Sunday’s post on the MS 150 didn’t do justice to all the little occurrences that happen during such a big event. Here, in no particular order, are some of the things that I saw:
By far, the coolest celebration of the ride was in the small town of Fayetteville (pop. 291). It seemed everyone turned out to cheer on the riders. Lots of loud music blaring from big speakers, and a bubble machine on almost every corner! Lots of places didn’t notice we were there, but Fayetteville really came through.


Saturday night in La Grange, I was walking through the fairgrounds looking at all the tents and people when I saw someone I thought I recognized. I took a chance. “Excuse me, is your name Ramon?” I asked.
He looked at me. “Yes,” he said.
“Ramon H____?”
His eyes widened and he did a double take. “I know you!” he exclaimed.
We laughed and shook hands. Ramon is a regular reader and sometimes commenter on Bike Noob. I remembered running his picture with a guest post he did a year ago. Funny how these things just happen.
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After sleeping poorly Friday night, I was concerned I wouldn’t have much energy for a 100-mile ride Saturday. I needn’t have worried. From the time we left Houston until crossing the line in La Grange, I had plenty of go power. Even late in the ride, I turned on the gas a time or two to pick up the pace. Same thing happened last year. And after only a couple hours’ sleep Saturday night, I did it again on Sunday. Adrenaline? Conditioning? (Not conditioning.)
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My cot in the team tent Saturday night was next to a woman named Laurie. We met near the finish line Sunday and exchanged pleasantries about the ride. Talk turned to all the snoring in our tent the night before.
“We had a meeting to decide what to do about it,” she said.
“A meeting?” I replied. “It must have been during the little time I was asleep.”
“It was me, and ___, and a couple others. We couldn’t take it anymore.”
“What did you decide to do?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she answered.
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As I refilled my water bottles at one rest stop, I thanked a volunteer for being there. He thanked me instead. “You’re doing the hard work,” he said. I don’t think I agree with that.
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Sunday, climbing up yet another long hill, I called out the usual warning to a slow biker: “On your left.” He puffed hard, mashed his pedals, and shot me a sideways glance. “On your left?” he gasped. “Going UPHILL???”
How about next year doing it all in 1 day? Get your randonneuring credits all in 1 day and you avoid the snoring in the tents.
😀
Some riders do that, you know.
“on your left!” – funny and not all at the same time
The atmosphere in Fayetteville was really awesome. And you are correct, I do believe the whole town was out there cheering us on. Was this the place that had the “Rocky Balboa” theme song blaring from giant speakers? This really got me and my ride buddy pumped-up. We really needed that 🙂
Another favorite sight and sound were the bubbles in various places. It was interesting riding your bike through a cloud of those 🙂
I was amazed by how patient and courteous the volunteers were. They had a great sense of humor. And yes, taking care of 13,000+ riders must be extremely tough. At one rest stop, they had a Hawaiian theme, and everyone was wearing grass hula skirts, even the guys. At another, they had a cheerleader theme, and every one was wearing cheerleader outfits 🙂
Use earplugs (the soft squishy kind from Home Depot) to block out the snoring and other unwanted noises. It’s not 100%, so you don’t have to worry about sleeping through the alarm, but I never travel without them.
GREAT POST TODAY!
I shared a room with 2 other cyclists during a 2-day double century a couple of years ago. Luckily, I remembered the earplugs! Oh yeah – same advice goes for group camping trips…
Thanks for posting this. I’m riding next week in the 2015 BP MS 150. Coming from California. It’s going to be an interesting weekend…