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I'm thinking about it, although I know absolutely nothing about it.

Other thread about it: http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/ms-150-2009

So I've done a bit of research and figured out mostly what its all about. Thinking about joining the thick bikes team, because its the cool thing to do.

Any words of wisdom for a newbie?

i started that other thread but i am not going to ride this year... i have a little too much going on and well.... am not in as good bike shape as i was last year.

however!

you can totally do this ride if you just commute in the city. i did one long training ride before going out the first time, and really the hardest part is sitting on a bike seat for that long. just get yourself a good pair of shorts. seriously, buy the ones that are pricier than the others. as for a bike, ride whatever you like best for long distances. people are riding all sorts of things.

bring some of your own snax so you dont end up hating pbjs and bananas the rest of your life.

have 2 water bottles. but there are rest stations every 12-15 miles so its not so bad as far as food and distance.

wear sunscreen.

its a blast and you dont have to carry all your stuff with you! they transport your camping stuff to the school, and then at the end they transport you and your bike back to cranberry!

I managed to raise the initial 250 in a little over 12 hours, so, looks like I'm doing it, haha.

I ride a trek hybrid so I'm really not worried about my bike, and I've done some long rides before on my own.

Might pick up a rear fender just in case, and I'm still work on that camera-bag-on-bike solution. Handle bar bag sounds like what I'll end up with.

i know another poster here has camera bag as a handle bar bag...he posts infrequently though because he keeps getting on a sailboat and leaving!

Still debating and deciding if I want to do it, and if i want to do it on my single speed or my Trek hybrid. Neither bike is made for longer distance riding.

Hybrids usually have relaxed geometries that work well for long distances and reasonably wide gearing ranges, both of which make for an easy ride. You might want to add bar-ends or something for more handlebar positions though.

If your singlespeed, like many, is a converted older road bike that wasn't anything too fancy, it probably has touring-like geometry as well, and would probably be fine for distance as long as your legs can handle the gear ratio all day. I know someone who did the MS150 on fixed-conversion of an older road frame, and he was just fine.

i'm doing this for the first time! also riding with Thick.

I met Chris from Thick, the jerseys are going to show up like the day before the ride, and we might all be going out to dinner that night to stuff face, so he said he'd give them out there if he can.

yummyyyyyy. i love the design.

Don't forgt to get your bike inspected guys and gals.

Got my tent and sleeping bag today, getting pumped.

Everyone on the Thick Bikes team should've gotten an email from chris about the dinner on friday. If anyone needs a ride give me a heads up.

handlebar bag is a good solution for the camera, i did it last year and did lots of commuting back and forth from the studio with my camera with the setup and liked it quite well (you can also put the que sheet on top of the bag, or a map, which is really nice for these long types of rides.) i always ride with full fenders so that wasn't a question but its not a race or anything, might as well go for it.

things to do:

1 bring something to hold snacks in

2 bring as many liquid containers as possible

3 wear sunscreen, apply it often

4 ride in smaller packs, you'll save energy without having to worry about huge 30 bike pile ups (it did happen a few times)

5 have fun and talk! you'll be passing and be passed by people all day, and you all have at least one thing in common!

this was so much fun my team was amazing, and i rode harder than i thought was possible!

I rode the MS 150 this weekend on the unicycle. It was kind of hard and I was the very last person to finish but I think I may have been the first unicycle rider to to finish. The people passing me with there encouraging words and Chas loaning me his head phones kept me going through the down times. One of the highlights for me was as I passed an Amish family watching the ride the teen boy said "Dude you rock!" Not exactly what I expected.

buck! i totally shouted to you too! on that crazy hill that we climbed at the end of day one/descended at the beginning of day two - i passed you yesterday going down. it was amazing to watch you bust down that moster of a hill. we all thought about you the entire ride. like "wow, i wonder how the unicycle guy is doing." way to go!

So, Buck, now that you've conquered the MS150...has anyone ever talked to you about a little something called the Dirty Dozen?

Buck! I've got photos of you. I think they're a touch blurry because it was raining and I was sort of pedaling with one leg, but I'll drop you a message when I post them.

This was loads of fun and I cant wait to do more big rides like this. Thick Bikes team was great!

Squirrel Skull!

(thanks maggie for the ibuprofen)

Thanks for all the kind words, I have run a lot of ultra marathons mostly 50 and 100 mile foot races but this ride by far was both mentally and physically was the hardest hing I have ever done. I truly went through "The swamp of despond" during the ride numerous times. I am not sure if that is a product of being 51 or not but I am sure of this, the encouraging words of the other bikers kept me going. Thanks again

All of my photos from the MS150 are up!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjdlc/sets/72157619627333510/

I've seen unicycles before and one year a penny farthing. Don't know if they completed, though. I haven't ridden for some time in part because it somehow became difficult for me to raise the money.

When I started, I was in a crap, minimum wage job with other wage slaves. I asked around and everyone threw $10 or $20 at me for the pledge and in no time I was set. Later I got a better job. Nearly doubled my salary along with coworkers who similarly made more money and getting any of them to make any sort of pledge was like pulling teeth. I ended up footing most of the commitment myself.

I also grew tired of the crowds. Leaving two hours before the official start time on Sunday was the only two hours when I could ride the way I enjoyed. Open roads. Morning mist. Deer and rabbits. Alone. I didn't want to share that with 1500 other people.

I was better off sending a check straight to the MS Society and riding to Cumberland on the Great Allegheny Passage.