuck up on me this year. I suppose that has to do with the little riding I feel like I did this year, the craptacular weather, and the whole having a family and such. While standing in the start line at 6:00 AM on Saturday it was hard to imagine that it was here already and I was minutes away from beginning. I mean, this is the event that I do, I’m not some 5 time Iron Man like some (cough, cough, Jeremy) but this is what I look forward to, what I train for. Some things that could have gone better and some things that helped me get through after the jump.

Things that were forgotten and missed:

• Towel (I dried off in the sun on Saturday)
• Pillow (I borrowed a throw pillow from the RV)
• Sleeping Bag (borrowed one at the last minute from the Caldwells)
• Sleeping pad (purchased from REI at last minute, will be returned)
• Shoes for after riding (not necessary in Vader but Portland has hot city sidewalks)

Things that helped get me to the finish line on Sunday:

• People spraying us with hoses through Centralia and Chehalis
• Sportslegs
• Sean’s monster cookies (oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chips; w00t!)
• Monster pulls from Jeremy and Sean (we regularly cruised at 22-24 mph)
• Burgerville in St. Helens (got a cheeseburger and shake while still on the ride)
• 5 gallons of homemade spaghetti sauce Saturday night
• Dropping Jeremy and Sean while kicking it up to 29.5 mph to see if they could hang
• The great group of people we hung with on the ride: Heidi, Joe, Robert, Bernie, Sean, Jeremy and our fearless driver and host Jeff (and his dad too)
• Lunch in Spanaway on Saturday catered by Sean’s parents

Well, at least the list of good things is longer than the list of things I forgot. It sure would have been nice to have shoes!