Simple matter of tipping over the glass beaker for my Saturday morning cup of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee…with the cord of the coffee grinder.
The worst bit was that I didn’t get any coffee.

Popular demand has asked for a before-during-after account of the 2007 ride. There is only one way I can think of to boil it down…blow by blow, and mile by mile.

Mile 0 – it is 3:45 in the morning fer chrissakes!
Mile 1 – I better do something to tone down the Adrenaline Pumped BopOp or he is gonna burn out before we leave Renton.
Mile 2 – “Take it easy!”
Mile 2.5 – I can’t believe I have 202 miles to go
Mile 3 – I can’t believe I already have to pee.
Mile 30 – Yikes this goo stuff is syrupy
Mile 40 – THAT wasn’t a hill. Pfff
Mile 60 – Holy cow, that goo stuff is kinda nasty
Mile 100 – I can’t believe my butt hurts and THAT was the best PB&J sandwich I have ever had in my life.
Mile 100 – That was the second best PB&J sandwich I have ever had in my life.
Mile 100 – That was the third best PB&J sandwich I have ever had in my life.
Mile 100 – Echoing BopOp
Mile 100.2 – Holy COW my butt hurts.
Mile 140 – You know, it is kinda hot out here and I am getting sorta tired…okay really tired.
Mile 141 – Man, that goo stuff is really pretty despicable.
Mile 150 – That huge bridge spanning the river looks really cool from here.
Mile 150.5 – I gotta do WHAT!?
Mile 153 – Now THAT was a hill.
Mile 154 – Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be.
Mile 155 – Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be.
Mile 156 – Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be.
Mile 157 – Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be.
Mile 160 – That 12 year old kid did all this too?
Mile 161 through 199 – I just woke up and all I recall is that I just woke up. What is happening to me?
Mile 200 – Who put a hill in the road here to get in my way of making my butt stop hurting!
Mile 200.1 – Who put this slow moving train here, actually not in my way, but threatening to be in my way and anyway it is keeping me from making my butt stop hurting!
Mile 203 – Who put this stoplight here yada yada yada from making my butt stop hurting.
Mile 204 – Goosebumps at the throngs giving encouragement and cheer!
Mile 204 – Water?! Ice Cream?! Pictures?! Pizza?! No more goo please!
Mile 204 – Wow, that was easy!…ish…like
The next day – I wonder when my butt is going to stop hurting?

Well, we did it, after all of those posts with numbers, miles, average speed, and so forth, I am happy to report that we finally did the Seattle To Portland 2007 (and Monya is happy to have that over). This ride was 204 miles from the lower parking lot of UW campus all the way to downtown Portland by an estimated 2,230 one-day riders and 6,770 two-day riders.
We were four of the one day riders.
The day was hot, cresting at about 86°F in southern Washington, and there were more than a few dropouts due to the heat. We had planned to leave between 04:00 & 04:30, ride a good 15-17 mph avg and try to complete the 204 mile course in 12-14 hours.
My final readings were:
* 04:30 departure
* 203.9 miles
* 15.9 mph avg
* 12 hours 47 min riding time
* 34.1 maximum speed
* approx arrival time of 20:00.
* 15 hours and 30 min end-to-end.

Dad and I rode as a team the whole way, with one really good successful slingshot that drug him down the hill in my draft, then at the trough of the hill he overtook me with his momentum and I was able to draft him most of the way up the other side. Both of us were able to do the stretch faster together than either of us could have done it alone.

We trailed Andy and Frank by approximately an hour all day as they started a little bit closer (in Renton) but 1/2 hour later (05:00) than Dad and I.

The real trick was staying hydrated and “fueled” with hammer gel, gatorade and other electrolyte drinks, and the PB&J sandwiches available at the major foodstops. I believe I drank about 3 gallons of fluids over the course of the ride, and probably about another 1/2 gallon before and after the ride.
The only problem I still have (one week later) is some kind of tendinitis behind my right knee for which I am seeing a physical therapist on Tuesday. I think it may have simply exacerbated an old injury (from soccer or some other endeavor) that I have been able to successfully ignore for lo these many years.

The years have caught up with me now.

Dad, Frank, Lief, Andy