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https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> Ride Reports >> Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1336347034 Message started by shellbear on May 6th, 2012, 6:30pm |
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Title: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by shellbear on May 6th, 2012, 6:30pm I did the MS150 this weekend! Man, that is a tough but fun ride. This is only my second year to do this one (I used to do the San Antonio one when I rode an upright, from 2004-2009) but last year Day 2 got cancelled due to bad weather. This year I got to do the whole thing, 154 miles in 2 days! Day 1 was 86 miles, starting from the Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, going northwest up to Pilot Point (nearly halfway to Oklahoma), around the south side of Lake Ray Roberts, and back down southwest ending at the Texas Motor Speedway. The route starts off fast (I averaged over 20mph for the first 20 miles or so) but gets hillier as the day progresses. Of course it was also getting warmer throughout the day, so things go progressively slower. I stopped at Rest Stop #3 @ 38 miles to refuel my beverages and have a snack. Because lunch was the next stop at only 9 additional miles, I skipped it and just ate some of my own snacks plus more food at Rest Stop #4 @ 59 miles. By this time the hills and heat were starting to get to me so I made sure that my arm and leg coolers were nice and wet and took things easier for a while. At around mile 65 i was feeling pretty good so I latched onto a paceline of upright riders, letting any tail joiners ahead of me so as not to upset their draft line (I'm not much help to anyone on the Musashi). One of the things I miss most about riding a regular bike is riding in a paceline with my friends! By Rest Stop #5 at mile 72 a lot of people were really feeling the heat and hills. My legs were starting to hurt but I was feeling pretty cool in my arm and leg coolers as long as I kept them pretty moist. By the finish my legs were definitely tired but I felt MUCH better than I did at this ride last year. In fact, last year it was a good thing that the second day was cancelled due to inclimate weather because I'm not sure I would have been able to do it. I got a nice carb-loaded dinner from my sister (we stayed at her house instead of camping out) and a good night's sleep! Day 2 was 66 miles but since I opted for the lap around the speedway I got an extra 2 miles in (so 68 total). I got some great video going around the speedway, that place is HUGE!!! I will post that later once I get a chance to edit it a bit. At the start of the ride I could already tell that my legs were still tired from Day 1, and almost immediately (about 5 miles in) we hit the first of many hills. OUCH. My first stop was at the Lunch Stop @ 33 miles. I was glad to eat lunch today, I shouldn't have skipped it on Day 1. My leg muscles continued to hurt throughout the day (mainly my glutes, outside quads, inside hamstrings, and my calves just below my knees but no joint pain!) so I had a much slower than normal day. I did not wear the leg coolers today but I did wear my arm coolers. I didn't notice much of a difference with my legs (other than the sticky sunscreen, yuck) but it was overcast the whole day compared to the sun on Day 1 so I'm not sure it was a fair comparison. I made another stop at #5 @ 53 miles and was really hurting. Thankfully the hills tapered off a bit at mile 60. By the time I got a shower and my husband drove me home I was really glad I'd made an appointment to get a massage this afternoon at Massage Envy (I have a membership there). I now feel a whole lot better after that and a soak in the bath tub! I think I should have eaten lunch on Day 1 and taken more time at each rest stop, but when the heat is on it's tempting to push hard to get the ride over with before the hottest part of the day! I saw several recumbents along the way: a couple of Bacchettas, a Lightning, a Catrike 700, a TerraTrike, and what looked from a distance like a Sun TriClassic SX which is incredible because that thing weighs over 50lbs. I didn't know any of those riders from Easy Street or RBENT. I really like the MS150 rides, they are so well done and the coordinators and volunteers are some of the best people you will ever find. Speaking of awesome people, I met the top fundraiser from last year (the top 100 get special race numbers from 1-100 in yellow, so her #1 was how I identified her). She managed to raise $14k for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society! Amazing! :-D Hope you all enjoyed the write-up, I will post a link to the video later. I'll also post any professional pics that come up with me in them later this week. My husband is also such a good sport, he is so supportive and drove me to/from all the starts/finishes, helped me with my bike after the rides, and he is just wonderful. :) I think I'll keep him around for a while. Here's a picture he took this morning before Day 2 started: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/305550_10100481010433123_9201054_46585247_1398678301_n.jpg |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by Monkeywrangler22 on May 6th, 2012, 6:57pm Are arm coolers just regular arm warmers that you soak in water every so often? |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by shellbear on May 7th, 2012, 2:35am DeSoto arm coolers. They are a white mesh material instead of black fleece like arm warmers, and the material is supposed to help wick sweat away to more effectively cool your arms. I think the light color is effective in reflecting a lot of the sun's radiant heat. Also they're rated at SPF 50 for sun protection but obviously they don't sweat/wear off like sunscreen does. The leg coolers are the same deal but on your legs obviously. I think they're great for up to around 95 degrees if you keep them wet with water in the warmer temps but I'm not sure they'll be worth it in 100+ temps. When the wind is hot and oppressive they may end up being too occlusive. Time will tell, I will test them more this summer! I want to check out the cooling vests that some here have tried as well, those look really nifty! |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by rmillay on May 7th, 2012, 6:30pm I got a cheap pair from Seavenger.com. They only come in two sizes. They don't so much cool my arms as feel cool when you sweat and the breeze blows. I've yet to test them in real hot temps. They do keep the sun off, though. :) |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by TonyWard on May 7th, 2012, 6:51pm I wear Pearl Izumi brand on every ride including the whole summer last year. I have no idea if they are actually cooler as I would rather drink the water than waste it pouring it on my arms. They do not feel any warmer. My biggest reason to wear them is sun protection (one less place to have to smear sunscreen). |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by Bud_Bent on May 7th, 2012, 11:08pm Wow, we totally derailed this topic... I have both the Pearl Izumi and Desotos (mine are actually the Desoto Cool Wings rather than arm coolers). They both work well, but I think the Desotos are best. |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by Killer Bee on May 8th, 2012, 7:37pm Shellbear, were you wearing an Rbent jersey on Saturday? I passed a female rider on a recumbent outside of Krum & noticed the Rbent jersey and yelled "nice jersey!" I was riding my Bacchetta CA2.0. I too wear arm coolers (Ice-fill, made by Recofit). |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by shellbear on May 9th, 2012, 9:36pm Killer Bee wrote:
Yep, that was me! *waves* :) |
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Title: Re: Sams Club MS 150 ~ May 5-6, 2012 Post by Killer Bee on May 9th, 2012, 10:36pm shellbear wrote:
Yep, that was me! *waves* :)[/quote] Cool. *wave back at ya* |
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