General Cycling Discussion - Ride pics from the MS-150

Hey all!

Here are some pics from the MS-150 ride this past weekend -- enjoy!

First, here's one of me before the start (be kind... it was early, okay?) :p

Can't get away from traffic on I-10 no matter what you do...

On the road, finally.

This is a sight you get used to seeing at the break points -- when ya gotta go, ya gotta go!

Mother Nature put on her best show for this ride -- the scenery was fantastic!

This was an especially nice section of road -- smooth pavement, nice tailwind... the miles just go right on by. In case you were wondering, all of the road shots were taken from the bike while underway, not standing in the middle of the road.

The Eagle has landed! 100 miles to La Grange, my first century!

In camp at the La Grange Fairgrounds -- BP had their balloon ready to go.

Sunset over the campground

This was the 'secret' starting point nobody knew about...

Lunch stop at Bastrop.

Not only does this guy have one of the most interesting vehicles you'll see on the ride, he's working hard and keeping up with the pack while suffering from MS. If he can get it done, there's no excuses for us!

This was another really nice stretch of road; nice wide shoulder that was smooth as glass with gentle rolling hills.

Touchdown! This is right after I crossed the finish line in Austin. The bandana was signed by Nancy, my Pedal Partner for the ride.

Awesome!!

Cool ride, nice people, beautiful scenery, and a good cause.

Does it get any better???

Sweet pictures. I did not take any pictures along my journey. Only pictures I have are the ones my wife took in our team tent, and then the arrival pictures at the Sunday Finish Line.

Would you mind if I save a few of yours to my PC?

Also - where did you go for the secret start on day 2? - We started one and got boxed in.

Tks,

Matt

Originally posted by pcsanity1
Would you mind if I save a few of yours to my PC?

No, I don't mind at all... they're there to share.


[i]
Also - where did you go for the secret start on day 2? - We started one and got boxed in. [/B]

See below:

The red line is the route that a few people used to use to get out early in past years, but now the gate to the overflow parking lot is locked in the morning and you have to queue up along the road. In other words, it ain't a secret anymore as evidenced by the 1000+ riders queued up there at 6:30 in the morning. It basically became a second start group, with the ride officials alternating start groups between the main group and our group. Given the growing number of riders they'll probably end up running two lines going out from now on.

I don't know about you, but I had a wonderful trip. I am ready to go again, but I really think I need to do a little serious fishing the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the pics.

holy moly that's a lot of cyclists... how many people rode in this (total)?

I haven't seen the final total, but last year they had 10,000 riders and I saw bib numbers higher than that on the ride this year. The lunch stops and the overnight camp at La Grange were packed full of people, but the organizers still kept things moving reasonably well. I'm extremely impressed with the job they've done in managing the logistics of supporting so many people yet making sure that people have a nice ride.

Cool pics thanks
Joe

Grendel, I wanted to hear more about your experience on your MS150 ride. Can I ask you a bunch of questions? I'm planning on doing my first one this July and I'm really nervous. I'll be doing 75 miles on each day.

What did you do with your bike overnight? Do they give you a place to lock it up? I'm seeing myself trying to find my bike amoung 10,000 other bikes.

How did you feel the second day? I'm pretty sure I can do the 1st day, I'm not so sure about the 2nd day. I've got a 10 week training schedule worked out, so hopefully by then I'll be ready.

What was your average speed? I'm thinking mine will be about 12-13 mph if there's not too many hills.

What did you carry with you? I'm thinking water, food (of course!), my camera, some money, a small first aid kit, extra tube and co2 containers. Anything else you wish you'd have carried?

Any tips or suggestions you have would be great. I'm really looking forward to this just to see if I have what it takes to push myself that hard.

I'll be riding by myself as none of my 46 year old friends will try this. They all think I've gone off the deep end. I figure this is a way to make new friends that have similar interests.

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.

