A few more reflections on not riding the STP are in order. I was wistful about missing the ride, until I thought about the crowds and yahoos, the ugly rest stops, the heat and the conditions, US 30 into Portland, blah, blah, blah.
Packet pickup duty at REI was different this year, with a new cast of characters at Cascade, younger, seemingly less connection to the volunteers, no jackets to give out, and the new Cascade brass present but not taking the time to say hello to those of us giving our time to help....
Lots of complaints from the Bike Tawkers about number of riders, personal support vehicles, lack of common sense, lack of ride refs to address the yahoo factor, hot weather, rain coming into Portland, etc....
Kevin summed up his frustrations here...
Still, there is this video of crossing the Lewis and Clark bridge over the Columbia into Oregon to consider.
We'll put a big WE'LL SEE on next year. RSVP yes, STP, well, maybe,....
1 comment:
Interesting. It was my 5th STP and I really didn't notice a big difference. I only heard one crash (behind me going up St. Johns bridge) I always give my jacket away so didn't miss that. Behavior was about the same as always...actually seemed a little better at the stop lights/signs. Biggest complaint was a couple of the larger "teams" (i.e. bluebook for bikes?). Lots of side by side gabbing, lane hogging, etc. Overall kind of crazy but it's only once a year so I enjoyed it.
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