I ran across this in some Bike to Work literature: KING 5, the NBC affiliate in Seattle, has a show called "Evening Magazine" with a host named John Curley. (You either love him or hate him - the nicest description I have heard about him was "twerp.")
Anyway, Curley is going to ride the 200-mile Seattle to Portland ride in 1 day. There is a contest to guess how long, in hours minutes and seconds, it will take him. I had to read the fine print carefully to see what was included and excluded in his official time. You can win a Softride bike and some other prizes, but I am mostly interested in finding out how fast Curley can do it. I think the guy is a runner and he appears to be in good shape, but I can't handicap this one. To enter you must be a Washington resident.

http://www.king5.com/marketplace/stp/

Good luck.

Thats pretty interesting. Too bad I'm an Oregon resident.

Are you doing the STP TypeOne?

Back circa 1990 when the STP was 180 miles, before the route changed, the "target time" with pace-lines for the elite riders was sub-ten-hours.

That was 15 yrs ago, with a shorter distance. But I'd guess somewhere in the 18 MPH realm for an elite athlete who knows how to cycle. Just because this "twerp" is a marathon runner or some such, doesn't mean he has the skills to sit on a bike for ten hours and run a pace-line. More to it than just being fit.

I'm in Oregon, but I suppose I could get a PO Box across the river.

Thats pretty interesting. Too bad I'm an Oregon resident.

Are you doing the STP TypeOne?

Sivart - I'm not planning on it; I last did the one-day STP in 2003. Good luck to you, if you are doing it. And good luck to this KING5 guy.
You'd think I would have some insight into how long it might take the average cyclist, but no. I just took an average mph of 18 mph, figuring he'd sit on a wheel the whole way, but factored in extra-long stops at rest stops every 20+ miles. Plus, he'll probably have a "live feed" newscast once or twice where he tells his audience how lousy he is feeling. I have no idea how much this guy is training. I might do the tune-up "Flying Wheels" century near Seattle on 6/18 and Curley might be out for that. If I see a 120-lb guy on a Softride zip past me I'll have some idea how his preparations are coming along.

Thats my guess

It so depends on if you are in a paceline, head/tail winds and/or riding solo. I certainly don't consider myself an elite rider (whatever that is), but was a pretty strong rider at the time when I last did STP in 1995. I rode with a group. Distance reported was 193 miles, our on bike time was 8 hours 41 minutes 41 seconds. Of course we stopped at all the stops and didn't dink around, but didn't hurry either. I have no idea what the total elapsed time was for the ride. We did an organized paceline (kept it confined to our own group) and probably had a tail wind to boot.

All I know is no one called me to congratulate me for winning the prize.
The King 5 site didn't have any updates, and when I searched a little more I found that Curley wasn't ever planning to ride STP - he was riding a similar route on June 12, nearly a month beforehand. If I had paid attention to this, I would have revised my estimate.
So, did Curley do it?

Here's the "fine print:"

"WINNER SELECTION: Winner selection shall take place on or about June 17, 2005 at KING 5 Television, 333 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109 . The winner is the person who correctly guesses, or comes closest without going over the actual time in hours, minutes and seconds, of how long it will take John Curley to complete the ride from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR on June 12, 2005. Included in the ride time will be routine breaks for food, medical attention, use of the restroom and minor bicycle repairs. The official timekeeping clock will only be stopped for circumstances that are unusual such as but not limited to, major bicycle or escort vehicle repairs, accident or injury, road blocks or unexpected emergencies. Official timekeeping will resume when rider(s) are able to safely ride again. The sole determinant of time for the purpose of selecting the winner will be Contest Provider's official timekeeper in the Pacific Standard Time (PST) zone. In the event there is more than one person who correctly guesses John Curley's exact ride time, Contest Providers will randomly select one winner. If John Curley does not complete the ride, a winner will be randomly selected from all entries received. Winner selection will be made by Contest Providers, whose decision shall be final. Winner will be notified by e-mail, phone, U.S. mail and/or overnight courier on or near date specified. If a winner is unreachable after two (2) business days, an alternate winner will be selected by a random drawing from the remaining qualified entries. In order to be named a winner, potential winner may be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Prize Acceptance Form/Release of liability upon accepting a prize. Noncompliance will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected."

Fordy was pretty close on this one. I ran a google search and came up with the article from the PI on the time and some other stuff. Heres the details.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/levesque/231874_leve09.html

Fordy was pretty close on this one. I ran a google search and came up with the article from the PI on the time and some other stuff. Heres the details.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/levesque/231874_leve09.html

Of course I read that in the PI when I saw a column about cycling, but I somehow skimmed past the part about the subject of the story riding with Curley. Duh......
Well, not a bad result for the guy, I suppose.
Still, I am surprised KING5 didn't publicize the results of their contest. It made me suspect maybe Curley hadn't finished.
Good pick, Fordy.