CNC and MS150

[CharleyM3]

The Cycle NC Spring ride in April 13-15. Is anyone else thinking or planning on going?

I'm also thinking about doing the MS150 since I cannot got to RAGBRAI this year. I'm looking for a C pace group to get in and ride with. MSFits maybe?

[JayC]

The Cyclepaths is who I'd probably join up with. The group is REALLY large and there are all kinds of speeds, all the way back to D pace riders.

Ive already signed up for the MS150 on their team as has Karen.

http://www.selmacyclepaths.org

[CharleyM3]

Sounds like a good choice. Thanks for the tip.

[JayC]

Anytime.. I love the SS group but the Cyclepath rides are on another level than any group ride Ive done in Raleigh. They have sag support on all the rides, fluids at the rest stops, etc. Its a GREAT group.. it's amazing the amount of organization that goes into that group. First ride is April 6th I believe but its only a 24 miler as those guys vanish after the 150.

[Pugslyyy]

The Cyclepaths is who I'd probably join up with. The group is REALLY large and there are all kinds of speeds, all the way back to D pace riders.

Ive already signed up for the MS150 on their team as has Karen.

http://www.selmacyclepaths.org

As have I, another returning member! I found the cyclepaths to be a good group of folks and I really enjoyed the training rides last year - in addition to the MS-150.

[TracyW]

Toying with the idea of MS-150 but not the CNC.

[BetsyW]

I'm thinking of doing the MS 150 too. Can an experienced MS 150 rider give me some information about the ride? I was looking at lodging on their web site and it looks like most of the hotels in New Bern are already booked - do they block off rooms, or is it really already that full? Where is a good place to stay in relation to the Saturday night post ride activities? Do most people camp at Union Park? (after a day of riding, I'm not so sure I want to sleep on the ground). Speaking of which, what are the Saturday nght post ride activities. Jus trying to get details I don't seem to be getting from their web site yet. Thanks for any info you can provide!

[skiffrun]

I'm thinking of doing the MS 150 too. Can an experienced MS 150 rider give me some information about the ride? I was looking at lodging on their web site and it looks like most of the hotels in New Bern are already booked - do they block off rooms, or is it really already that full? Where is a good place to stay in relation to the Saturday night post ride activities? Do most people camp at Union Park? (after a day of riding, I'm not so sure I want to sleep on the ground). Speaking of which, what are the Saturday nght post ride activities. Jus trying to get details I don't seem to be getting from their web site yet. Thanks for any info you can provide!

First, the rides are FLAT! Even Clayton / Garner flatlanders would agree to that. The only thing with a climb is the US-70 bridge @ begining and end of the Sat ride. Sunday is FLAT - but the lunch stop has GREAT "homemade" ice cream. If you're riding with someone who doesn't want to make the "ice cream lunch" stop on Sunday - dump them.

Second, the rides can be WINDY. Last year was the first after several in a row that did not have a hurricane flooding the park by mid-week after the ride. 2005, the wind pushed the waves into Union Park on Sat night / Sun morn & the early miles of the Sunday ride were modified to avoid flooded road & they eliminated the century option (no one really complained after doing only 75 miles in that wind).

Relatively speaking, there aren't that many campers. But since they have 1500+ riders, even 10% camping would make for 150. That's prob in that right range.

Starting with this year's ride, the MS is blocking the rooms in New Bern for the returning big dollar raisers ($750 +). Previously, the rooms took all of less than two weeks to fill, so you would have been staying outside New Bern anyway.

Last year post-Sat ride was a bit thin compared to previously. Essentially was dinner & some music. Previously they had speaker(s) and announced the jersey & fund raising leaders on Sat night. Free food is always a good thing, but lots hit the restaurants instead.

Hotels other than New Bern: try Havelock, but they likely filled. Otherwise, all can think of is get out your map and search. There may be some B&B not yet filled for the MS-150 weekend, but I wouldn't bet on it.

LOTS of riders. All paces.

Did I mention the courses are FLAT?

