15-20mph headwinds will be tough going for the occasional cyclist whose only real cycling comprises of the MS each year. Hopefully I will be able to join an organized paceline so we can all share the work, otherwise it will be a long 100 miles grinding in to the wind with my nose pegged to the handlebars :)

Packing and dropping off my bag tonight, looks like it will be in the low 50's Saturday night, so I'll pack my sleeping bag. It will be a cool Sunday morning, lots of shivering cyclists waiting for the start.

Yes the headwind 15-20 mph with gusts to 25-30 is going to make the trip rough. Glad we had bad winds off and on durning the training season, so I am used to suffering in the wind. It will be a long slow ride to LaGrange.

^^^^Yeah I saw that this morning. 5mph on Sunday is nice.

I will have a decent headwind from my house heading to Brookshire. That is ok though.

I do hope to conserve the best I can so I will have enough fuel in the tank to ride into Bastrop. My wife and mom think I am crazy...what else is new? hahahaha

Sat: 54/74 15-25mph NNW, Gusts to 30
Sun: 52/80 5-10mph

See you all out on the road!

I'm kind of sad. I didn't get to ride nearly as much as I had wanted to this year so far and the MS150 was a goal of mine to achieve, so maybe next year. I just don't think I'm in shape enough to do it. I haven't gone more than 40 miles on a ride yet, so the length of the MS150 on back to back days is kind of intimidating.

This was my fourth year, all with Team BP. I cannot recall struggling as much as I did on Day 1 during any of the prior years. Day 2 was easy. I put my bike in the line in Lagrange on Sunday morning around 530AM, got in line just after 6AM, and was out around 715, which was not bad at all.

Those headwinds on day 1 were brutal.

Did anyone see that one-legged woman who was FLYING past everybody despite the hills and wind on Day 1??? That was beyond amazing.

Day 2 was great, left at 7:30 and rolled into Austin at 12:45, with over an hour total spent at the rest stops. 17.5 mph moving average, mostly cruising at 19 mph, so I am quite pleased with that.

This was the first MS150 for my wife and I. Except for the initial cold and winds on day 1 (and ok, the shower situation in Lagrange) we had an absolute blast. We were held up a couple of times on day 2, one early, and one for ~20min leaving the breakpoint after the lunch stop for an apparent car/car collision somewhere down the road. We finished in decent shape despite not getting a lot of sleep in Lagrange and my dealing with a cold that refused to quit.

I was very impressed with the amount of support they had. Day 2 really seemed to take a toll on bikes & riders though- it was a little unnerving to hear two SAG vans at different points telling stranded riders they were full!

Wow, I thought day 2 was a hell of lot easier than day one. Even with the hills! In my neck of Houston I have nothing to climb except overpasses (on Sunday, when the plant workers aren't going to work) and I didn't do much climbing training. But the wind day 1... I didn't hear much about wrecks/bike issues day 1, tons on day 2, but day 2 was a million times easier for this first timer. I was really impressed by the support (coming into Austin and even in the small towns) of people encouraging riders! The "dualing banjos fiddle band" on the side of the road playing was quit entertaining. Wish I had pulled over and took a picture with them. Ran into some single speed riders. And unicycles. And a guy that had a prosthetic leg cruising up hills and battling wind. No matter how tired/sore/butt hurt I was. I wasn't going to stop. Very motivating weekend. Already looking forward to next year!

Despite the winds on day one, I can report that I really enjoyed my first MS 150 and will hopefully be back next year for more. The organization from both the MS and my Team was fantastic. I was equally impressed and entertained by the local residents in the cities we passed through and also out in the countryside. They really get in to the spirit of the event and offered genuine support/encouragement to the riders.

As people have already mentioned the wind on day one was brutal and I was pretty drained when I got to La Grange. I also committed the cardinal mistake of trying something new for the ride – Cytomax. It upset my stomach and made it difficult for me to eat, which is not idea when you’re riding 94 miles. So my only fuel for the last 50 miles was Shotblocks and bananas. Boy was I glad to make the left turn and enjoy the downwind and mostly downhill run in to La Grange.

Day two was much better and aside from the lack of juice in my tired legs on some of the hills; it was a pretty straight forward ride to Austin. The crowds at the finish line were a buzz; I’m looking forward to seeing the official photos.

It was a great ride this year. Yeah it was torture, but it was fun in its own way. I like a good challenge. :)

I posted in my blog a more in-depth review of this years ride.

I'm interested in reading your blog post, can you link it please?

See the link in my signature. :)

Just in case they are turned off...I'll add it:
http://trekridermark.wordpress.com/2...-bicycle-ride/

It was a good ride, but I didn't break any speed records. That's for sure.

Here are a few pics of me:
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...150/Josh10.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...S150/Josh4.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...S150/Josh8.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...S150/Josh7.jpg

+1

Pictures from the ride -> http://photobucket.com/2012ms150

H-Bear a great set of photos that really captures the essence of the MS 150 ride.

Here are a few pics of me...
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...150Sample3.jpg http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...S150Sample.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...150Sample1.jpg http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...150Sample2.jpg

Good Pics Bear....Thanks

Thank you waitforme and 10 Wheels, I appreciate it.