Welcome Smokie! Sounds like you've been bitten by the cycling bug! Good for you.

You are not the only person on this forum with curves..........as a matter of fact I think there is a recent thread addressing that very issue.

As far as the MS150, you can definitely do it next year. I did our MS150 my first year on a bike and the furthest I had ridden prior to that was 50 miles....that wasn't smart but I did it and it was a great experience. I highly recommend it.