Originally posted by Grendel
This was another really nice stretch of road; nice wide shoulder that was smooth as glass with gentle rolling hills.



Lovely.....!

Gun-n-gal -

Well, I am not Grendel, but I did ride this MS for the first time this year, I will share my experiences. Our ride was 100 miles on the first day and about 80 on the second day.

They do provide overnight bike storage. (You will get more info in your rider manual.) But...to avoid the lines in the morning (and to keep my precious bike near me) everyone in my immediate group carted our bikes to the hotel. (My wife and one of the other "widows" met us at the mid point and carted us along with 3 bikes / riders in each car to/from the hotel.) You claim your bike by rider number.

Average Speed: Day 1 = 17.9mph - a few hills but nothing killer. Day 2 was 16.8mph - hills all day. Two ways we could go - the easy bypass or the "hard" park - I chose the park. I figure if I am going to do it I am going all the way!

I was very energized on the second day. Though mentally tired, I was hyped from the first day being my first english century. (100 miles) I was doing regular weekend training rides in the tune of 70-80 miles + 3-4 other days per week at about 25 miles. All of this was tapered up over twelve weeks. I was riding about 40 weekend day / 18 weekday prior to the training schedule.

Things I carried with me:

Saddle Bag: Spare Tube, Patch Kit, 3 CO2, inflator, multi tool, and sunblock - which I loaned to several people. Also a small tube of Chamois Butter - Needed it to baby a saddle sore on day 2!

Jersey: Enough GU / Cliff Shot to last me through the ride - about enough for 1 every 45 minutes. Cell phone, cleat covers, and a protein bar. Also crammed my arm warmers in there when I took them off.

Camelbak: Filled my 70oz with Cytomax. Refilled at the mid point with baggies of Cytomax that I packed in the pouch.

I wish I had carried a disposable camera.

Most important tip: ENJOY YOURSLEF! Also, I think the hotel overnight was a great investment.

I would suggest that if you can find a team (I rode with my cycling club) that it is nice to have friends along for the ride. We started as a team each morning - broke off to groups of 2-4 people along the ride. I rode both days with one guy and had 2 others alongs frequently. The clubs are also an excellent way to get you training in and get used to the riding in a group. Also, participate in as many organized rides as possible prior to the MS.

Age does not have much to do with it. The couple from my club that my wife (non rider) and I took to the hotel with us are both in their 50's. He has ridden this several times, this was her first!

If you are not going the team route, you will still begin to see the same people along the route. Be friendly, talk with them, join a paceline- make friends.

Finally: Give yourself a big pat on the back and brag to all your friends that you did not spend the weekend on the couch in front of the TV. = While you are at it, hit them up for sponsorships!




Originally posted by gun-n-gal
Grendel, I wanted to hear more about your experience on your MS150 ride. Can I ask you a bunch of questions? I'm planning on doing my first one this July and I'm really nervous. I'll be doing 75 miles on each day.

What did you do with your bike overnight? Do they give you a place to lock it up? I'm seeing myself trying to find my bike amoung 10,000 other bikes.

How did you feel the second day? I'm pretty sure I can do the 1st day, I'm not so sure about the 2nd day. I've got a 10 week training schedule worked out, so hopefully by then I'll be ready.

What was your average speed? I'm thinking mine will be about 12-13 mph if there's not too many hills.

What did you carry with you? I'm thinking water, food (of course!), my camera, some money, a small first aid kit, extra tube and co2 containers. Anything else you wish you'd have carried?

Any tips or suggestions you have would be great. I'm really looking forward to this just to see if I have what it takes to push myself that hard.

I'll be riding by myself as none of my 46 year old friends will try this. They all think I've gone off the deep end. I figure this is a way to make new friends that have similar interests.

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions. :beer: :beer:

Good info pc...

I'm not Grendel either... but here's my .02.

