DAY 1: The MS150 Ride for MS was a BLAST! Team members from Tele included Gene Nacey, Paul Eichner, & Robert Young. Additional team members included Paul Wilczek, John Shiring, Jerry Rupert, & Todd Pugh. Mike Zorn’s custom jersey design was a huge hit once again. We had people asking us if it was the “official jersey” of the Escape to the Lake.
After a chilly gathering at 6:30am to take the official “team photo” and get the numbers for our jerseys and bikes, we rolled out from Cranberry, PA in mass, and I mean MASS. I have never seen so many cyclists at one time in one place in my life. Even though I thought we were starting pretty early (near 7:30) there were already riders in front of us as far as the eye could see, about 4 to 6 across. It was truly impressive. The sun was shining, we were all together in our team jerseys, and I knew we were in for a great day.
Before long we started picking up the pace, just to find some “open space” between us. We had a nice warm up cruise going, and the road was consistently flat. We eventually got out off the main road in Cranberry and started riding the country roads on our way to Meadville. Our first set of rolling hills came after about 15 minutes, and we all needed to get warmed up, so we cranked it up and started passing people in bunches. After one particularly fast section I turned around to see all 6 team members still together (Todd only rode on Sunday so we has just 6 of us on day 1). That got me psyched – so we continued to keep up the pace. Eventually however, we thinned ourselves out, and regrouped at the 2nd rest stop. There was a first stop about 10 miles out, but no one felt the need to stop, so we waited till about mile 23 or so. It was at that stop that Marsha approached us as a friend of Anthony’s and Bev’s from Tele-Tracking – so our name was indeed getting recognized already – cool!
After some tasty snacks and filling up our water bottles, we headed out once again. This departure however, was met with a caravan of local farmers and their tractors. It was pretty weird riding with huge tractors, but we seemed to “get along” J. The hills also started to come a little more frequently, so our little team began to thin out once again. From time to time those who got to the top of each hill would wait for those still climbing, but… not always. This was anticipated though, as we let everyone know that each person should ride at their own pace and ability, as this was not a “race” but simply a ride for a good cause.
Our next stop was lunch were we were served an awesome “naked barrito” – it was hot, spicy and absolutely delicious. At every stop (and especially at lunch) we had multiple choices for drinks, snacks, fruit, etc. I was thoroughly impressed with how well stocked they were and the level of variety in what was offered. After about 25 minutes, we began to roll once again. At every intersection there were multiple people helping to watch for and stop traffic where possible so that the riders could go through without stopping. This was very well “marshalled” and there was very strong sense of safety throughout the entire ride.
For the remainder of the ride, I think there were 2 more rest stops before Meadville, and I think we stopped at one of them. All throughout the ride we had the opportunity to have many conversations with our own team members and others we would meet along the way. Depending on how you wanted to ride, you could “visit” with people, or work on riding/climbing techniques, take photos along the way, etc. The day was “wide open” to become whatever you wanted it to be. Fast and furious, slow and relaxing, moderate and “conversational” – it was perfect weather & atmosphere to be whatever you wanted it to be. We did a little of everything.
By the last 10 miles, we were all getting a little tired, having already gone about 70 miles, and so we began to form a “pace line” where we ride in a straight line and take turns “pulling” as the front rider. At this point there were 4 of us in the “lead group” (Gene, Paul, John and Jerry). This was extremely helpful, as each rider behind the lead guy would save about 25% or more energy by “drafting” - staying within 6 to 18 inches of the guy in front of him. It was literally like you were able to “rest” for awhile! By the time the final hill came to climb to the days destination at Allegheny College, we each had enough “umph” left to hit it with some decent pace. It was an absolute perfect day in every way!
Naturally, they had more snacks and drinks again waiting for us at the College. We grabbed some (we were all pretty hungry at this point – around 2pm) and waited for the other team members to come in… and other riders and teams continued to come in for HOURS and hours afterwards – proving that this was indeed a RIDE and not a race. Riders of every ability took their time, lingered at the rest stops, and got to Meadville in a time they were comfortable with. Our lead group were all of the type that didn’t want to “cool down” completely between rest stops, so we tended to not take very long at each stop except for lunch. However, that was just us, as there were many people that took that time to socialize and more fully recover.
Even though the MS150 organizers had dinner provided, we all reconvened for dinner at a local Italian restaurant to “regale” each other with stories of the day’s ride (and other rides as folks were willing to share).
DAY 2: According to Robert, staying at the Bed & Breakfast was a good move. He got a thin sheet, no blanket, no pillow for his “boot camp” accomodations at the college. In fairness to the organizers, I think they may have said to bring your own linens. Nevertheless, the $70 to stay in the B&B was well worth the comfort, and the breakfast was phenomenal. We started with coffee & juice, followed by fresh fruit and yogurt, and two different types of coffee cake. If I wasn’t riding near 70 miles that day, I would have stopped there, but then the hot stuff came. Thick french toast was followed by two types of sausage accompanied by hash browns & eggs. Not only was there a variety, but if you’re a “breakfast lover” like me, you could taste a little of everything. I was fueled and fired up for the day!
After an obligatory photo in front of the B&B (where I look like an alien with white lite all over me), we rolled to the bottom of the hill where once again we were in a MASS of riders. While this would prove to be a much easier day than day 1 (maybe only 40% as difficult), the first section had a hill climb that I would rate as one of the hardest of the two days. Perhaps it was because my legs were still “feeling it” from the climbing we did the day before, but I did not “killin’ it” like I was the day before. After I got to the top of the hill (actually, a series of hills making one long climb), I circled for a while trying to re-group with the team. It was not easy, as everyone was spread out. Eventually, most of us did get together though, and we decided to do some pace line riding early on (since this was how we ended the first day, and it was a lot of fun).
While we were in our little 6 man line, a big line came roaring by us. Well, that not only looked like fun, but if we “hook on” to their line, we could work less and go faster… cool!! We hooked on, and as we were going, other smaller groups hooked on as well. Before you know it, we were about 30 strong in one single pace line. One of our team mates John saw that the lead team was doing all the “pulling” and the line was slowing down a bit, so he rode up and told them that we would also help pull, and that they could just peal off every few minutes and we’d be glad to help. Well, that gave us plenty of “fresh legs” to lead with, and we were FLYING! On the flats, and slight downgrades, we were exceeding 28 mph (which is fast on a bike for those of you who can’t stand the 25mph zones in the car). It was one of the highlites of the ride for me, as I had never been in such a big pace line and certainly had never gone that fast on the flats.
That group stayed together into the first rest stop where we all enjoyed some fresh bananas and refilled our water bottles. The rest of the day we intermittently worked smaller pace lines and just kept up a pretty high pace. It wasn’t really planned, but I guess that first segment “set the tone” for the day. We ended up making it to Conneaut (the finish line) by 11:20 in the morning, with an average speed of 18mph for the day. It was my fastest one day of riding – especially for a non-race.
We hung around eating the free pizza provided by the ride organization, and talking about how we can’t wait to do it again next year. I am sure that other people’s account of the ride would be much different than ours, but the point is that this environment and organization lends itself to be “malleable” to whatever type of ride you are interested in doing. The people, the scenery which was beautiful PA farmland, and the support through every intersection and at every rest stop made for a dream two days of riding.
If you’re thinking about doing it next year – don’t think anymore, just PLAN TO DO IT. You’ll be glad you did, and it will give you a “goal” to help motivate you to train through the winter and spring for. We will probably have team training rides next year for those interested (all levels of riding). You can DO IT!
Ride