BP MS 150

The staff here is very helpful and willing to go the extra mile to assist with questions and concerns. I just stopped by the get a parking tag for the MS 150 overnight in La Grange and the staff didn’t hesitate to get the right people involved. Can’t wait to visit next year!

Awesome race experience and chance to raise money for a good cause. This was my first cycling event. Lots of people. Some amazing crowds — even in the small towns. Well organized. Plenty of stops with fuel and biofreeze. Kind traffic cops & super friendly cyclists. 150 miles of scenic goodness… clip in and do it.
PS: Ladies, don’t forget the chamois cream.

Organizing a 150 plus mile bike ride from Houston to Austin is no small task. I have seen this ride grow and become more organized over the years only actually riding last year and the year before. Good support on the ride, fun teams, lots of comradarie and tasty pancakes (smuggle your own banana in for some banana pancakes)
My only reason for not having five stars is the shower situation. there are just so many people trying to bus over to a high school, get on a shower truck etc that it is always a pain to stand in line for 45 minutes after riding all day long. Bring a solar shower and you might be able to save this hurdle.

This year, I took part in the BP MS 150 and it was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time.
2 days.
180 miles.
Friends, food, sweat, good times!
As you cycle from Houston to Austin, the crowds of people in the tiny towns really bring a tear to your eye and help you get through the next few miles. Its such an experience seeing 13,000 other people riding for the same cause, on the same path. I recommend anyone to give it a chance, but just remember to train otherwise your backside won’t be too happy with you :)

So a little over a year ago, I started bike shopping. I had the intentions of completing the MS150 since everyone at work had been doing it for years. I went out bought a bike, started searching for paths to ride on, enrolled in strictly biking events, and even some duathlons.
The training started to trickle off after the live strong challenge in Austin due to the fact that I crashed multiple times during that ride.
The next thing you know it was spring and the bike ride I had been waiting for was just around the corner.
I had to hurry to raise 400+ dollars so that I could ride.
It was the morning of, I had to wake up at 4 am. Get ready and head out on to Katy to begin my 2 day adventure. The start was drizzling a bit but nothing too bad.
The start commenced with small waves at a time, very organized. The first day was about 90 miles or so. We stopped in La Grange where we would spend the night. The next morning would start the 60 miles of hills. I had pushed it too hard the first day and my knees were done for the 2^nd day.
Overall, this bike ride is very organized and for a great cause. I would just recommend anyone who plans on doing it to train, train, and train some more. Don’t let this be your first ride as you will feel the pain when you’re done. TRUST ME!
Would I do it again? NO. Should you do it just once? YES!

Heard about this bike ride from Houston to Austin so I signed up for despite not having a road bike. $ 125 registration fee and there was a minimum donation of $ 400 to be raised for MS. I heard all sorts of bad stuff happens to those who don’t raise the donation so I made sure that I got that amount a few days before the race. Waited about a month before the ride to finally buy a road bike. I had to get used to riding with bike clips for a 40 mile bike ride during the Tour De Houston and did another 80 mile bike ride during the Space Race in Clear Lake. I didn’t sign up with a team so I rode on my own. I soon found out that it was a 2 day bike ride. Day 1 was about 100 miles and Day 2 was around 80 miles. I had to check in my bag with my camping gear on the day of the bike ride to be shipped to La Grange. There were several rest stops for nourishment, assistance with your bike, and medical supplies. We stopped in the La Grange Fairgrounds at the end of day 1. Since I didn’t ride with a team, I picked up my backpack from the general luggage area. There is this land rush for the best areas to set up camp and the farm animal area was prime location since it is a covered area to keep you from getting rained on. I made due with a 2 person tent, a sleeping bag and a lightweight air mattress. But some people went overboard with tent mansions with motorized air mattresses or too minimalistic with just a sleeping bag. I was kind of jealous of the teams since they had their own big tents with cots, catered food for dinner and breakfast and their own porta-​potties. They also had shower trucks for everyone to use but the lines for these trucks were really long. There was entertainment and food later that night but I spent most of my time in my tent sleeping. On day 2, I woke up around 4am in order to pack up all my stuff and eat breakfast but looking back I could have took my time since leaving La Grange takes forever since they let cyclist out every 10 – 15 minutes. From La Grange you can either take the longer challenge route through the park with lots of hills or an express route along the relatively flat highway. When you get to Austin, there were crowds of people cheering you as you cross the finish line. I immediately put my bike on a truck going back to Houston, picked up my bag in the general baggage claim area, waited in line to take a shower, ate some food provided by Hooters and then took the bus back to Houston. When I arrived in Houston I was able to pick up my bike in the bike rack area. Overall, it was a pleasant charity bike ride that was well organized and I wouldn’t mind doing it again. One memorable thing I saw was watching people after the Day 1 100 mile ride running along the side of the road for i don’t know how many miles. I thought that was the coolest thing to do and I couldn’t join them because I forgot my running shoes. So seeing this inspired me to do a different kind of race, but I’ll just save that for another review.