# Bp ms150



## MerlinAma

I'm a little surprised this thread hasn't been started. 
Anyone planning to ride? Surely so.
I've done it a couple of times and will be back this year. Glad the park will be open as that's a fun part of the event.
The forecast, at least for now, looks good. Keeping my fingers crossed on that!


----------



## kmak

Count me in. First time for me..


----------



## bigV

i'm in. this will be my 2nd ms150.

bigv


----------



## MerlinAma

Right now the weather forecast is about perfect.

Cool mornings, never gets too hot, and a SE wind.

What a deal!


----------



## Peanya

This will be my fifth. The cold mornings have me worried about my knees. Last weekend, I went through the park twice. It's sad seeing all the fire damage. But you can see thousands of tiny orange flags where they've planted new ones. I thought I started a thread around November inviting people to join my team, but maybe it was last year...
Myself, Weenfreek, and Mymilkexpired are all forum members on Team Dream riding again this year.


----------



## MerlinAma

N


Peanya said:


> .......... The cold mornings have me worried about my knees..........


At least you are thinking right.

I'm coming down from the panhandle so the forecasted temps are about what we've finally warmed up to after a cold winter.

I'll be sporting some knee and arm warmers for sure plus a vest. All stuff I can put in my jersey pocket as the day warms.

Just start calmly and "warm up" early in the ride. That'll save you some aches and pains too.


----------



## rivers

This will be my first year doing the MS150 really looking forward to it the weather looks perfect!!


----------



## rmerka

My third, Knock on wood with the weather, it does look good. Wind was awful last year.


----------



## Peanya

I invite you all to stop by the Team Dream tent (yeah, the one with the mattresses) and say "hi". I should be wearing a yellow t-shirt from last year's Gran Fondo TMCO ride. Weenfreek will be the one with curly hair and glasses. If you want to join the team, you can for next year's, as this year is full.


----------



## kmak

Peanya said:


> I invite you all to stop by the Team Dream tent (yeah, the one with the mattresses) and say "hi". I should be wearing a yellow t-shirt from last year's Gran Fondo TMCO ride. Weenfreek will be the one with curly hair and glasses. If you want to join the team, you can for next year's, as this year is full.


I signed up for Team Dream - I'll try to find you.


----------



## DirtyRed

Will be there also. First time I've ridden since I last road in from 1993 to 1996.


----------



## jiznake

I'll be doing it again. Did it last year in the wind. This year's whether looks so much better, the 20-30+ mph headwind made last years ride pretty hard (depending on who you ask, some people were saying 40, I think they might be exaggerating a bit). Definitely looking forward to the park sense I didn't get to do it last year. Cold morning on Sunday is going to suck a bit.


----------



## bigV

Hope all of you had a safe and wonderful ride this weekend. 

bv


----------



## Peanya

Ride was awesome this year. I made great time, considering the cold and getting started near the end of the line. Got to LaGrange around 1:10. Had a hard time sleeping the night before and at the end of day one. Day two was nice too - We took our time going through the park, as we were going with three first-timers, but then took off afterward. No knee pain!


----------



## Merc

For those that stayed in a hotel in La Grange, where did you stay and did you like it? I am thinking of booking a room for next year and have never stayed overnight in La Grange.


----------



## cycmike

You probably won't find a room in Lagrange as the sponsors book the whole town. I've stayed in Giddings, about an hour away, and Hallettsville, about 30 miles south. Try looking around within a 30 or 40 mile radius. Or join a team with a sponsor tent and have your pack bused there and sleep or rent a tent. Or you could get a room in Bastrop and ride all the way there on the first day. If you get a room away from Lagrange, you'll probably need someone to meet you there to drive you to your hotel.

Saint Arnold Brewery has a team (I'm on it for the free beer and food and pre ride parties) and my buds drove over to Lagrange a day early to set up a tent near the team tent. Worked out good for them.


----------



## Jerry-rigged

I rode it again this year. Cold in the morning, nice in the afternoon. Better than nice morning and Hot afternoon. Overall a great weekend. I rode with Team Jacobs.

Re: the parks, yes it was sad to see the fire. Plus the big hill with the switchbacks was in the burn zone. Gave that hill a different feel being able to see the top and now far you have to go to the top.


----------



## Texas Joe

This was my first time riding this year. I loved it! It was a lot of fun, the rest stops were awesome. Colder than I anticipated in the mornings and wasn't quite prepared...I'll know for next time.

Victory beer at Saint Arnold's tent in Austin :thumbsup:


----------



## Tig

DirtyRed said:


> Will be there also. First time I've ridden since I last road in from 1993 to 1996.


My last MS-150 was in '89 and I'm planning to ride it in 2014 as a goal to get back into shape. I'll ride for my mega-corporate team/event sponsor since they take pretty good care of us. 
Oh, and on a fixed gear.


----------



## Schneiderguy

Tig said:


> My last MS-150 was in '89 and I'm planning to ride it in 2014 as a goal to get back into shape. I'll ride for my mega-corporate team/event sponsor since they take pretty good care of us.
> Oh, and on a fixed gear.


Tig what gear inches will you use?


----------



## Tig

Schneiderguy said:


> Tig what gear inches will you use?


*68.6* per Sheldon Brown's calculator (39x15).
My next bike might be using a 46x18, which is close.


----------



## Quico12

I did my first trainning ride this Saturday. There were about +1000 riders. It was awesome! I saw a few Fuji Altamira and SST. I ride a Gran Fondo. Big fan of Fuji.




MerlinAma said:


> I'm a little surprised this thread hasn't been started.
> Anyone planning to ride? Surely so.
> I've done it a couple of times and will be back this year. Glad the park will be open as that's a fun part of the event.
> The forecast, at least for now, looks good. Keeping my fingers crossed on that!


