MS 150 Ride Log

Thought I would post the ride log for me for the MS 150. Unfortunately, almost all of the data is estimated, as my cycling computer went on crazy again, and actually deleted it's history before the start on Sunday. I even lost the total odometer reading. Most of this data is from the MS150 website information, based upon the route I took.

	Day 1	Day 2	Total
Distance	74.45	74.14	148.59
Elevation Change	96.8	168	264.8
Climb Distance	35.31	36.2	71.51
Descent Distance	34.64	32.98	67.62
Climb Elevation	2958.7	3311.1	6269.8
Descent Elevation	2861.7	3143.2	6004.9
Min Elevation	119.5	262.5	119.5
Max Elevation	547.9	617.3	617.3

A couple other notable points:

Average Speed: 13.2 mph

Max Speed: 40.3 mph

Total Bike Time: 11.25 hours

Total Time: 17 hours

This was the slowest I have ever completed the MS150, but the headwinds really took it out of everyone. But look at that max speed - that was a blast!

Oh well, I think that about does it for this year. Hope everyone enjoyed seeing my training and event logs, and thankfully I made it to the end!

Until next time...

Gob Bless,
JAy.

I Made it to the Finish!

Well, sorry for the delay in posting the final details. I made in to Austin around 4:40 PM. The stretch from Breakpoint 5 to Breakpoint 6 was pretty rough, but I found someone else about my speed, and we stuck together to get through the wind.

The last stretch (10 miles) to the finish was actually pretty good. The ride was primarily cross-wind, which was a relief, and the adrenaline kicked in to keep me moving well on through the finish. I don't know what my average speed was, but it at least felt good!

After the finish, I was pretty exhausted. I managed to eat a little at my team tent, then got a shower before heading home. Thanks to my wife and daughter for meeting me at the finish and driving me back to Houston.

Unfortunately, the exhaustion from the ride, along with the head cold and the sunburn, was apparently too much for my body. I awoke Monday with a terrible sinus headache, blurred vision in my left eye (from sinus pressure), and poor balance (also sinus related, I think). I went back to bed and ended up sleeping until 3:30 PM!

I am feeling better today, and can even walk without too much pain. I haven't tried stairs yet, though. :)

Thanks to all those who supported me through this event, both via donations to the MS Society and with prayers and thoughts. I couldn't have completed it without your support.

And thanks to God, who definitely provided me considerable strength while on the bike. I know that he was answering prayers, because I am sure that my body should have given out around lunchtime on Day 2 otherwise.

I will provide a "log" post a little later.

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 2 - Breakpoint 5

I made it to BP 5 finally. I spent a long time at lunch, but I think that it was worth it. I am still tired, but feel some better.

A special thank you to the National Guard Medic who wrapped my left calf for me. Amazing how much better it feels with a layer of gauze to keep the sun off of it.

I hear that it is only 17 miles to finish, which I hope is true, because this wind is brutal. On my way here, I was literally going downhill at 12 MPH where I should have been going closer to 20 MPH.

See you at the finish!

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 2 Lunch

I made it to the lunch stop, and I feel pretty rough. My legs are like jell-o.

The worst thing is me left calf, though. I got a decent sun-burn on it yesterday, and now it just plain hurts. It's pretty demoralizing.

I am going to try to ride some more. I will post again later.

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 2 - Breakpoint 2

I made it to the entrance of Bauscher State Park. Thr hills in the park are pretty tough, frequent and steep.

I'll post after I make it through (God willing).

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 2 Start!

I am at least dressed and have my bike. Now I get to try and ride!

Updates from the road to come!

God Bless,
JAy.

Overnight!

I made it to the overnight about 5:00 this afternoon. It was a very long day.

Once we made the turn back to the south for the overnight, it was amazing how much speed I picked up. Suddenly 17 MPH across the flats was easy! The wind really made that much difference.

Now it is time to get some shut-eye. Thr ride starts at 7:00, but riders start lining up about 5:30 (not me).

God bless,
JAy.

Day 1 - Breakpoint 6

OWWWW!

That last stretch was tough. I now really hurt.

But I will take a break and try to recover. The next segment has always been good to me, so hopefully it will be again today.

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 1 - Breakpoint 5

Made it to Breakpoint 5 and am feeling OK.

Say a prayer for one of the riders, as we had a short stop a couple miles back for a Lifeflight. Don't know any details.

Well, 32 miles to go (or so we've been told). Post at you later.

God Bless,
JAy.

Day 1 Lunch!

Well, I made it to lunch stop on day one by now. Wasn't too bad a ride, since it was only 25 miles. Took me an hour and one-half. Not bad time.

Thr cold hasn't gotten me too bad. Bad I still have 50 miles left. We'll see how it goes!

God Bless,
JAy.

Final Thoughts Before the Start!

Well, I'm about 30 minutes from the start of the ride. I did decide to start from the shorter, later start line. I think it ends up being a blessing, as I can down with a head cold yesterday. I am feeling a little better this morning after 24 hours of medicine, but I will have to just see how the ride goes.

Thanks for everyones support for the ride.

I will send another note a little later!

God Bless,
JAy.

Wekend Summary

So, I got in two rides this weekend. Overall thoughts and observations:

I did better than I thought I would. Not to say I am in great shape, and I am not anywhere near the fittest I have ever been, but I definitely am not disappointed.

Had an interesting occurence after both rides. My legs didn't ache when I got off the bike. But about two hours later, man, were they sore! Normally the soreness doesn't get worse after the ride is over.

I think that I may actually survive next week. My bikes seems to be behaving well. My legs felt stronger than I expected. As long as I manage my speed, I think I will do OK.

6 Days and Counting!

Training Ride: April 6

I spent some time on the trainer this afternoon. Here is the log:

• Ride Time: 95 minutes

I was going for a longer time on the bike, which I got. Most of the ride I spent pushing moderately in terms of exertion level (say a 7 out of 10). I did 20 minutes pushing, then 10 recovering.

It was definitely a good workout!

Training Ride: April 5

Saturday I joined a group from a local bike shop for a morning ride. Here is the log:

• Distance: 30 miles
• Ride Time: 1:49

The average speed doesn't look great, but afterwards, I was really beat. I think the deception is because the ride was primarily in neighborhoods, which meant a lot of slowing down for intersections, then quick accelerations afterwards. It was a good workout.

I think that I will have to continue to join this ride occasionally after the MS 150.

7 days and counting!

Training Ride - March 29

I got a training ride in on Saturday. Here is the log:

• Distance: 35.3 miles
• Ride Time: 2hr 18m

OK, so the ride wasn't quite as long as I would have liked. However, I did have to ride 16 miles into the wind solo. I think that is worth a little something.

I am not sure what I will do this weekend yet for a ride. I know that there is a big organized ride on Sunday, but I really do not like missing church for a training ride. Plus, with the MS150 next weekend, that would make two weeks in a row I would miss service.

Of course, I also hope to use my traininer between now and then. We will see!