Sunday, July 16, 2006

It's a done deal. I forgot my camera so the tiny logging towns, stunning Victorian farm houses and fields and hills and trees and creeks and dormant volcanoes and Lake Washington and Puyallup (hisssss) will reside only in my mind, at least until next year. I wonder, maybe still in a blood sugar deprived state, what 'Centralia' would be in French? Centralia is the overnight heart of STP--quite a dynamic place for at least one night a year. Being prejudiced about wonderful names for wonderful towns, I'm just think it deserves a nicer name....So many people camp. Vikings, Goths, Huns, otherwise warriors, those. There were cops everywhere! I'm so naive; I thought the cops were the help the bikers navigate the commercial/residential paths to the SRs and secondaries that are STP. Nope. They are to pull the bikers over and TICKET them if they don't make the stop sign. Actually rerouted the ride out of Yelm; Yelmites don't like this ride or the people who ride it. okay. I loved coming into St. Helen's from the Washington side. Never have before. And the Lewis Clark bridge is just your requisite damn scarey steel bridge. I think Oregon has the world franchise on those. Gold Wing Club did an escort over for the bikers. Cool. Funny. People love to ride up to you and rip on you because you have a mountain bike. sigh. And riding in to the finish line through Nopo was highly emotional. Cried a little bit. How I love that Nopo.



JBelle
On Location with STP
Lloyd Center, Oregon

9 comments:

JBelle said...

cyn!

!!!!!

YES! YES! YES! do it with me next year. It's really not that big of deal.

(trotting off into the week, now with something to look forward to for one whole year! we'll have a blast!)

Anonymous said...

Centralie...sahn-trah-LEE (with a nasal sound instead of the "n"). It does sound better in French.
Jannabelle, you continue to amaze me. One of these days I'll get my bike out and actually ride it! (Still have the ten-speed I rode to classes at UofI.)
BTW, saw Mike R. at Safeway this weekend...he was in town to help his folks with some things...they're still in the same house at 8th and Garden!
And, Viking Get-together tentatively slated for August 9.
Onward...

JBelle said...

YOU SAW (insert politically incorrect nickname for our other oldest friend here) ???? I would LOVE to see him! Where does he live?

August 9; I will pencil it in with great pleasure. And Centralia is better by legions, this very morning. sahn-trah-LEE. perfect. yeah, get your bike out. Ride part of it, or all of it, with me next year. We are planning a big overnight party in Castle Rock for the overnight. Don't miss it!

Anonymous said...

The "PINFOOOF" (PolitcallyIncorrectName...) lives outside of Bozeman, Montana. Married, no kids. He said he wouldn't be able to make it the 9th, but would be in town later in August for his mom's 85th.
Recently, I also had a great conversation with one of my surrogate mothers (as were all the mothers of our friends growing up), Randy S.'s mom, Genevieve (née Hopperstad). She lives in PF now; Randy's in the Vancouver, WA area. I don't think I'd spoken with her since our 4th grade teacher's funeral (25-30 years).
We'll see about next year...gotta kick my habit first, I think.

JBelle said...

hey, could we do a dinner with Mike R? Mrs. S, too? :) Just a small group from the old neib? What do you think? In addition to being a world class athlete, I can cook. Who freaking knew.

JBelle said...

Good. 'Cause he's a dirtbag. And truly, the best revenge is living well. The training just isn't that hard. They have a detail of what you should be doing each week on the GroupHealth website. It falls together pretty easy, especially around here with the Centennial Trail and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. I trained with a mountain bike and a full pack. Worked good, too.

Anonymous said...

Oh my, you ladies are making me tired just thinking of all that physical exertion. But I'm sure impressed too!

I was driving down that way to help out at a farmers market on Saturday and saw the STPers riding alongside Hwy 167 near Kent. Then, I got even closer as I took the back way home, up Jackson Hwy to Centralia, and there were more of those energetic people on bikes. Maybe I drove right past you JBelle! If I'd known, I'd have waved!

JBelle said...

I'm sure you drove right past! I was the one wearing white!

JBelle said...

YOU ARE AWESOME


awesome!