# Newbie Experience Training for Double Century (STP)



## ScooterDobs (Nov 26, 2010)

I have received such great information on this site that I though I would share what I learned going from a couch potato to completing a double century in 5 months. In the interest of full disclosure, the ride was the Seattle to Portland (STP) and we did it in two days. As far as double centuries go (according to a number of people on these forums), it is not difficult with two hills of any significance along the entire route. I humbly offer what I learned along the training path and during the ride. More experienced cyclists can chime in and correct or offer advice as they see fit.

My story - 49 years old, weight and cholesterol climbing. Without a goal I won't get off the couch and exercise so I committed to the STP so I had something to shoot for. I downloaded the STP training guide which, basically, outlines 2500 training miles going into the ride over 5 months. Weather and life got in the way so I was only able to get 1800 miles in over the 5 months. The ride was a success, was really fun, and I did not feel unprepared for the ride.

Heart Rate Monitor - I strongly recommend this as it gives you feedback on what level you are exercising at. It basically keeps you from under-working or over-working once you learn where you are at and at what heart rate. You have to ride to get the feel for it.

Cadence - Find a cadence that works for you and ignore the people that tell you it's too slow or too fast. I ride at about 100 rpm. Some of my friends ride at about 70. It works for me and them. 

Training - Start easy and log your rides. There are a number of tools and web sites that can do this for you easily. The log helps you look back and see your progress. It motivated me to keep riding when I didn't feel like it. Work up the miles on the flats then incorporate hills into the training. I trained alone for the first couple months to get my fitness level up. I then started riding with larger groups. Make sure you incorporate group rides as it teaches you how to draft, communicate, pass, etc which are all necessary when riding with 9,000 friends. If you can't put in a lot of miles then make sure you are training on hills to get stronger. You also need to ride a couple of very long (90-120 mile) rides. This will show you if you need Butt'r, how to hydrate and re-fuel, etc. 90 miles is totally different than 60 in my experience. You also need to train in varying weather so you know what clothing you need for the conditions.

Bike - You don't need a great bike. I finished my last two months of training and the STP on a $400 used Giant OCR3. After I bought it, however, I had it fit at the LBS. My distance riding world immediately got better. I strongly recommend a professional fit on whatever bike you ride.

The STP - A couple of observations about the ride. The start is a madhouse, like rush hour traffic with bicycles. Lower your expectations, go with the flow, and enjoy the sight of that many bikes in one place. From the start to the first food stop at 25 miles, it is a nice warm-up. If you want to air it out, this isn't the place. After the first food stop the course starts to string out a bit. After the second food stop (55 miles) the riders start to string out to a more manageable line. If you are with a group, stay together as much as possible to take advantage of drafting. Even if you are alone, there are enough people that you can pick up a pace line and run with them. If you bogart a draft off another group, however, please step up and pull for a while.

Our group rode 114 miles on day one and 90 on day two. The food stops are spaced where you can basically stop every 30 +/- miles. Day one had three stops and day two had two. I mention this because when you are training for the ride remember to stop and take a break every 30 miles. Refuel, refill your bottles, etc. I trained on a 30 mile loop so my high mileage days meant doing the loop over. I kept Fig Newtons and Powerade at my car so I could load up for the next loop.

Conclusion - I loved the ride. I did not feel unprepared for the ride at all and enjoyed the experience. No pain, no cramps, no bonking. All because I learned my own body over the 5 months of training and made sure the miles I was putting in were not flat easy miles. If you are new to cycling, I am a testament to the fact that you can go from 0 miles to 204 in two days with five months of training. I hope this post helps or motivates someone to actually get off the couch and try cycling. It improved my health and my life and the ride itself was a blast.


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## nravanelli (Jul 16, 2012)

I commend you on your determination and success. The improvements in your health and life will stick with you, provided you maintain this high cohesion to the lifestyle. You are an inspiration to many people that anything is possible if you put your mind to it!


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## The Papa (Jun 15, 2012)

Congrats and nice write up. I've only been riding a month and have about 10 rides of 12-35 miles each under my belt. I'm riding the Lighthouse Century in SLO, CA at the end September. I need to step up my riding and training I know, but like you said... Life gets busy and gets in the way sometime. I get up early to get my rides in before the day begins. Thanks for sharing.


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## mksoct1st09 (Aug 3, 2012)

I did my first Double Century ( STP ) as well just Last Month. From the day I first registered for the event, I committed 100% to complete the Seattle to Portland Ride in One Day. Unfortunately I did commit to training intensively for a One Day Double Century Ride, so I did STP 2012 in 2 Days!


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