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Every year in April, 13,500 bicycle enthusiasts pedal from Houston to Austin to raise money to help the fight against Multiple Sclerosis and to just have a good time.
Here are some of my memories of the ride.
Our day begins pre-dawn at the hotel. I opt to stay at the Omni but several other hotels in the area are geared up to accomodate MS150 riders. School busses line up and take riders and their gear to Tully Stadium in Katy, the starting point for our ride. The bikes are lined up and waiting. 18 wheelers take our luggage. It will be waiting in LaGrange at the end of the day. We join the festivities at the starting area anticipating the ride to come. The large teams are the first out of the chute with smaller teams and individuals to follow.
The first 40 miles are absolutely flat and usually have a tail wind.....this year it's head wind! Starting from three different locations gives riders the option of 70, 90, or 100 miles for the first day. Those of us who start at Tully go the full 100 miles. The road is packed with bicycles. Rest stops are approx. every 10-12 miles and have plenty of food and drink. (avoid rest stop #2) After lunch for 13,000, the terrain is rolling and open fields of wild flowers make the afternoon memorable. According to ride monitors, by afternoon the line of riders pictured above spans 40 miles.
The afternoon ride becomes festive as we pass through small towns along the way. Every year, Fayetteville is the most active. The whole town turns out to watch the riders. With cow bells ringing and bubble machines going, riders remember this town. The last 20 miles are hilly and usually quite warm. High school cheerleaders at the last rest stop are sun baked and dehydrated, but full of spirit. This year, the wind takes it's toll and the sag wagons start to fill. Even so, no complaints are heard.
You never know who you are going to meet along the way. I've passed the unicycles two years in a row at about the 60-70 mile point. Superman was a surprise. Also, there are numerous characters on the side of the road every year to encourage the riders. Everything from bib overalls and a fiddle to a bagpipper in full Scottish array. Also along the way are hundreds of MS victims cheering us on as we ride to raise money to cure MS.
Overnight in LaGrange.....the fair ground is teeming with tents. I'm fortunate to be on the best team...Saint Arnold's Brewery.....best shirts, fun crowd, and a beer wagon. Ann, our team captain does an incredible job feeding the team, arranging massages and making the overnight fun. Portable showers are available at the fair ground or busses take riders to the high school gym to clean up. As we refresh with cool beer, every rider has a story to tell. In the morning it's a pancake breakfast for 13,000 and then back on the road to Austin.
Sunday morning is the most challenging and the most beautiful part of the ride. We leave the fair ground heading East. At about 25 miles, we enter the state park. The next 10 miles are in the park.....heavily wooded....and nothing flat. Some hills are long and gradual, others are short and steep and it's constant gear shifting all the way through the park. For those not wanting the hills (or the beauty) there is an alternate route which is 10 miles shorter, milder hills, and is on the shoulder of a state highway. The two routes come back together for lunch in Bastrop.
Leaving the park, it's only a few miles to our lunch stop in Bastrop. Once finished eating, we start the last leg of our journey to Austin. The afternoon ride is through farm land. The beauty of the morning is gone and now it's just a matter of cranking a few miles and getting to Austin. The last rest stop of day two is my favorite of the entire course....wet bandanas to refresh the face and watermellon to eat! Once we leave the last rest stop we start to enter the outer edges of Austin. From there, the traffic picks up as does the size of the pack of riders. Finally...under the interstate....through the campus.....and across the finish line with a great view of the Capital straight ahead! The crowd is large and festive. 180 miles completed.
Memories of the ride and why we ride. This is Karin Sperger. Karin has MS and is at the event every year to support the riders who are supporting her. For the past 3 years, I have carried a bandana with her name on it during my journey from Houston to Austin. Looking forward to the MS150 gives her encouragement every year just as she gives encouragement to the riders. Thanks Karin. Send her an email of encouragement: ksperger@comcast.net
The Houston to Austin MS 150 is advertised as the largest two day fund-raising bicycle event in the United States. The ride is over 20 years old and they know how to do it right. I live north of Austin so I am riding home when I do the event. On Friday, I drive to the finish line in Austin and unload the bicycle from my car. Attendents are waiting to wrap my bike in a packing blanket and load it on an 18 wheeler headed for Houston. I take my overnight bag, hop on a waiting bus, and head out. The bus unloads at the Houston Omni hotel and the bike expo. Packet pick-up is well organized and I have the evening to walk through the expo and relax. In the morning, school busses are waiting at the door to transport riders to the starting area. The bicycles are waiting there, easy to find, and under secruity guard all night. I throw my overnight bag on an 18 wheeler and it is waiting for me in LaGrange, our overnight destination. See the pictures and comments above to get a feel for the first day of riding. Once at the LaGrange fairground, the team tents are set up and ready to go, complete with dinner and massage. Shower facilities are available both at the fair ground and at the high school with transportation provided. Sunday morning is always a slow start but well worth the wait. From LaGrange to the lunch stop via the state park is the most beautiful part of the ride. Entering Austin is memorable. The traffic picks up and the line of bikers thickens. Crossing the finish line with the State Capital straight ahead causes an adrenaline rush. The goal is achieved but I'm not ready to stop riding yet. This was my 5th MS 150......all were well organized and leave the rider wanting to come back for more. Many riders are looking ahead to the 2009 event. Plan ahead because they cut off registration at 13,500 and the ride fills quickly.
