MS 150

This weekend, Marty and I participated in the MS 150 bike tour in Logan, Utah. It's called the MS 150 because they expect you to ride 75 miles on Saturday and 75 miles on Sunday. We only ride on Saturday so we can get back for church on Sunday. I can't even imagine riding a bike for that long two days in a row!
Marty has done this ride the past 8 years and usually rides 75 or 100 miles. I participated in the ride two years ago and rode 40 miles. It's getting harder for me to ride every year with the kids. This year I really wanted to ride it again since someone on the bike team had a tandem we could borrow and it was a good excuse to spend time with my husband! We planned to train ourselves and be really prepared to ride. However, with all the rain this year, we only had about 50 miles of training under our belt.
We camp at the Fairgrounds every year because hotels fill up quickly and it's usually fun to camp there. However, after this year and camping with two kids, I think we will get a hotel next year. It's too noisy with so many people camping and it's hard for kids to sleep with all the noise and sunlight. It's hard for me to sleep too. So after two nights of not sleeping very well, I was nervous about riding a bike all day. The ride started at 7 am, but we had to be up earlier to eat and get ready.
Marty is the captain of the Zions Bank 'Z Team'. He puts in a lot of time and energy to keep this team running. Here's a picture of some of the team. This picture shows 20 people, but the team is much bigger. Not everyone rides in every ride.

There were more than 3,000 riders this year. It's a bit crazy at the start line. My first year I was terrified I was going to fall over and cause a domino effect before I even got on the course. This year I missed most of the chaos because I was back at camp nursing my baby before I left. I literally ran to the start line and most of the team had already started. Luckily, we caught up with them fairly easy.
We are at the back of this pace line. It was really fun to ride with most of the team for the first 7 miles. Everyone is laughing and happy. The adrenaline is rushing and it's a cool feeling. Part of the team stopped at the first rest stop. We didn't stop long and then we were off again...and this time with only half of the team. Everyone rides at different paces and some were riding 40, some 75 and some 100 miles. Riding in a pace line is easier on you because the leader sets the pace and then the rest follow behind pretty close so it stops the wind and makes the resistance easier. It's amazing the difference it makes being in the front than the back. This is the first year I have experienced a pace line and I loved it! It's nice to take turns and get a break as well as have other people to talk to.

Here we are on the tandem. I had a really good time! A tandem isn't a good idea for every couple, but it's perfect for us. I always get nervous about what gear to be in and when to shift so it's nice to let Marty deal with all that and all I have to do is pedal. Plus, it's nice to ride with him. Had I ridden by myself, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him and then I would have been by myself. So it worked great for us! We plan to save our money to buy a tandem one day.

The nice thing about this ride is there are rest stops so you can get off the bike, get refills on your drinks and snacks. Rest stops are about every 7 to 15 miles. When you are riding long distances, it's the only way to ride! At the lunch stop (around 11 pm), my mom met up with us with the girls so we could eat lunch together and so I could nurse Eliza again. I was really excited to see the girls at lunch so it kept me riding. After lunch, we still had 20 miles left and I thought it would go by fast, but it didn't. It was getting hotter outside and my bottom was sore! We stopped at every rest stop just so we could stand up. I didn't have much energy between the lunch stop and the next rest stop and was really struggling but Marty kept me going. Then between the last stop and the finish line, Marty was struggling and I kept him going so it was nice to have that support along the way! I was really excited to see my girls again so it was fun to know we had them waiting for us to return!

Overall, the weather was perfect! The route was perfect! They change the route every year and I liked this route so much better than the last time I rode it. Marty and I rode 75 miles and we did it together! I'm exhausted though. The last two mornings I have woken up and seriously felt like I could go back to sleep and sleep 8 more hours. Oh well, it was worth it!