MS 150 - New Bern, NC - A great ride, and a tropical storm

We survived (and thoroughly enjoyed!) our first MS 150 in New Bern this past weekend! A GIANT THANK YOU to all who sponsored me, and to those who wished me well, offered advice, etc. TE is truly wonderful!

We arrived in New Bern on Friday evening (a little later than expected). Camping was in a park down by the river (becomes important later), but the location was beautiful! We set up the tent in the dark without too many problems, got organized, and then ran to join our team at dinner (yep, the team captain was the last to arrive:rolleyes: ). After a not-so-great dinner (off site from the ride), we chatted with other riders and then turned in. Camping temperatures were lovely, and we got a good night's sleep. We didn't set an alarm, as we knew others would have and either the alarms or the zipper alarms would wake us up - and they did.

We awoke to a beautiful day - we got breakfast, made it through the water and Gatorade lines, and took our places (sort of). There were so many cyclists I couldn't get as far back as I should have been. This resulted in much passing of me for the first 10 miles:rolleyes:

After a few remarks from the ride organizers, we were off! They closed off the streets coming out of downtown, and we had HP escorts. We actually rode over a major bridge (the only one over the river) going out of New Bern (we're talking about a mile long bridge over water that carries interstate traffic). Beautiful! :D :D

Then we were on to the rest of the ride. I chose the 75 mile option, and DH rode the century. Hindsight is 20/20 and I could have ridden the century - but ah well - it was a lovely ride all the same.

We had 5 rest stops, with the third being lunch. All of the rest stops had great food and wonderful volunteers. Lunch was a little strange (beans, 3 kinds of rice, and sandwiches), but I couldn't eat much anyway. This is a flat ride - there weren't any hills of any size. The bridge was the largest of the day. We did have headwinds, though - since TS Gabrielle was sitting right off shore. Had a few stretches of headwinds + heat = he!!, but I spun (and sung to myself) through it. Also found some riders who weren't sure they could make it, and rode with them through the next rest stop (where they re-fueled and felt better!).

The ride back was across the same bridge - without a police escort. That was a little scary. At one point, there are 2 lanes exiting to the right, and the riders had to stay straight. There were volunteers blocking the breakdown lane (where I was riding) and pointing the correct direction. The only problem was that there was a solid stream of 70 mile per hour traffic:eek: :eek: :eek: Luckily, this isn't the normal route - the riders usually take the right exit, but couldn't because of a bridge closure. And the cue sheets were wrong. Big oops.:eek:

Made it back safely - actually kicked up my average speed by .1 in the last 10 miles (hence why I say I could have done more distance). :D :D Total mileage for the day: 80.66. Average speed (yep, it's low) - 11.6. We stayed for some festivities and then had dinner on our own. We tried (unsuccessfully) to get a good weather forecast. We knew that Gabrielle was supposed to make landfall soon near New Bern (turned out, she landed about 40 miles east and then cut up the coast), and we were camping on the water. We learned that the park floods when the water table rises, so we were concerned. We were also concerned about what tropical storm winds would do to the tent. But, we wanted to ride if possible, and we knew that the forecasts were anything but certain. Plus. we were too tired to pack up and drive home (and there were no more local hotel rooms). We toughed it out.

By the time we went to bed, the winds were gusting. By 4AM the squall lines were hitting and it was raining torrentially. Our tent held up, and we actually did get some sleep (I slept better *after* the rain started - I think the anticipation was worse). We packed up soggy tent (thankfully, everything inside stayed dry), and waited for the ride announcement (note - love my Element - the bikes were safe and dry).

They canceled all but the 30 mile route due to the storm, and I confess I wimped out. DH rode it - they rode through torrential rain and terrible headwinds. I felt like it was too much of a chance to take. They almost got blown off the road. We stayed for more festivities and then drove home.