Now I keep my bike with me overnight. Volunteers watch the bike parking area all night, and, when I did used it several years ago, they matched rider and bike numbers before you could take a bike out. I don't think theft has been a problem.

For me, the second day always seems easier than the first - it is shorter and I know that once I reach the end I'm going home.

I carry the bare minimum - tube, frame pump, patch kit, ID, cash, credit card. I use one water bottle and I carry no food. My theory is why should I carry extra water or food (lots of hills on day 2) when the volunteers have all that stuff waiting for me every 10-15 miles.

I would offer a couple tips. First, line up early and start early. I start before the official start time. That way there are less people on the road, so it is not as crowded and not as dangerous. Second, if you are wiped out after day 1, get a massage. I used to think that massages would not help, but I got one last year and I felt totally freshed for day 2.

Have a safe and fun ride!

Originally posted by gun-n-gal
Grendel, I wanted to hear more about your experience on your MS150 ride. Can I ask you a bunch of questions? I'm planning on doing my first one this July and I'm really nervous. I'll be doing 75 miles on each day.

Don't be nervous -- this will be an outstanding experience for you! The level of preparedness and organization by the MS150 staff and volunteers is such that you're almost guaranteed to have a great ride... they'll take good care of you.


What did you do with your bike overnight? Do they give you a place to lock it up? I'm seeing myself trying to find my bike amoung 10,000 other bikes.

I rode with a large team, so we had a big tent for our overnight stay and the bikes were kept there with us. The MS150 folks will provide a secured area to leave your bike, but it might take a while to get it back in the morning. I carried a cable lock in my overnight bag and used it to lock the bike, but I noticed that I was just about the only one to bother doing so.


How did you feel the second day? I'm pretty sure I can do the 1st day, I'm not so sure about the 2nd day. I've got a 10 week training schedule worked out, so hopefully by then I'll be ready.

I was surprised at how good I felt the next day. When I got in camp on the first day I was a little sore (obviously) and I worried about how well I would do the next day, but once I got back on the bike everything felt fine and I never really had any problems on day two. I was kinda worried about it because I was in uncharted territory since I had neglected to do back-to-back long rides during my training, but it wasn't a problem. It wouldn't hurt to bring some ibuprofin just in case, though.


What was your average speed? I'm thinking mine will be about 12-13 mph if there's not too many hills.

Overall it was about 15 mph for the two days, including lotsa hills on day two and finishing into a headwind. That's a couple of mph slower than my average on training rides, but I wanted to make sure I had something left in the tank for those last few miles.


What did you carry with you? I'm thinking water, food (of course!), my camera, some money, a small first aid kit, extra tube and co2 containers. Anything else you wish you'd have carried?

That's pretty much what I carried also, along with a cell phone and some wet wipes (very good to have for those trips to the Port-A-Cans). I filled the Camelbak with water only so I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it overnight.


Any tips or suggestions you have would be great. I'm really looking forward to this just to see if I have what it takes to push myself that hard.

The main thing is to just ride your ride and not do anything drastically different from your training rides. Keep a regular training schedule and get in as many miles as you can. If you can, try to join up with a team to ride with -- that can really help with the details and logistics. For instance, the team I rode with provided a big tent area at the overnight stop with lots of food and drinks which was much better than waiting in line, plus we had our own parking for bikes (saved time not having to wait at the corral in the morning) and they handled our luggage transportation which made it easier to find our stuff.


I'll be riding by myself as none of my 46 year old friends will try this. They all think I've gone off the deep end. I figure this is a way to make new friends that have similar interests.

You'll find (as I did) that there will be just about every age and level of fitness represented in the group of riders -- you're bound to find many people to pass the miles with. Have a great ride, and be sure to check in afterward and tell us how it went! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks to all for the great responses. I'm really suprised that so many people find the second day easier. Hope the same is true for me! Great ideas for things to carry with me. I'm making a list up now so I don't forget.

Very nice. Thanks for taking the time to share these with us!:)

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. :)