Road Cycling - MS 150 Race Report! LONG

Saturday we rode from Hammond LA to my hometown here in MS. I stayed with the lead pack for 65 miles then stopped to pee and got dropped. All in all I averaged 24 mph so not too bad. The second day I was up front in a pace line for about 10 miles. There were 5 of us and it was fast....like 27-30mph. Once again had to "go" but this was because I didn't want to ride 60 miles with a full bladder. I went right before we left but guess I got nervous and had to go again. The pack then passed me so I soloed the race jumping from group to group. I have a hard time eating in the mornings so I only had a granola bar each day from the time I woke up till the time the race was finished. I need to learn to eat alot before a race. It was an awsome experience. Especially being that it ended and started on the same roads I've ridden a thousand times. That was a plus. BTW the second day the pack averaged 25 mph. They did 70 miles in under 3 hours. There is this kid 2 years younger than me - he's 15 and he finished with the pack both days. He defidently has a futer in this sport as long as he doesn't get injured. H'es also real skinny but I guess thats to his power vs weight ratio. I used to be at his level this spring but didn't increase my training so he got better faster than I did. So I have some motivation for this winter. He defidently has the genetics but he also has a father who he rides with who is a cat 3 racer and so that also helps a lot. Riding x number of miles a day doesn't help much when trying to win races. I guess I need to do lots of intervals and training to work on my sustained power output and recovery time. Something to work on next spring. Well can't wait to do it next year!.....and win? ;)

Congrats and you have the right attitude! go get it next time!!!

An MS 150 "race"? I thought they were all charity events and "winning" meant raising the most. A 150-mile race. Wow. Not me. I'd be dead after the first 20 miles if I had to go all out :)

An MS 150 "race"? I thought they were all charity events and "winning" meant raising the most. A 150-mile race. Wow. Not me. I'd be dead after the first 20 miles if I had to go all out :)

You are right, the MS 150 is an "organized ride" but it is definitely not a race. Also, you are right, it is a charity event and its purpose is to raise money for MS and not to promote racing. Of course, there are some people who try to turn any ride they go to into a race if they can.

The fastest riders consider this a race. As a matter of fact, anytime they are on a bike they are either in a race or training for the next race. It's in their blood.

hehe yah...i hit a car because of that

Kewl-

You gotta eat to stay fast. If that means you need to get up at 4AM so that you have time to wake up before you have breakfast, do it. You also need to eat and dronk while you are riding. Check out the training forums for more ideas. But you need to fill your tank. You need food and water just like a car needs gasoline.

DEMON

The MS150 I did wasn't a race, but I noticed some people went all out (which is totally cool with me as long as they're not cocky or unsafe). It just sounded like this was an actual race. Glad to get clarification. :)

Well sorry if I led you to believe it was a "race". I call all organized bike rides races. Sorry. :D And yes the rasing of money for MS is much more important than the ride itself.