Here’s the report I promised. Last weekend at the MS150 (Houston to
Austin), two unicyclists (on Cokers)participated. A. J. (from Austin) &
myself. I had never been on such a crowded ride before. 8000 riders lined
the west Houston streets on a sunny & windy day. I didn’t leave until
about 8am because they let everyone out in small groups.The first 2 miles
were slow with traffic stops & crowds of cyclists.
I decided to skip the first 2 rest stops because of long lines. I had
taken only about 20 minutes of short breaks in the first 40 miles until I
really had to stop at the 3rd rest stop. There I noted an average speed of
11.88 mph & it was still before 12 noon. I thought I still had an
excellent chance of getting the 100 or so miles to the day 1 finish before
dark (8pm).
Several miles later they stopped the ride (because of an injury) about 7
miles before the lunch break. I only had to wait about 30 minutes until I
was moving again. The problem was, the ride was stopped for almost 2
hours altogether & the cyclists were bunched up like sardines for the
rest of the day.
I was able to somehow cut in line at the lunch break & get back on the
road quickly. I saw A.J. getting to the lunch stop as I was leaving. I
said “Hey Cokerhead” to him, but he didn’t look like a happy camper. At
about the 65 mile point, I started cramping some & considered calling in
quits for the day. Instead I ate some bananas & sat down for about 15
minutes until I felt a little better. I just got back on & rode about 3
miles at a time, stretching when I would take breaks & enduring more
cramps than ever before. At the last rest stop, there was a sign that said
7.6 miles to end of day 1. I had about an hour until dark, so I tried to
ride slow & save something for tommorrow. After 7.6 miles (and 100.34 on
my cycle computer) there was another sign informing me “3 miles left”. The
Ride stopped for the day & I was forced to ride the SAG van to the camp.
I had to wait in so many lines & set up camp,etc. that I never got enough
sleep or had enough time to recover for the next day. I rode 20 miles the
next day & then gave up and took the bus to the finish. It was a LOT of
fun. Everyone was very supportive.
Congrats to Mark. Great effort for a great cause! Did AJ finish?
Mike Stephens
Mark Stephens wrote:
> Hi everyone! > > Here’s the report I promised. Last weekend at the MS150 (Houston to > Austin), two unicyclists (on Cokers)participated. A. J. (from Austin) & > myself. I had never been on such a crowded ride before. 8000 riders > lined the west Houston streets on a sunny & windy day. I didn’t leave > until about 8am because they let everyone out in small groups.The first > 2 miles were slow with traffic stops & crowds of cyclists. > > I decided to skip the first 2 rest stops because of long lines. I had > taken only about 20 minutes of short breaks in the first 40 miles until > I really had to stop at the 3rd rest stop. There I noted an average > speed of 11.88 mph & it was still before 12 noon. I thought I still had > an excellent chance of getting the 100 or so miles to the day 1 finish > before dark (8pm). > > Several miles later they stopped the ride (because of an injury) about 7 > miles before the lunch break. I only had to wait about 30 minutes until > I was moving again. The problem was, the ride was stopped for almost 2 > hours altogether & the cyclists were bunched up like sardines for the > rest of the day. > > I was able to somehow cut in line at the lunch break & get back on the > road quickly. I saw A.J. getting to the lunch stop as I was leaving. I > said “Hey Cokerhead” to him, but he didn’t look like a happy camper. At > about the 65 mile point, I started cramping some & considered calling in > quits for the day. Instead I ate some bananas & sat down for about 15 > minutes until I felt a little better. I just got back on & rode about 3 > miles at a time, stretching when I would take breaks & enduring more > cramps than ever before. At the last rest stop, there was a sign that > said 7.6 miles to end of day 1. I had about an hour until dark, so I > tried to ride slow & save something for tommorrow. After 7.6 miles (and > 100.34 on my cycle computer) there was another sign informing me "3 > miles left". The Ride stopped for the day & I was forced to ride the SAG > van to the camp. > > I had to wait in so many lines & set up camp,etc. that I never got > enough sleep or had enough time to recover for the next day. I rode 20 > miles the next day & then gave up and took the bus to the finish. It was > a LOT of fun. Everyone was very supportive. > > -Mark > > _____________________________________________________________ > Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com
I don’t think so…AJ? He told me his e-mail had been down. I heard
he went 80 miles the 1st day. -Mark
— Mike Stephens <m-stephens3@ti.com> > wrote: Congrats to Mark. Great effort for a great cause! Did AJ finish? > Mike Stephens > >Mark Stephens wrote: > >> Hi everyone! >> >> Here’s the report I promised. Last weekend at the MS150 (Houston to >> Austin), two unicyclists (on Cokers)participated. A. J. (from Austin) & >> myself. I had never been on such a crowded ride before. 8000 riders >> lined the west Houston streets on a sunny & windy day. I didn’t leave >> until about 8am because they let everyone out in small groups.The first >> 2 miles were slow with traffic stops & crowds of cyclists. >> >> I decided to skip the first 2 rest stops because of long lines. I had >> taken only about 20 minutes of short breaks in the first 40 miles until >> I really had to stop at the 3rd rest stop. There I noted an average >> speed of 11.88 mph & it was still before 12 noon. I thought I still had >> an excellent chance of getting the 100 or so miles to the day 1 finish >> before dark (8pm). >> >> Several miles later they stopped the ride (because of an injury) about >> 7 miles before the lunch break. I only had to wait about 30 minutes >> until I was moving again. The problem was, the ride was stopped for >> almost 2 hours altogether & the cyclists were bunched up like sardines >> for the rest of the day. >> >> I was able to somehow cut in line at the lunch break & get back on the >> road quickly. I saw A.J. getting to the lunch stop as I was leaving. I >> said “Hey Cokerhead” to him, but he didn’t look like a happy camper. At >> about the 65 mile point, I started cramping some & considered calling >> in quits for the day. Instead I ate some bananas & sat down for about >> 15 minutes until I felt a little better. I just got back on & rode >> about 3 miles at a time, stretching when I would take breaks & enduring >> more cramps than ever before. At the last rest stop, there was a sign >> that said 7.6 miles to end of day 1. I had about an hour until dark, so >> I tried to ride slow & save something for tommorrow. After 7.6 miles >> (and 100.34 on my cycle computer) there was another sign informing me >> “3 miles left”. The Ride stopped for the day & I was forced to ride the >> SAG van to the camp. >> >> I had to wait in so many lines & set up camp,etc. that I never got >> enough sleep or had enough time to recover for the next day. I rode 20 >> miles the next day & then gave up and took the bus to the finish. It >> was a LOT of fun. Everyone was very supportive. >> >> -Mark >> >> _____________________________________________________________ >> Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com