STP

On July 17 & 18 the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (200 miles) was held. Gary and I have each done the ride, sometimes in one day and sometimes in two days. I have to say the one day ride was a little easier. It's really hard to get back on the bike on the second day, let's say a little painful! Of course once I was on the back of the tandem and I let Gary do all the work. We were actually stopped in Longview for riding over the speed limit! Luckily we did not get a ticket, just a warning.

Gary & Trevor had plans earlier this year to ride the STP. They did a couple of training rides, the Lewis County Historical Ride and Redhook Haul Ash. Since Adelynn was a little stubborn and decided to be 11 days late it messed up the plans a little. I came up with a great idea to have a small bicycle repair stand set up out front. It was last minute decision and we were able to notify the coordinators of STP so they could bring riders to us if needed. They were aware of who Gary is so they knew he could fix a bent fork, frame or almost anything.

Professional??

The first repair was quite easy, a waterbottle cage had come off. Gary had that one fixed and off in no time. The next one was a little challenging and took about 2 hours. The rider had a broken axle on his rear wheel. It was a very old bike (30 years) and Gary didn't have an axle to replace it, so he looked around his warehouse and found an old wheel they used for heat treating. It was the perfect size. He also repaired the rear derailleur and made some other adjustments.

The rider and his friend took a little nap in our front yard and Trevor was kind enough to share a couple of Corona's. They each took a quick shower, but it was unfortunate they had to put their dirty, smelly riding clothes back on. They were staying a couple of miles from us for the night so they were in no hurry.

As it turns out, the rider had just bought the bike at Value Village for $30. I am not sure he realizes the wheel he got costs a lot more than the entire bike!

Our house in right about the middle of the course and we love to watch 10,000 riders come by. They are dressed in wild outfits and many try to do something to stand out. We saw all kinds of bikes, brands and styles. We actually saw about 10 Kleins!

While Gary was busy repairing the wheel Trevor took over and did some flat repairs. The riders should be able to repair their own flats but it was fun to help them out.

Trevor was quick to change a flat.

We had a sign out in our yard for one of the Labor & Delivery Nurses at Evergreen Hospital, Emily. She was the nurse that helped Jenny through her labor the night before Adelynn was born. She got off work at 7:00 am and the new nurse grabbed her before she left because Adelynn was on her way out. We never got to see Emily, I hope she saw our sign.

Next year Gary and Trevor are planning to ride. When I asked them what we would do about having a repair stand Gary replied "You can learn how to do it"! I can't even change a flat!