MS City to Shore


Information about the bike ride:

  • Event Website: http://bikepae.nationalmssociety.org/site/
  • Dates: Usually the last Saturday of September (Saturday, September 27, 2014)
  • Distances: Route options
    • One-day, 25 mile, 45-mile, 80-mile, 100-mile Century (80-mile with extra 20-mile loop)*
    • Two-day, 80 miles each day or 100-mile Century (100 miles Saturday, 80 miles Sunday)*
  • Ride Start: PATCO Woodcrest Station (Cherry Hill, NJ)
  • Registration cost: Registration Base fee + $300 donation
    • Registration fee schedule: $20 through 10/2/14, $35 through 1/22/15, $50 through 5/28/15, $65 through 8/27/15, $75 through 9/17/15, $100 through 9/26/15
  • Course Description: all flat course, low shade – great course for beginners or those doing their first century

About the Ride:

This is a great ride to do as a team! It is about fundraising as a team for a good cause. The MS City to Shore  (formerly known as MS 150) attracts cyclists of all abilities to ride together for a one or two day event to raise awareness for a disease called Multiple Sclerosis.

Rates of MS in the USA

Picture from Healthline

It’s estimated that more than 400,000 people in the United States and about 2.5 million people around the world have MS. In the United States, about 200 new cases are diagnosed each week.

Rates of MS are higher farther from the equator. It’s estimated that in southern states (below the 37th parallel), the rate of MS is 57 to 78 cases per 100,000 people. In northern states (above the 37th parallel), the rate is twice as high, at about 110 to 140 cases per 100,000. The incidence of MS is also higher in colder climates. – Healthline 

What is unique about this ride is that it is a great way to get co-workers and companies to create a team and fundraise for a great cause. All abilities can do this as a team because of the different starting points. We were invited to ride with the Azzurri Ciclismo team the week before the event. Azzurri Ciclismo is a local team with really sharp looking uniforms created by a team member who is a graphic designer with lots of talent!

MS City to Shore with Azzurri Team

It is one of the biggest cycling charity events with over 7,000 people. Many riders wake up at 4 am to do this ride in order to get there on-time and get through the traffic jam the event creates.  We were not the only fools with bikes on our car driving in the dark on I-295 to Cherry Hill. Every car seemed to be heading to this event with several bikes strapped to the top or rear. The ride starts at 6:30 am for the fast riders that can ride 17+ mph and then at 6:40 am there are wave starts based on corporate teams.

MS City to Shore Ride Start VENI VIDI VELO

 

After we unloaded our bicycles, we had to check-in and get our rider numbers.  We had to pin numbers to our jerseys, stick adhesive numbers to our bicycles, stick adhesive numbers to our bags (if leaving them at the bag drop) and finally put on wristbands which would let us into the rest areas.  After all numbers were duly attached, we dropped our bag off at the bag drop.  The race organizers will transport the bags to the finish line in Ocean City so that riders can have a change of clothes waiting for them at the finish.  This is probably especially important for riders who are spending the night in Ocean City and riding home on Sunday.  Finally, we found the team we were riding with and waited for everyone to arrive.

City to Shore Bike Ride with Azzurri

 

Due to the large crowds the organizers start everyone in waves and have officers on the street letting the organizers know when it is okay to start each wave in order to space out the riders and not have everybody bunched up at the first traffic light. By the time we got out on the road it was 8 am. Despite the organizers efforts, the roads were crowded with a sea of people on their bikes heading to the beach. As we said good-bye to Cherry Hill, NJ, we passed a local MS City to Shore cycling celebrity, Lan Yin “Eiko” Tsa. Eiko is 88 years old and rides a vintage one-speed purple bicycle outfitted with a wire basket on the front that holds her possessions, and she rides in a dress and high heels! She is a stand-out among all the cyclists on road bikes and wearing Lycra. Eiko has been doing this for the past 30 years to raise awareness for MS. Her spirit of determination that spans over three decades makes her an honored symbol of the event. Eiko shows that age does not matter when it comes to cycling long distances! Her grandkids are part of her team.

Lan Yin

Lan Yin “Eiko” Tsa – picture from http://www.pinterest.com/greaterdelvalMS/our-fundraising-campaigns/

The first 30 miles was just a maze of bikes with all levels and abilities. Signs on the course said ‘Don’t swarm the cars.’ In some cases we had no choice in order to not create a pileup of cyclists. Corners were sketchy and not everyone had bike handling skills. Many times cyclists would swerve out to pass someone without looking behind them and then would nearly cause accidents with other riders. Riding a bike is just like riding a car on a crowded freeway – we always need to be cognizant of others around us, and look over our shoulder before changing “lanes”. I think we all forget that bikes can cause accidents too.

Veni Vidi Velo

Websites for Cycling Etiquette: 

After the second rest area, we headed on our way. There was a cut off time of 11 am for the 20 mile loop for the 100 mile riders. So, we had to pick up the pace in order to make it. We came to the second rest area just before the split off for the extra 20 mile loop and half of our team continued straight on to the shore, while the rest of us followed the 100 mile route. It was flat with less people so we were able to ride it in a pace line. Then we had to merge back into the main route with the 75 mile and 50 mile cyclists and this is where we had to slow down again! At this point, riding on the yellow line (and occasionally to the left of it) was the only way to stay safe while still moving forward at a reasonable speed.

As we got close to Ocean City, there was a long backup of cars through a series of traffic lights which forced all the bicyclists onto the shoulder, creating a dense, slowly moving crowd of bicycles.. Then we had to climb two large bridges that rise over shipping channels before finally entering Ocean City and the final stretch. On the bridges the automobile traffic was moving but still with quite a few cars, and the ride organizers set up cones along the lane line forcing the bicyclists to continue riding on the shoulder.  This did not leave too much room for those walking bikes up the hill and those riding up the hill. As was the case throughout the ride, the course is not closed to traffic and this is one of the only roads in Ocean City so the automobile traffic was going at lightning speed around us.

Veni Vidi Velo

We regrouped after the last bridge and rode in as a team to the finish line. The announcer was highlighting each team as they rode in. Once in, they had us take our bike to large racks and then get our bags with a change of clothes that we had dropped off at the start. There was plenty of food at the end and the best was the Turkey Hill Lemonade! After 100 miles, I did not want to eat … I just wanted some nice cold lemonade.

After eating and some team photos, we collected our bicycles and headed for the bus.  For cyclists that are only riding one day, the organizers provide buses to take them back to the start, either in Cherry Hill or the 50-mile start point.  They also have tractor trailers for transporting the bicycles.  So we dropped our bikes off at the truck, and after seeing them wrap each bike with furniture pads, we boarded the next available bus.  When we arrived back in Cherry Hill, we had to wait probably 45 minutes for the truck to arrive with our bicycles.

Some nutrition lessons learned from this ride:

  • Red Potatoes are better than energy bars – a teammate cooked up some potatoes with salt and butter and put them in tin foil –a real life saver for such a long ride.
  • Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes Fizz single, Color:Lemon/Lime, – Electrolyte tablets – Hammer Nutrition makes an all-natural electrolyte tablet to put into a water bottle. This is a must have when riding hard and sweating a lot. (affiliate link)
  • Hammer Heed 16 serv Lemon-Lime – Because it is hard to eat and ride safely, having a calorie drink helps keep the bonking sensation from happening, and is also useful when you are riding hard and you need calories but your stomach won’t let you eat. (aaffiliate link)

Till next time, keep riding …

Helpful Resources (affiliate links):

Sports Drink Mixes:

Books:

Electronics (Garmin GPS and GoPro):

 

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