----------



## Merc

Quico12 said:


> I did my first trainning ride this Saturday. There were about +1000 riders. It was awesome! I saw a few Fuji Altamira and SST. I ride a Gran Fondo. Big fan of Fuji.


Quico, I assume that it was an organized training ride. If so, who, what, and when is the next one?


----------



## Quico12

Yes, it was an organized ride by ReadyToRoll. You can also find a complete set of organized rides in the MS 150 website.


----------



## Tig

Quico12 said:


> Yes, it was an organized ride by ReadyToRoll. You can also find a complete set of organized rides in the MS 150 website.


A good one to ride is the Gator Ride in Baytown, March 1st. Only one climb, the Hartman Bridge, but it is a fun ride with just 1000 riders usually. Everyone that plans on riding the MS should be able to ride a metric century by early March.
Gator Ride | YMCA of Greater Houston


----------



## Merc

I just joined the Ready 2 Roll training series here in Houston (preparing for the MS150). The first training ride is this Saturday with the meet up at Katy Mills Mall. Is anyone in this forum going to be there?


----------



## Bmusick

Merc said:


> I just joined the Ready 2 Roll training series here in Houston (preparing for the MS150). The first training ride is this Saturday with the meet up at Katy Mills Mall. Is anyone in this forum going to be there?


How was the training ride? I have signed up for the Ready 2 Roll series, but could not make the ride today (we had a baby Thursday.) I plan to be at the next ride on the 25th. 
What Team are you ridding with?


----------



## Merc

Bmusick said:


> How was the training ride? I have signed up for the Ready 2 Roll series, but could not make the ride today (we had a baby Thursday.) I plan to be at the next ride on the 25th.
> What Team are you ridding with?


Congratulations on the new born. Mine is nine and a half months old now. I didn't ride with them today. The team that I joined is Urban Bicycle Gallery. It is a shop in town with great people. Next week is our first official training ride.


----------



## Bmusick

Merc said:


> Congratulations on the new born. Mine is nine and a half months old now. I didn't ride with them today. The team that I joined is Urban Bicycle Gallery. It is a shop in town with great people. Next week is our first official training ride.


Thanks, 
I am ridding with my Brother on The Texas Children Hospital team. We plan to be at the Fulsher ride on the 25th. With the cooler weather I have taken about 3 months of from riding so I expect to suffer on the ride.


----------



## cycmike

I'm tempted to ride this one. For sure I'm going to Coldspring next weekend. Hilly and a good gauge of your current fitness level. My other "don't miss" ride is the very hilly Raven's Revenge in Huntsville, usually in March I think. If you do the long ride, 62 miles I think, and drag your a$$ across the finish, you're for sure ready for the MS rides. 



Tig said:


> A good one to ride is the Gator Ride in Baytown, March 1st. Only one climb, the Hartman Bridge, but it is a fun ride with just 1000 riders usually. Everyone that plans on riding the MS should be able to ride a metric century by early March.
> Gator Ride | YMCA of Greater Houston


----------



## Tig

cycmike said:


> I'm tempted to ride this one. For sure I'm going to Coldspring next weekend. Hilly and a good gauge of your current fitness level. My other "don't miss" ride is the very hilly Raven's Revenge in Huntsville, usually in March I think. If you do the long ride, 62 miles I think, and drag your a$$ across the finish, you're for sure ready for the MS rides.


I doubt I'll go that far for a training ride. I like riding a hell of a lot more than driving! 

By March, I'll start doing bridge repeats. If I can work up to 8 or more back to back climbs, I'll feel confident. I used to do this to get ready for the hill country MTB races.
Kemah Bridge


----------



## bigV

I'm planning on doing the 2014 MS150. This will be my third one in a row. Anybody do the Clay Walker ride on 2/01? 

bV


----------



## Tig

*Day 1*, I decided to do the middle distance of 83 instead of 100 miles since my health and fitness aren't so good. Smartest move of the day! The early tailwinds switched to cross and headwinds after the first hour and then the heat and sun kicked in. Throw in endless hills and my legs started cramping... bad. The longer I rode, the worse they got. At least the views overlooking hills of bluebonnets and indian paintbrushes were extraordinary and inspiring.

I managed to keep going since there is _no _“*quit*” in my vocabulary. At rest stops I couldn't do the normal stretches since the opposing muscle group would cramp instantly. I drank over 300 ounces of water and Cytomax during the Saturday ride. I finished day 1 in time to beat the long lines to the shower trucks and relaxed. The company tent was 40 x 60 with cots, tables and a tasty catered BBQ dinner. A full massage helped recovery quite a bit. I got to know my company teammates over a beer as night drew near before crashing out.

*Day 2*, started early after a deep sleep, and the legs were already toast. I had to opt out of the longer 77 mile route because of the super steep hills in Bastrop State Park and the likelihood of rain. I passed by the park along Hwy 71. It is sad to see it after most of the trees burned in the huge 2011 fire.

I took my time and stopped at most of the break stops to fuel up. My lowest gear is only 39x23, which I spent plenty of time in at the top of most climbs. Again, the winds were mostly head and cross winds, but it was cooler thanks to heavy clouds. The rain held off until I hit Austin, but I like riding in it.

I'm way short of the fitness level I needed to ride this, but knowing my body well plus how to ride efficiently made up for it along the way. I can spend hours deep into pain thanks to my years of racing. I finished right around noon and rode a nice wheelie across the line. Luckily, a teammate who raises over $10K every year gave me his spare VIP pass after the ride which let me shower in the _no line_ shower truck. That saved me from standing in a 1 hour line so I could hop on the bus back home all the sooner. The countless volunteers were amazing at every step of the way and none of this could have happened without their hard work.


----------

