STP 2024

I had a really bad day one. I started with only three hours of sleep since I couldn’t turn my brain off. I stayed well hydrated with electrolytes and eating salty things. That changed when I got to Yelm. I started getting really bad leg cramps up my inner thighs and even down my arms from the shoulders. By the time I got to Centralia, I had terrible heat exhaustion…disoriented, stumbling, moving in slow motion, headache. It took me over 45 minutes to set up my tent, which usually only takes me five. I then went to the STP Ambassador room and cooled off in the AC, ate, drank more Gatorade, took a shower, and felt much better. I was exhausted and went back to my tent around 7pm, but it was still too hot and my legs started cramping again. Since I was camping, I couldn’t cool off again with AC. Things finally settled down around 9pm when the temperature dropped and I slept fairly well until morning.

I talked to many other riders and learned that while it was hotter last year, the heat really seemed to do a number of more of them this year. Not sure why that was.

Before turning in for the night, I made a tough decision. I knew that the heat riding along Hwy 30 would be brutal and didn’t want a worse response from it. I decided that if I could still get to Portland without riding, I would do it. Since I rode the entire route last year, I wasn’t super disappointed. I called my friend, Jean, who usually drives solo SAG support to see if she needed help. She welcomed the company and said she had a tough day and was exhausted and would pick me up around 6am. She would also carry my ebike, though it would be a pain for the two of us to lift it on her high hitch rack (shoulder height).

For some reason, my alarm didn’t go off at 4:30am on Sunday. But I heard everyone else starting to get up to beat the worst of the heat and got myself up. Once packed, I dropped my bags at the baggage truck then went to get some breakfast and coffee. By 6am, I hadn’t heard from Jean. I tried calling her several times between then and 7am. I was getting anxious, thinking she forgot me. Trains back to Seattle were sold out, even from Centralia. Jean finally answered right around 7am. She had overslept from exhaustion but would be there to pick me up by 7:30. After drinking more coffee, I collected my bike from the secured corral where it was charging overnight and waited near the baggage truck for Jean. That’s when I noticed that they were almost done loading and would be taking off soon. I asked if there was any way they could load my bike in the back since there was room. They said sure and loaded my bike. That was one thing I didn’t have to deal with until Portland.

Jean arrived and we headed south, then stopped to buy bags of ice and sodas for the riders. I had a lot of fun riding with Jean and I think I was an actual help to her. I also gave out the remaining lip balms I had purchased and branded for STP at one of the rest stops.