New Jersey MS Coast the Coast 170 Mile Bike Tour - Post Mortem
05-25-04, 11:44 AM
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New Jersey MS Coast the Coast 170 Mile Bike Tour - Post Mortem
Greetings All,
Well this past weekend the bike team and I attempted the MS 170 here in the beautiful garden state. I've been training for this ride for about 4 months and felt pretty darn good about my physical conditioning.
Day 1.
Started out from Sandy Hook about 8:30am... half an hour late because 2 team members overslept. Anyways get on the road feeling pretty good keeping a average speed of 17.6 and a rest stop about every 10 miles the only real problem was the heat, which was almost 90 plus humidity. As always my right shoulder started aching at about the 25 mile point, but the frequent rest stops gave me to opportunity to stretch out. Made it to the lunch stop early cuase we were making great time and finished the first day of 83 miles in a bit under 6 hours. Now at about the 60 mile mark my right toes are burning.. a weird sensation, the back of my knees seem hyper-extended, right shoulder in killing me to the point I can't put any real pressure on my right hand, and my "meat pack" is numb. However, I finished the first day actually feeling much better than I did last year when I did this ride. The final rest stop was a school where if you wanted you could sleep on the gym floor. The ride was very well organized they had alot of great food, volenteer chiropractors, and massage therapists. One positive thing I discovered while seeing the chiroprator was that the reason I was experiencing so much pain in my shoulder was due to spinal misalignments and once she did the adjustments 95% of the pain was relieved... the bad news she told me this would only be temporary and that I should see a chiroprator for longer term treatment to address the issue. I always assumed the back pain was just part of the cycling experience and have delt with it up to this point. Ended the day by having dinner at a fantastic seafood restuarant and sharing a room with my team at a cozy hotel on long beach island... Only bad part of that night was one of the bike roomies was having severe gas issues which made breathing difficult
.
Day 2.
After very little sleep because of the biological pollution caused by "the roomie" we all woke up bright and early at 5:00am to catch the bus back to the school and get ready for the second day. Well we all had a decent brekfast, got our bikes and was on the road by 7:30am. Unfortunately today the pain in my shoulder started to come back within the first five miles this was the indicator that this was going to be a rough day, but with the rest stops evey 10 miles I was able to tolerate it as long as I stretched really good. Right before the lunch stop there were 2 consecutive bridges with pretty steep inclines and both a tad over a mile in length... man I aced those climbs... I felt so psyced after that and then made it to the lunch rest stop. Popped a couple of advils to try to cover the pain in my shoulder but it didn't really work. Stetched out the best I could hopped back on the bike. By this time is was brutaly hot at least 95 degrees and I didn't realize the next rest stop was 18 miles... oh all I can say is I barely made it.. the last mile I was riding with one hand cause the pain in my shoulder was so intense and by the time I made it to the rest stop my whole shoulder and neck siezed up and the paramedics had to peel me off my bike cause I couldn't move.... I was so pissed at myself for not finishing the ride.. I was only 25 miles shy of the finish line! What a bummer! Well anyway I have gone to see a chiropractor for a more long term treatment and he also happens to have a degree in sports medicine, and get this he also cycles but not long distance. He also wants to talk to the people wh fit me on my bike to he can make recommendations... I suppose you can't get much better service than that.
BTW... 2 days later still not feeling the "meat pack"
I hope at the end of all this I can ride more comfortably and enjoy cycling that much more. Sorry about the long thread just wanted to recount my experience.
Thanks,
Scott
Well this past weekend the bike team and I attempted the MS 170 here in the beautiful garden state. I've been training for this ride for about 4 months and felt pretty darn good about my physical conditioning.
Day 1.
Started out from Sandy Hook about 8:30am... half an hour late because 2 team members overslept. Anyways get on the road feeling pretty good keeping a average speed of 17.6 and a rest stop about every 10 miles the only real problem was the heat, which was almost 90 plus humidity. As always my right shoulder started aching at about the 25 mile point, but the frequent rest stops gave me to opportunity to stretch out. Made it to the lunch stop early cuase we were making great time and finished the first day of 83 miles in a bit under 6 hours. Now at about the 60 mile mark my right toes are burning.. a weird sensation, the back of my knees seem hyper-extended, right shoulder in killing me to the point I can't put any real pressure on my right hand, and my "meat pack" is numb. However, I finished the first day actually feeling much better than I did last year when I did this ride. The final rest stop was a school where if you wanted you could sleep on the gym floor. The ride was very well organized they had alot of great food, volenteer chiropractors, and massage therapists. One positive thing I discovered while seeing the chiroprator was that the reason I was experiencing so much pain in my shoulder was due to spinal misalignments and once she did the adjustments 95% of the pain was relieved... the bad news she told me this would only be temporary and that I should see a chiroprator for longer term treatment to address the issue. I always assumed the back pain was just part of the cycling experience and have delt with it up to this point. Ended the day by having dinner at a fantastic seafood restuarant and sharing a room with my team at a cozy hotel on long beach island... Only bad part of that night was one of the bike roomies was having severe gas issues which made breathing difficult
.Day 2.
