There are three types of bikes: road, mountain and hybrid. Road bikes are what you’re supposed to use on the MS150. They are light, have thin and slick tires and ride very rapidly. But they have no shocks. Mountain bikes are all shocks and thick, knobby tires, but are harder to ride on the road. So what do I have? A cross between the two, a hybrid with some shocks but somewhat narrow tires. It’s more suited to riding around the neighborhood than through the countryside, but it worked fine for me. I did 100 miles in a little less than 9 hours.

However, my knees, hamstrings and shoulders hurt pretty badly after it was over. By the next morning, only my knees hurt, but they were worse. Rather than risk doing some permanent damage, I sat out Day 2 as the rest of the team pedaled into Austin. I helped our support crew (spouses, girl/boyfriends) pack up our stuff and caught a ride with them back to NI. Since my previous best was only 62 miles, I settled for the 38 mile improvement.

Why do most bicyclists not have kick-stands on their bikes? Why do you spend upwards of $1500 on a great bike, then just chuck it on the ground whenever you stop somewhere? It is always high comedy to watch bicyclists looking for any upright and stable object to prop their bikes against, whether it be a wall, a car, a barbed-wire fence or a slow-moving pedestrian. My bike, ahem, has a kickstand, which made it stick out very well at the rest stops.

Biker lingo is fun. We were riding mostly on two-lane country roads and we were taking up both the shoulder and a full lane. So whenever a car would approach, you were supposed to yell ‘Car up!’ Or if there was a car behind, then ‘Car back!’ When you passed somebody, you say ‘On your left!’ or ‘On your right!’ I like to yell, so that was enjoyable. However, it got annoying for slow people who were always getting passed to constantly hear ‘On your left!’ And after 70 miles or so, everyone was so darned tired nobody really said much of anything.

And the chatter between people also ended after 70 miles.

Just as there are not-so-nice drivers in cars, there are not-so-nice bikers. I saw several bikers throw banana peels into the grass as they were riding. There were always speed demons who couldn’t wait to pass, so they would veer into the on-coming traffic lane. And they were usually in lines of at least 6 riders. I even passed a guy who was talking on his cellphone headset.

My buddy Pat hooked up an MP3 player to some small speakers, creating his own bicycle stereo system. Pat’s taste ranged from Star Wars music to George Thoroughgood to Mack the Knife, so things were interesting. There were at least three other riders with radios that day as well.

Lots of people had odd attachments to their wardrobes. ExxonMobil employees had little tiger tails on their helmets or seats. One guy had an afro wig on (his helmet must’ve been hidden inside). A University of Arkansas fan had one of those dopey plastic razorback helmets over his bike helmet. I saw several American flags on helmets and one old guy who had stegosaurus plates in a line on top of his helmet.

Lots of older people and lots of kids, too. Some of the kids were on tandem bikes with a parent or someone older. But I can’t imagine sitting behind someone else and pedaling mindlessly for 8 hours. There was even a unicyclist, though I didn’t see him pedaling.

I wasn’t worried about potentially not being able to finish. Their were plenty of Sag Wagons, or vans and trucks that would pick up people who couldn’t go any further and wanted a ride to the finish line. There weren’t that many people who took them, but there were a few. I think they got dropped off just before the finish line so they could still ride in.

We also had 5 in-line skaters do the 150, who were 100% nuts to be out there. They have to be much more careful of where they’re going since things like railroad tracks or uneven pavement can give them fits. At least one of them went the whole 100 miles without sagging. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of them.

All in all, the ride was a great experience. The scenery was top notch as the roadsides were blanketed with bluebonnets, indian paintbrushes and buttercups. The ride was well-supported as the plentiful rest stops had lots of water, bananas, power bars and animal crackers. The hills were tough but not impossible and people were very friendly and in good spirits.

I still think I was crazy, though.