I had a killer time! This was my first time riding it, so I didn't know what to expect. Gotta admit, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Came to the conclusion that a lot of people ride the same way they drive: talking on cell phones , slow people in the 'left' lane , and a lot of pretenders .
Pretty much all the people I came across were way cool! Had some good conversations at the finish line, met some hotties , hit the beer garden in Centralia , then again in Portland.
Most of the people driving cars were pretty courteous, with the exception for a few , of course. All in all an awesome experience. Can't wait for next year.
Final stats: 12 hours 13 minutes, 17.6 mph. Lost about 7lbs along the way.
Yeah, the headwinds out of Longview sucked for sure. Damn near 40 miles of sustained climbing with a 5-10 mph head wind takes a lot out of you. Luckily got into a kick ass draft, averaging about 22mph. Made the last few miles fly by!