Great photo!

My legs were hurtin pretty good the last 20 miles or so as well, but i also plowed up those hills - slow as it may have been - but didn't walk any of them, which was a good accomplishment.

Anyone else think its absurd that marathon photo wants $25 for a digital copy of your pics?

Those same guys handed the rider in front of me a Bud Light, and he proceeded to splash it all over himself and all of us behind him.

Here are a few of the wife and I at the finish line, and a really good one from Randy Ramos of the two of us from the New Ulm Ready to Roll series. If you rode in the R2R series, Randy has lots and lots of photos on his website https://RandyRamos.smugmug.com He took some great shots of us this year! The bandanna I am holding in one of the shots below is now up to 36 signatures/message from people living with MS. I sent it around the country back in 2008 to get signatures from a bunch of folks with MS that I had met online. Since then, I just keep adding to it every time I am around people who have MS.

Awesome, dude!
Love the bandanna. Mega.
How'd the Emonda roll?
(and did it get any hail damage?)

Here are some of my pics











This was one of the times we got stopped - there was a downed rider right in front of where I was waiting. They brought in the ambulance and took him out strapped and braced to the stretcher. His bike looked decent though so I think maybe he clipped or got clipped by another rider. Hope he was OK. We stood there for about 30 minutes.


Sherman at the lunch stop

Awesome, everyone! Looking forward to my first MS150 next year.

I had a good weekend. Wound up doing 76 miles in laps at Spring Creek Greenway on Saturday early, then drove to Austin, hung out with the family, got up at 4 and drove to my bike clubs alternate start which was at a facility about 3 miles outside lagarange on the route. Route Sunday wound up being 64 miles for me. Rolled out at 7:40, was on pace to finish around 11:30, proceeded to flat 2 miles from the finish line. Swore a lot, fixed the flat, and finished about 11:50. Biggest pair of rides I've ever done, felt great, but legs were really crampy the rest of the evening. Went to Odd Duck in ATX for dinner, than a few other places for beers with family. Drove home Monday after some breakfast tacos. Will do again next year!

I'm sure it's doable. I did the ride to San Antonio on an old junky K-Mart mountain bike and my friend was on a BMX. Only you can answer to the physical hindrances and comfort level. I'd recommend starting to make your commute longer a couple days a week and see how it goes.

Would putting flat handlebars make your road bike better for your wrists?

Well it is definitely possible for you though. People do it every year on a wide assortment of bicycles. Your's obviously wouldn't be the fastest but absolutely your comfort trumps the speed to a point. I say to try some of the training rides leading up to it and see how it goes. The worst that can happen is that you enjoy some smaller rides ,

It is definitely possible on a comfort bike, but probably not the most comfortable or fastest way to do it. I would suggest working with a fit professional to figure out a fit that can be comfortable to you without stressing your old injuries. You may be able to get a relaxed geometry road bike like a Specialized Roubaix or a Trek Domane that would allow you to be in a more aerodynamic position without aggravating your injuries. Or you may find that your current comfort bike is perfect for what you need. Either way, I have seen people do the MS150 on mountain bikes, on unicycles, on single speed road bikes, etc. I have also seen a guy riding a full suspension mountain bike hang with the 18-20 mph group on the NWCC Saturday morning ride for 24 miles. That group probably averaged 22mph for the stretch and he managed to hang with them.

So it really isn't about the bike. I would 2nd the recommendation to just start stretching out some of your rides and see how far you can comfortably go. I always tell people that if you can get the fitness capability to ride 20-30 miles, you can do the MS150. Beyond that first 20-30 miles, you aren't really dealing with anything new from a fitness standpoint...rather you are just getting your back, butt, neck, and hands used to being on the bike that long. If you think of it as riding 10 miles 8-9 times instead of riding 80-90 miles, it gets easier. Just don't plan to stay at the rest stops too long as that will kill your overall average speed and make the ride take a lot longer.

As far as Avg speed, the ride usually starts around 7-8am depending on which start venue you begin from, and I think they close the course and start bringing you via a van at around 5:30 or 6pm. So you conceivably have 10-11ish hours to get it done on the first day. The 2nd day starts around 7am and the last rider usually comes through around 3:30 or 4pm. So you have another 8-9 hours on day 2 to make it 68 miles or so.

Support and Gear. It is a generic term used for vehicles (usually big white vans on the MS150) that follow along with a ride and provide assistance or give you a ride to the next break point for mechanical assistance if needed.

Got a save the date in the mail today for a friend's wedding. It's the same day as the MS150. Reason #5432895 I hate weddings. Really pissed and disappointed.

Inconsiderate bastards.

Just to give everyone a sense of scale for how big the BPMS150 is, I'm doing the Louisiana/Mississippi MS150 in October and they have less than 1000 riders registered.

Shameless plug: Please Donate!

So have you figured out how to let them know you won't be at the wedding yet?

Well - my wife said it would be OK if I didn't go to the wedding. however, I don't think she really means it. This is a good friend, and I'm pretty sure she would be upset if I didn't come because I was riding my bike...

BUT

We'll see...........

Well if she is REALLY that good of a friend, then she will let you help her figure out a new date for her wedding. Tell her you will help address the replacement save the date cards when she mails them out. I am sure she will appreciate the offer!

OR

Make sure she finds out in an offhand way about what a HUGE sacrifice it was to skip the MS150 for her wedding (you can recruit your wife to help you drop that nugget). Then subtly guilt her into riding with you next year for her 1st anniversary.

Well its official - I'm out for this coming year.
So that means I won't be doing Ready 2 Roll either (though I may still volunteer for my company's team for 1 or 2 of the rides).

Looks like I'll be getting my miles on a handful of t-shirt rides this spring.

i hate weddings.

You may be in good company. I am signed up, but my wife is considering sitting it out and just volunteering this year also.

Is the wedding still on? Jk

just in case you have the itch, there are two rides this weekend: 1) Pedaling the Prairie (also joined by R2R) and 2) Kate's Ride on Sunday in Seally.

NWCC also has a ride out at vintage park on Sunday, 32 miles. There is also a group from bike Houston headed to Chappel Hill Saturday. Riding abounds, if you can take the cold!

I don't do any of the charity rides because I hate going around bugging people to pledge money. The MS 150 in my local area used to be pretty cheap to ride in. All you had to do was pledge at least $150 and pay the entry fee of $40, and you could ride. Not anymore. Now, they want you to pledge at least $400 just to be able to ride. I'll pass.

Haha - unfortunately? LOL

Yeah Pedaling the Prairie snuck up on me and I didn't register, plus we got stuff going on this weekend.

Also, I'm not a fan of the cold so I will prob be waiting a few more weeks.
I'm in for Tour de houston, Bluebonnet, and probably Raven's Revenge for sure. Maybe 1 or 2 others if the wife lets me. And then I'll be in for Bike for Mike, and Katy Flatland after the 150.

Was not able to swing a new CF bike this year so it's all probably for the best.

Bike Barn is hosting the "Candy Ride" on Sunday the 28th and it's free. The route is about the same as "Bike for Mike".