[Pugslyyy]

I'm thinking of doing the MS 150 too. Can an experienced MS 150 rider give me some information about the ride? I was looking at lodging on their web site and it looks like most of the hotels in New Bern are already booked - do they block off rooms, or is it really already that full? Where is a good place to stay in relation to the Saturday night post ride activities? Do most people camp at Union Park? (after a day of riding, I'm not so sure I want to sleep on the ground). Speaking of which, what are the Saturday nght post ride activities. Jus trying to get details I don't seem to be getting from their web site yet. Thanks for any info you can provide!

If the rooms are unsold they will release the hold block prior to the event, but it is highly unlikely that there will be rooms available.

Options other than hotel rooms include renting a condo, or camping.

If you come join one of the big active groups (like the Cyclepaths) we'll help you figure out a place for you to stay, pretty sure.

Jon

[tombiowami]

Just FYI for those interested, I just got a room at the travel lodge that is about 5 miles from the park where the even is held, they still had a few rooms available.

Do you all do the Saturday rides with them? I was also wondering if anyone ever does the ride but does a couple loops since they start out fairly short.

Tommy

[JayC]

The Cyclepath rides? I'll do loops when they start back because yea, the distances are short. Keep in mind probably the only Cyclepaths that actually ride through the winter post here (Me, K and Jon).

[Pugslyyy]

Just FYI for those interested, I just got a room at the travel lodge that is about 5 miles from the park where the even is held, they still had a few rooms available.

Do you all do the Saturday rides with them? I was also wondering if anyone ever does the ride but does a couple loops since they start out fairly short.

Tommy

Hey that's great that you got a room. It is a great event and a great cause.

I like to ride in Clayton with the Cyclepaths on Saturdays. As others have said, it is a good group of folks and they are very well organized. Unless you work for one of the companies that sponsors a team, I don't think you can go wrong by joining the Cyclepaths for the MS150.

[RickF]

I ride with Team GSK, primarily because I work for GSK. The Team GSK rides tend to be shorter than the later Cyclepath rides, but are usually farther west (Durham and Orange counties) and, therefore, have a lot more hills. If you can ride 40 miles on those rides, 75 miles in New Bern is a breeze. You need only two gears on the MS 150 - one for riding into the wind, and one for riding with the wind.

Last year I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Havelock. They had rooms available up until mid July. It was about 20 miles from the park, but the rooms were nice and included a free breakfast. Several folks I knew from Team GSK and the Cycling Spoken Here team among many others stayed at that hotel.

This year I am one of those big dollar folks who gets to take advantage of the blocked rooms in New Bern. I have a room at the Sheraton in New Bern. Since the deadline for returning riders to book a room out of the block was Dec 31, I am sure that any unused rooms have already been released from the block and booked by others. As Martin said, the rooms in New Bern were reserved for those who raised $750 or more the previous year. Next year, the threshold is being raised to $1000.

The other big team from the Triangle is MSFits. They are the sponsor of the MS Kickoff ride this weekend, the Ice Cream ride on June 16, and the Biking with the Band ride on August 18 (see the SS calendar for information about those rides). Team GSK sponsored the Dog Days of Sumer ride out of Carborro last summer. All of the official MS 150 rides (see http://bikenct.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_NCT_TrainingSeries), regardless of the sponsoring team, are well organized and well supported. This page is a work in progress between now and mid summer. I will add these rides to the SS calendar as the information is posted.

[skiffrun]

....

The other big team from the Triangle is MSFits. ....
Don't forget the MSingLinks out of Apex.

[JayC]

I'm already over the threshold.. looks like Ill get a room next year :)

They do anything else for people over $750 or $1000? If you raised $1000 for T2T, you got all kinds of special treatment.. jerseys, shorts, coolers and other swag, private tent, etc.

[RickF]

If you raised over $750 last year ($1000 this year) you get a jersey, socks, a water bottle, and a free massage. There is another threshold above which you get cycling shorts, but I do not remember how much you had to raise to get those. All I know is that I raised $1380 last year, and that was not enough.

There are other gifts that go up in value with the amount raised or you can choose a gift certificate from one of the participating bike shops. Last year, the gift certificates were worth more than the gifts you could chose from, so that is what I selected.

[JayC]

Wow.. tough group.. if you raised $750 at T2T you got shorts and jersey. Guess Im gonna have to shoot for $1500 instead of $1000.00