MS ride in VA

[jsdilks]

Have any of you done this ride? I'm tossing out the idea with DH and trying to see if it's doable for us or not. What has been your experience with this ride? The website says it's easy, which is what I need - but I'm well aware that everyone has a different definition when calibrating difficulty.

[IFjane]

Sorry Shelly - I just saw this thread. Which MS ride are you referring to? I have participated in two MS rides in VA - the Tour de Vine in and around Charlottesville each June. They are hilly and can be tough -but are completely do-able if you train. Hope this helps!

[jsdilks]

there's a ride on the eastern shore of VA that's listed on the website at the end of May. That's the one I was looking at - not the one with hills

[ny biker]

I haven't ridden on the eastern shore of Virginia, but I would expect it to be like the eastern shore of Maryland, which is pancake flat. The biggest challenge is that you never get to coast.

[tulip]

Windy! Wind can be harder than hills.

[ny biker]

Yeah, I was gonna mention wind, but most of the riding I've done in that area was in the fall. I did a metric a few years ago in May and I don't recall any problems with the wind that day. But that was just one day, and I don't know what it's like most of the time.

It is true that riding in a strong wind can be quite the challenge.

[jsdilks]

You're right - I don't fare too well in the wind. We'll take that into consideration. It's odd, but I find that I end up gripping my bar ends tighter in the wind. Like I'm going to blow off the back of the bike or something...

[IFjane]

I ride the MS 150 Tour de Vine in June each year - quite hilly but fun. Keep in mind, when you are thinking of riding a flat ride that you never get to stop pedaling on a flat ride. At least with hills you get to coast some and to me, that makes hilly rides a bit easier.

[squirrell]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier--I live on the Eastern Shore of VA, very near where this ride takes place (about 20 miles from Silver Beach, where it's "centered" at)

First--it's flat, flat, flat. There are a few what we call "hills" but they're really nothing more than little slopes really, raising no more than 20 feet or so. But ones that "high" are few and far between.

There can be wind but that time of year isn't too bad. It's usually blowing about 5mph here all the time anywhere, so I'm used to it. But unless there's a storm, which I'm assuming would cancel the ride, you would probably be looking at nothing stronger than 20mph on a very windy day. Anything higher than that and it's almost assurdly going to be associated with a storm of some sort. So, I would say plan on about 5mph wind, maybe 8mph or so regardless.

BUT, there are PLENTY of trees around here, so you will be riding past lots and lots of natural "wind breaks."

It will be a pretty ride through historic very rural country. The folks here like to call the Eastern Shore "The Land that Time Forgot" and indeed it is. You'll see houses going back to pre-Revolutionary War times, small quaint little villages, beautiful old churches, and meet some great folks! I'm planning on doing the ride myself.

Here's a photo I took back in June of a huge field of sunflowers on one of my rides (this was when I was still pushing my Hybrid before I bought my Trek MSD)--you'll see sights like this and so much more!

[jsdilks]

Thanks everyone for the input. We're still tossing it around, but now we have a few variables to consider.