After very little sleep because of the biological pollution caused by "the roomie" we all woke up bright and early at 5:00am to catch the bus back to the school and get ready for the second day. Well we all had a decent brekfast, got our bikes and was on the road by 7:30am. Unfortunately today the pain in my shoulder started to come back within the first five miles this was the indicator that this was going to be a rough day, but with the rest stops evey 10 miles I was able to tolerate it as long as I stretched really good. Right before the lunch stop there were 2 consecutive bridges with pretty steep inclines and both a tad over a mile in length... man I aced those climbs... I felt so psyced after that and then made it to the lunch rest stop. Popped a couple of advils to try to cover the pain in my shoulder but it didn't really work. Stetched out the best I could hopped back on the bike. By this time is was brutaly hot at least 95 degrees and I didn't realize the next rest stop was 18 miles... oh all I can say is I barely made it.. the last mile I was riding with one hand cause the pain in my shoulder was so intense and by the time I made it to the rest stop my whole shoulder and neck siezed up and the paramedics had to peel me off my bike cause I couldn't move.... I was so pissed at myself for not finishing the ride.. I was only 25 miles shy of the finish line! What a bummer! Well anyway I have gone to see a chiropractor for a more long term treatment and he also happens to have a degree in sports medicine, and get this he also cycles but not long distance. He also wants to talk to the people wh fit me on my bike to he can make recommendations... I suppose you can't get much better service than that.
BTW... 2 days later still not feeling the "meat pack"
I hope at the end of all this I can ride more comfortably and enjoy cycling that much more. Sorry about the long thread just wanted to recount my experience.
Thanks,
Scott
05-25-04, 01:35 PM
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bummer Scott, sometimes initial chiro work can create as much pain as it fixes, as your body is not used to newly-relocated stress points.
Just curious, how difficult (save for heat and pain) was the ride? I can't imagine its very hilly other than a few bridges, right? I live in Texas but have a house on LBI, and we have thought about trying to do the Coast the Coast at some point as an alternative to the MS150 we do Houston to Austin.
How many people were there?
How well organized?
Any other details would be great!!!!
As someone who has a family member with MS, it is a VERY worthy cause, and those with the disease greatly appreciate the effort the riders make in raising the $$$.
Just curious, how difficult (save for heat and pain) was the ride? I can't imagine its very hilly other than a few bridges, right? I live in Texas but have a house on LBI, and we have thought about trying to do the Coast the Coast at some point as an alternative to the MS150 we do Houston to Austin.
How many people were there?
How well organized?
Any other details would be great!!!!
As someone who has a family member with MS, it is a VERY worthy cause, and those with the disease greatly appreciate the effort the riders make in raising the $$$.
05-25-04, 02:40 PM
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Hmm, I believe there were about 1200 riders...
I felt it was very organized...
The ride isn't very hard except for the distance.... and the headwind that comes off the shore can be quite a pain... The ride is relatively flat with the exception of some rolling hills and bridges.
I agree it is a worth cause I managed to raise $1500 and I really wanted to finish because they had a MS speaker that really motivated me... I mean she has lived with MS and was in a wheelchair... I wanted to finish cause I knew what we were all doing made a difference in her life as well as so many others that have to live with MS...
I suppose that is why I was disappointed in myself for not finishing. Overall I loved the ride and will continue to participate every year bad back or not.
Thanks,
Scott
I felt it was very organized...
The ride isn't very hard except for the distance.... and the headwind that comes off the shore can be quite a pain... The ride is relatively flat with the exception of some rolling hills and bridges.
I agree it is a worth cause I managed to raise $1500 and I really wanted to finish because they had a MS speaker that really motivated me... I mean she has lived with MS and was in a wheelchair... I wanted to finish cause I knew what we were all doing made a difference in her life as well as so many others that have to live with MS...
I suppose that is why I was disappointed in myself for not finishing. Overall I loved the ride and will continue to participate every year bad back or not.
Thanks,
Scott