I would do this ride again in a heartbeat!! The organization was great (except for the major booboo on the route), and the volunteers were delightful. They even have an announcer welcoming back riders as they finish (DH took over while the announcer had a break, and was announcing when I came in). Super cool!! And, it's for a great cause! The ride organizers had a snafu with the "I'm riding for..." bandannas, so I rode with my AV buff around my wrist:D

CA,

I thought about you yesterday every time I saw any kind of a report about Gabrielle. I'm in Charlotte, so we never knew there was a TS except for the news and weather reports for the coast, but I sure hoped you weren't in 50 MPH winds and rain!! Excellent job on your Saturday ride and the camping out. I'm brand new to cycling and can scarcely imagine 80+ miles yet, but doing it after sleeping in a tent TOTALLY blows me away.

MAJOR CONGRATS to you and your DH -- a great cause and some great stories to remember, particularly riding on the bridge and merging with the 70 MPH cars!!!!! :eek: I would have stroked out right then and there!!!!!

Good job!!:)

Susan

I guess the riders we saw leaving at 3:30 pm (along with us leaving for home from our boat) just stayed longer to see more of New Bern or some such - I was thinking they must have ridden at least the metric to be in town so late in the day. Sorry that Sunday was a bust - I wouldn't have ridden either! Nothing worse than torrential rains and high wind. We didn't have any torrential rains just east in Oriental at all. The heaviest rains were at about 5 am. After we got up, it only sprinkled on and off until 3 pm. We did hit some heavier rain driving back through New Bern, and the sky was BLACK.

Congrats on your 80 mile day -- that's nothing to sneeze at! :)

Emily

Hi CA! Thanks for the great ride report and congrats on your strong finish!

I was there too and completed my first century! It was hot (95) and windy. I was lucky to hook up with the NC Adventure Racers and complete the ride with their group. They had the great lime green and pink jerseys. It took me 6 hours and 12 minutes of riding. Well, that includes some rest stops too but not the long lunch.

It was just a day trip for us because I never did find anyone to come and stay with my teen. Sounds like I wouldn't have ridden on Sunday anyway.

I look forward to the ride next year!

Well, that was memorable, at least !

Well done. And glad you showed the AV colors, C.A. !

Awesome job, CA! 80+ miles is an excellent accomplishment!!

I would have been terrified camping that night! I'm amazed you got any sleep at all. And go DH for riding on day 2. Amazing!!

I'm glad to hear that you guys had a good weekend. :)

Firslty, congrats on your 80 mile ride! :grin: I've only been cycling a few months, and just started doing some long distances this week...so it inspires me to push harder when I hear about people's long rides! :)

[QUOTE=emily_in_nc;243469]... - I was thinking they must have ridden at least the metric to be in town so late in the day. ... [/qoute]

What's a metric? I've read this word a few times here, and am still not sure what it means.

A metric is a metric century - 100km, or 62 miles:)

CA

Congratulations on a great ride!!:)

Carrie - I just found this thread! I was wondering how you did - glad it was overall a great experience. Ours was great this year, too - and was my first as well.

Congratulations on a terrific accomplishment & on raising money for a wonderful cause!

but since we now have a happy ending, I will:)

DH rode on Sunday in the tropical storm. His light bounced off his bike about 2 miles from the finish line, and someone in an SUV swerved and ran over it (obviously intentionally) as DH was trying to get back to it. The guy had a big grin on his face, and made some nice gestures. This was the *only* bad driver experience I think either one of us had.

So...we took inventory of the light. The back was broken, but the front and circuit board were in one piece. We emailed Planet Bike to see if they would sell us the replacement piece - we sent a picture, and explained what happened...

They asked for our mailing address...

We received a NEW light in the mail today - no charge - marked as a warranty claim. WOW!!! We just wanted to buy the replacement part, and they shipped a whole new light! Kudos to a great company!!

Thanks for all of the well wishes - I would encourage anyone who can to come do this ride:D :D It's a GREAT cause, and it really is a nice group of folks (and the ride is a blast!).

CA