The marathon man has switched gears. Switched gear, too.

A guy who used to get his athletic thrills on two feet, Steve Hamling now prefers two wheels.

But his love for going long is the same.

On Saturday, the 39-year-old Auburn man, who has done 30 marathons – including Boston and New York – will cover nearly eight times that distance, albeit on his bicycle. Instead of 26.2 miles around Beantown or the Big Apple, Hamling will take his first try at 204 miles between the Emerald City and the Rose City in the annual Seattle to Portland ride.

“Something to do if you’re an athletic person is the STP,” said Hamling, who, unlike most of the expected 9,000-9,500 riders, will make the trek in one day instead of two. “Originally, I signed up for one day, figuring I would switch to two days. But I couldn’t find anyplace to stay at about the halfway point (the Centralia/Chehalis area).

“So about three or four weeks ago, I decided to go one day.”

The aeronautical engineer who works in Kent is not only a newbie to the STP, he’s essentially new to serious cycling. It was just last October when he essentially parked his commuter car (Hamling says he has put gas in it just twice since then) and started commuting eight miles to work on his bike.

Then, he did a couple long rides, Now, he is on his first try at what has become the best-known bicycle event in the Pacific Northwest.

“In the winter time, I average about 100 miles a week,” Hamling said. “Right now, I’m averaging 200 miles a week. On weekends, I’ll do a century (a 100-miler) or a metric century (100 kilometers, which is 62.5 miles).

As a long distance runner, Hamling learned the mindset one must have to get through the miles. In cycling, the mental concept is mostly the same.

It just that the distances are much longer.

“The thing I find hard to get used to is to fathom how far 100 miles is,” said Hamling, adding that he has done four century rides, including in the 90-plus degree heat on June 29. “When you run, you know what 10 miles is. A hundred-mile bike ride – you don’t even want to get up and do that in your car.”

Two fill-ups since October

Matter of fact, Hamling keeps his car mileage to a bare minimum. With wife Eileen, 8-year-old daughter Melissa and 4-year-old son Riley, there’s a certain amount of driving that needs to be done, usually on weekends.

But the rest of the time (Hamling estimates 85 percent since the beginning of the year), he commutes on his Lamont bike.

“My actual commuting car, I’ve only put gas in it twice since last October,” he said.

He won’t need gas to complete the STP. But he will need a strategy of sorts, especially to do it in a day. And Hamling, who has been talking to other one-day riders and is hoping to be a part of a group of eight who also want to go start-to-finish on Saturday, has a plan in place.

“You have to average at least 17 miles per hour and only take one half-hour break,” he said “All the other rides I’ve been doing so far is you take a half-hour break at 50 miles, plus a couple more 15-minute breaks throughout the day.

“This is less breaks and more riding. (And) it’s not as hilly as the other rides.”

Hilly or not, it’s another chance for Steve Hamling to go long.

Only now, it’s on two wheels. Instead of two feet.

29th ANNUAL

SEATTLE TO PORTLAND RIDE

When – Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13.

Where it starts – Husky Stadium parking lot, Seattle.

Total mileage – 204.

Estimated total riders – Up to 9,500, including approximately 2,200 who will do it in one day.

Can I still ride? – This year’s event is sold out.

Will the riders come through the area? – Yes. Riders will get onto West Valley Highway at S. 196th Street in Kent, turn south, and will stay on that road all the way down through Auburn , Algona and Pacific as they head toward Sumner.

More information – Online at www.cascade.org.