HokieHooWVU

My uncle and cousin have been doing these rides and are actually the ones that got me interested in road cycling.

I only see them on holidays for the most part but I'd love to show up in the kind of shape needed to do an MS 150 ride.


The one here in Virginia is May 31 and I'm just curious if I have enough time to get in the kind of shape required to complete this ride.

cooker

What shape are you in now?

HokieHooWVU

Decent shape but I'm just getting into this hobby so I'm sure there will be new muscle groups I will have to break in and develop so I'm trying not to be over confident.

merlinextraligh

which one is that? I used to do the MS150 from Richmond to Williamsburgh.

If you're a reasonably fit person, you can gut out an MS150 without much specific bike training at all.

If you want to ride it at a decent pace, and be strong enough to enjoy it (as opposed to being a death march) it takes some training.

If you can work up to 100 miles a week, a long ride of 50 miles, and do a couple of decent rides on consecutive days, completing your average MS 150 should not be that difficult.

HokieHooWVU

It's the one you mentioned from Richmond to Williamsburg


I'd also like to do the one in West Virginia (Lewisburg to Snowshoe Mountain) in September but I'm sure that is a whole lot hillier.

cooker

More detail - age, weight, current physical activity. If you're 50, sedentary and obese that's different from if you're 22, a soccer player and built like a rake.

Edit: I see in another thread you're just out of college, so presumably young and healthy. Seems very feasible that you can easily get ready for the ride. Of course many older people could too.

gr@sshopper

Is it along route 5 through Charles City County? My folks live right there. I'd say that you could do it now, just knowing that you are interested and considering it. More detail is needed to know if you will have any fun doing it.

schnee

The century in the MS150 in San Diego was brutal this year. They warned everyone though, so it was fine.

Check out the elevation gain in the ride.

yeamac 

You have over 3-1/2 months to train. That is more than enough time. Search the web for Century Training Schedules. Most range from 8-12 weeks. I followed a century training schedule last year, actually doing a little more each week, and had a great ride.

SushiJoe

A beer gut and a Denali bike

FrankBattle 

It's not a race (tell that to half the field though ..), so go in with some reasonable level of fitness and you'll be fine. Practice eating on rides. You only need to be able to do 75% of the max distance in training. Don't get suckered by all the PB&J sammiches, ham, pizza etc .. unless that's what you normally eat when riding.

And yes, search here + google. Lots of responses to this exact question.

stapfam

The biggest muscle group you will find that will cause you a problem will be in the butt.

Normal progressive training. Take it you do a longer ride at weekends- but start getting a few evening rides in. get a 40 in at the weekend and a couple of 20s in the week. the 20's- take one at speed and the other up hills. Weekend and just go and ride. Then gradually increase the distance. till about a month before you are dong 60 to 80 at the weekends and get the midweek rides up stiffer hills and a higher speed.

Once you get to 80 miles- you can do the 150. Big Problem will be the butt training so do a couple of 4 hour non- stop stints to find out if you have a comfortable saddle- but you may find out sooner than that.

pseudobrit

Even when I was in (relatively) terrible shape and 15-20 lbs heavier I could finish the Death Ride. It just took longer and hurt more. For long "event" type rides, barring real injury, the only limiting factor is how much misery you can tolerate.

waterrockets 

You have plenty of time. This is a pretty good training plan.

I did the MS-150 last year on very little training, but I have a lot of experience. I only added three rides before the MS (50m, 65m, and 80m, all two weeks apart). That was enough to get me through the whole thing over 23mph. So, it really is different for everyone.

Don't miss the long rides in the schedule above.

HokieHooWVU

that looks like a good training schedule, i'll try to start following it


thanks for everybody's help

bike_boy

Our NC MS chapter hosts free training rides prior to MS150. Training rides each Sat. 2 months prior to event and are fully supported I.e. SAG, rest stops) and free. You should check with host chapter of your ride to see if they offer same. Ours usually has 2 distance/route options.

Typically, my MS team has consisted of folks that don't ride regularly. We setup our own group rides 2-3 times during a week where we gradually increase distance from 10/15 miles to 25/30 miles. If you can do 25 or 30 miles, you should be able to do 45-50 miles each day of a 2 day MS150. (esp. with 3-4 rest stops along the way)

Key things: Thinner tires, spare tube, pump, patch kit, mini tool kit, cell phone, ID/medical info, cyclocomputer,
drink before your thirsty (don't gulp), harder saddles are better for distance
Other: Tune Up, Bike Fit ($$), learn how to change/repair flat, use padded bike gloves, purchase/learn to use clipless pedals for power/effeceincy.

merlinextraligh

Actually, if it goes up 92, it will be relatively flat, at least until it gets to Snowshoe Mountain

Dubbayoo

Doing it requires little conditioning. Doing it with energy to spare requires conditioning. Doing it fast with energy to spare requires more still.

Lucky07

Agreed. Most riders can gut it out, but if you want to do any kind of pace, you'll have to start some kind of a training program. Regular riding, Intervals & at least 1 long ride a week will get you in good shape for the ride.

Orlock

Last year I decided to do the MS150 three weeks before the event. I got in a lot of 25 mile rides and one 50 mile ride, but what I figured out was that my legs were not the problem it was sitting on the saddle so long that makes you uncomfortable and it just takes time to adjust. It's a fun event, I met lots of cool people, and can't wait to do it again this year.

Machka 

You've got lots of time ... you're probably in better shape than half the riders on the one MS150 ride I've been on right now. Just keep riding regularly and build up your distance.

I know the ride is shorter than a century, but you might be able to pick up some tips from my Century Tips article: https://www.machka.net/century.htm

merider1

Yes, and that was one of the things that drove me crazy on the '06 MS 150 in Santa Barbara - folks out riding it who were just gutting it out. I stopped a woman who was walking her bike and gave her some gel packs. She had no idea what 100 miles would feel like or, obviously, how to fuel for it. Another guy was on the side of the road gasping and weaving back and forth into the lane. He had asthma and hadn't ridden a bike in over 10 years - and was disoriented! My friends and I got him help and the next day he was right back out there again to ride the 50 miles.

Do yourself a favor, research this forum (the Long Distance Forum will have reports on the 150) and really take your training seriously. If you can't ride 100 miles comfortably (i.e. at a decent speed without major pain and fatigue afterwards) by the time of the event, then sponsoring a rider is just as worthy as doing the event yourself. With that said, good luck on the training and the ride - it's very, very worth it and for an absolutely worthy cause.

Rob944

The MS 150 around here is over two days. From the posts here it sounds like many are one day, ouch!

Machka 

And here ... 150 refers to kilometers. So it is 75 kms the first day and 75 kms the second day. Not a difficult ride.

RacerJRP

the ride here is 75 miles each day. sat and sun.