Me (jerryg), Matt (Kuhfahl) and Joe (?) rode the MS150 “bike to the beach” this weekend on cokers. It’s supposed to be 143 miles, and we completed all of it except the 5 robbed miles at the end of day one, but I won’t go into that.
We started in San Antonio and no sooner than we mounted (at 7AM) than it started raining. Soon it was raining hard, and kept at it off and on for the next 55 miles. The rain storm travelled about the same speed as us, and the same direction. When the rain stopped, the wind started. We camped in Beevile (80 miles later) and started again at 7:30AM for the last 60 miles. I finished a little ahead of Matt and Joe and was able to take this picture of these guys as they finished -complete with police escort followed by every SAG vehicle from the ride. The crowd went nuts. (I just got my digital camera last week, and haven’t figured out most of the features, so please excuse the poor cropping.)
We were part of a team. Since the team had under 30 members, we had 10% unicyclists, but since well over 3,000 riders signed up, we were still less than 0.1%. No uniycle ever completed this MS150 before (according to them and the reactions).
I think we’re all sore, but we are glad we did it.
I don’t think I’ll do it again.
Jer
Jerry, nice write-up and nicer ride. Looks like that extra conditioning in Tahoe helped. Those are a couple of significant days. I rode a 55 day recently, and that took a lot. Having trouble contemplating what an 80 and 60 back to back would be like.
Congratulations!!! Way to go guys:D
I tried to get over there to see ya’ll off, but ended up oversleeping;)
It really sucked that the storms followed ya’ll
but you’ve mentioned it now, so you’ve got to go into it! it’ll be interesting to know how long it takes your muscles to recover! and i love the finish line photo
That’s excellent Jerry, Matt and Joe!
I knew you guys would make it, but when it started raining Saturday morning I knew it was going to be tough for you. I guess it wasn’t hot anyway.
That is something to be proud of. And what do you mean you won’t do it again? I had already decided to do it with you next year.
re: but you’ve mentioned it now, so you’ve got to go into it!
The last rest stop is 4.5 miles before the stop for the night. We didn’t know it, but if you’re not PAST there by 6:00 PM, they make you SAG in. Joe was AT it, waiting for Matt and I. At 6:00 we were less than 1/2 mile from it. We were not happy about getting SAGed in, but didn’t let it ruin an otherwise great riding day. Almost 78 miles is almost 82, and our record distance in a single day.
How to recover? I’m sore today, and chaffed, but I’ve had hang overs that felt worse. Alot worse.
Doing it again? I didn’t want to do it this time. It’s something I want to be able to say I’ve done; Not something I want to do. Some people ride it each year say the same thing, so we’ll see.
Jer
Well, those are some cool pictures… I think it is kinda funny how I’m all happy in the start picture with those ominous clouds behind me… and at the finish, I have a dazed and confused face that more or less says “kill me now.”
This ride was interesting. I was not tired when I finished. My butt didn’t hurt as much as it usually would after a 40 mile ride… but my joints were killing me! My right knee was actually clunking a bit… I still feel the tendon move when I move it right (or wrong). Hope it is nothing serious. I actually ended up moving the seat lower so I would have different movements in my joints… and that worked a bit, but then I also had to use my weaker, typically unused muscles… they got quite tired.
The ride did go fairly well though. I still managed to have an average speed of 10.2 throughout both days, passed a lot of bikers (I think after you’re passed by a unicycle, you are require to quit and get SAGged back), no UPDs but many less than graceful dismounts… because once I got off, I could barely stand. Brandi, the biker between Joe & I, commented how I was able to unicycle better than I could walk… Jerry talked me out of completing the mileage we lost when forcibly SAGged, so I went ahead and made it up after I got back… I couldn’t let them win!
Thanks for all the kind words on the ride… but, why would I want to do it again!!! Maybe. We’ll see.
I did it! The MS 150 Bike to the Beach is over and I rode the distance on a unicycle! I was a little sore when I finished, but overall I survived in good shape. No crashes or other calamities.
Actually there were 3 unicyclists on the journey! I rode as did my friend Matt Kuhfahl and a new friend from Houston named Jerry Gruss. To say that we caused a stir is a big understatement. In fact, we were swarmed in most places. We couldn’t possibly count the number of times we were photographed. The best part is that hundreds of times folks said stuff like “Awesome!”, “Great Job!”, or “Amazing!”. Late on the first day one of the support vehicles drove by as I rode alone up a long hill and some kid said over the vehicle’s loudspeaker, “YOU ROCK, UNICYLE MAN!” That was my favorite moment, I think, beside the finish. Matt and I and a friend on a road bike crossed the finish line in Corpus Christi together. We were the last ones to do so, of course! We were greeted by a huge crowd, all of them yelling, clapping and screaming. Photographers jumped out and snapped our pictures yet again as we finished our cruise down a flag-draped lane. It was the highlight of a tough ride.
Did I say tough? Just as we began the journey early Saturday the clouds opened up and we rode through a driving rain for the next 5 hours! We were soaked to the skin. Luckily the sun came out later, but that’s when the hard, gusting cross-winds started. Happily near the end of that day the winds died down and the sun stayed up as we got to the evening’s stopping point after 80 miles of riding. We spent about an hour answering questions and posing for pictures. The most common question was, “Did you ride all the way on THAT??!!” The next most common question was, “Can you get on and ride one more time so I can take your picture?”
The first half of the second day went very smoothly. But then the headwinds from the Gulf came on, a stiff and constant breeze right in our faces. This came at a time when we were cycling down the straightest, flattest roads of the tour under a hot sun. That part of the trip seemed to take a very long time, indeed! Happily, in the last 10 miles we shifted direction and left most of the wind behind. We felt great excitement as we rounded a corner at the top of a hill and could see the wide sweep of Corpus Christi bay right below us. The tall buildings in downtown Corpus could be seen in the distance, and just below them we could make out our destination. Unfortunately we still had 5 more miles to go! We rode along the freeway across a causeway and bridge that was about 100 feet above the waters of the bay. That made us feel just a little bit uncomfortable, but after the drenching rains, screaming winds, heat, knee pains, and butt aches, it was just another minor inconvenience. And the finish line, well, you already know how great that was. We ended up completing about 140 miles in two days.
Will I ever do something like this again? Right now I’m not sure I’ll ever want sit on that unicycle again! But we sure have great memories of that ride.
Thanks again for all of you who were so generous and made a pledge to the MS Society. If you are still interested in making a pledge I have included the link, below.
Joe, Matt and Jerry,
I’m so proud of you guys. Now that I read about your experiences and how awesome you guys did I now wish I had taken your advice and did the ride with you guys. Sounds a little too flat for my taste but if you ever want to do this ride again I would love to take part expecially if we can get a big group of Texas coker riders. Way to go, guys. Absolutely outstanding.
Way to go guys!! That’s a fantastic achievement, especially in less than ideal conditions. Give it a few days or weeks and you might feel differently about doing it again (or riding a unicycle again)!
Jerry talked me out of completing the mileage we lost when forcibly SAGged, so I went ahead and made it up after I got back… I couldn’t let them win! 