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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.