The MS150

I'm home, I conquered the flats, the hills conquered me.  I did a total of 110 of the 180 miles and all and all felt like I had a good showing.

 

I spent the night on the other side of town Friday night so that I could sleep all the way until 4:30.  During the night my foot tried to cramp up... nerves, I guess.  I was thinking uh-oh.  I got to where we were meeting around 5:15, drop off luggage and put together bike and me.  Go in and get breakfast and all that entails, and then at 6:00 we were off 2.5 miles to the stadium as a group.  We had a DJ with music and everything to send us off.  As the title sponsor, Team BP leads off the event, so we lined up in the street outside the stadium - 700 strong.  While standing there over my bike, I'm looking around wondering what was I doing. 

 

The event finally kicks off at 7:15.  I'm in the back of the BP group, but hey - I'm the one saying "On your left" for a change.  I still heard that phrase more than I wanted to all day, especially by the same riders over and over.  How did I keep passing them if they were so much faster than me.  Anyway, I had decided that I would stop at each rest stop to try and conserve my energy as long as possible.  When I get to the first rest stop, my heels are killing me.  I had rubbed nasty blisters from all the walking around I had done getting ready to ride.

 

I get the blisters checked out and wrapped and I'm on my way again.  Again stopping at the next rest stop.  At the third rest stop, they had a band. That was cool.  All this time we are doing flats and I'm crusing along in my highest front ring and 6-7 on the rear.  The wind is basically at our back and I'm averaging almost 15 mph.  After about 30-35 miles we start with our first rolling "hills".  I'm doing ok, enjoying the scenery - the Texas bluebonnets are out and all the wildflowers are gorgeous.  A lot of people are stopping to take pictures, but I'm cruising so well, I don't want to stop.

 

We hit our first serious downhill and I'm cruising at 31 mph by time we hit the bottom.  My bike has never been that fast... uh-oh, what goes down must go up.  We have a couple of really good climbs before lunch and I'm really wondering what I've gotten myself into.  My upper thigh is starting to burn.  Not a great sign.  I've had no hill training and I'm not sure if I'm attacking them right, but at lunch talking to some of the veterans, it sounds like I am... but I'm pedaling a lot more and a lot harder than I normally do.

 

Lunch is in a town called Bellville and is provided by the local Lions Club and some other organizations.  Everyone was so nice - and they had lots and lots of food.  I hang out for almost an hour relaxing and talking to some of my new friends and then back on the bike - ouch!  I shouldn't have been off that long, my butt doesn't like me anymore.

 

Coming through the town of Bellville, we get stopped at a red light - right at the base of a hill, what a way to start the afternoon.  At least I didn't get stopped by the train like some others.  Make it through town and everyone is slowing down... a rider was hit by a car and they were packaging the person in the ambulance.  That cast a little gloom, I don't know how bad the person was injured.  Away we go out in the country and more hills.  My thigh is really burning so I decide to SAG it the rest of the way.  It was at mile 61, which was 10 miles further than my last ride.  And I did not walk any of the hills I climbed.

 

The only complaint I had about the MS 150 was trying to move people who were through for the day and wanted to SAG to the stopping point.  We started out in a SAG van to the next rest point.  The line was already 30+ people wanting to SAG  They finally call for a box truck and bus.  It fills up 5 people for me.  By now the buses are going back to the previous rest stop and filling up so going right past us.  After over an hour, I catch another SAG van to the next rest point... and 4 hours later make it to the end of the day.

 

BP treats its riders great.  We had catered food and beverages waiting for us, our own luggage claim area and bike check-in.  Most importantly, they provided massage therapists and air-conditioned buses to the hotel.

 

I was in bed by 9 and up at 4 this morning for the bus ride back to La Grange.  The start was at 7, but it was 8 by time I made it out of the fairgrounds.  I took what was called the Lunch Express because it was shorter and bypassed the worst of the hills.  It was on a US highway (71) so most of the rises were slow gradual but long inclines.  There were 3-4 really good climbs and one of the last ones before lunck I ended up walking because I had lost my momentum at the bottom of the hill when I had to slow down for a truck pulling out in front of us.  Walking with taped up blisters is not fun, believe me.

 

I ended up SAG two legs of the ride this afternoon, but I rode the last leg.  It was hilly, my back wheel tried to fall off, and a super strong crosswind made the downhills really interesting, but I perservered and made it across the finish line at about 3:00 this afternoon.  There were so many people cheering us on at the finish, that I did get a little emotional.

 

I didn't do the whole thing, I wasn't ready for the hills (and these aren't like the "hills" that California has - read mountains there), I had more aches and pains that I ever thought.  But will I do it again?  I really think so.

 

After a 3 hour ride back to Houston, I'm tired, need a shower, and am ready for bed, but I wanted to write this while most of it was still fresh in my mind.  Excuse me for being so wordy... I needed to get it down.

 

Maggie