MS City To Shore NJ anyone riding here
#1
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MS City To Shore NJ anyone riding here
I've signed up for my second MS city to shore ride. Unfortunately I have yet to do it as last year it was canceled due to a hurricane. Hopefully this year will be good.
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Last year I decided to retire from the event after 23 consecutive years (I even put up many of the road signs for numerous years and was one of the top fundraisers for several years), and then the thing got cancelled, which, by the way, was the right call. With potentially more than 7,000 riders, it's become too crazy for my liking.
My advice:
Arrive very early, especially if you are driving. Be ready to start early. You may find yourself in one of those cattle pen starting areas for 45 min. That happened to me twice in the last three years, which is a major reason I won't be back. I am not a cow and don't want to be treated like one. One way you can get around this is bring lights and start with the century group even if you are not doing the century. If it's too dark for your liking, you can always ride a mile and then pull over and wait for more light in the residential neighborhood the ride first passes through. The key is to get out of the start early.
Ride cautiously and defensively. Expect people to do the dumbest things you can imagine.
Blow off the first rest stop if you can. The second one isn't that much farther along on the course. Doing so will likely result in you leapfrogging over a large portion of the crowd.
Do not, under any circumstances, lay your bike on the ground at a rest stop. It very well could get stepped on by tried, inattentive people. Lean it somewhere stable and out of the way so it doesn't get knocked over.
If you decide to skip a rest stop, pass by the entrance with care. Over the year I saw a lot of crashes where people going into and coming out of rest stops got tangled up with people continuing on.
If you have a mechanical or stop for any reason, move yourself and your bike entirely off the road/shoulder or at least as far to the right as possible if there is a guard rail. I cannot tell you the number of people I have seen taking up shoulders to address flats.
The hot dogs at the finish will taste divine.
My advice:
Arrive very early, especially if you are driving. Be ready to start early. You may find yourself in one of those cattle pen starting areas for 45 min. That happened to me twice in the last three years, which is a major reason I won't be back. I am not a cow and don't want to be treated like one. One way you can get around this is bring lights and start with the century group even if you are not doing the century. If it's too dark for your liking, you can always ride a mile and then pull over and wait for more light in the residential neighborhood the ride first passes through. The key is to get out of the start early.
Ride cautiously and defensively. Expect people to do the dumbest things you can imagine.
Blow off the first rest stop if you can. The second one isn't that much farther along on the course. Doing so will likely result in you leapfrogging over a large portion of the crowd.
Do not, under any circumstances, lay your bike on the ground at a rest stop. It very well could get stepped on by tried, inattentive people. Lean it somewhere stable and out of the way so it doesn't get knocked over.
If you decide to skip a rest stop, pass by the entrance with care. Over the year I saw a lot of crashes where people going into and coming out of rest stops got tangled up with people continuing on.
If you have a mechanical or stop for any reason, move yourself and your bike entirely off the road/shoulder or at least as far to the right as possible if there is a guard rail. I cannot tell you the number of people I have seen taking up shoulders to address flats.
The hot dogs at the finish will taste divine.
#5
Senior Member
TKJava, what distance did you sign up for?
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
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#6
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Thread Starter
TKJava, what distance did you sign up for?
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
https://secure.nationalmssociety.org...essfundraising
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Even if you sign up for the century you can still opt out. They just want a general idea of how many people will be doing each route. Note the century starting group heads out while it's still dark. A light my be a good idea.
And there are some hills. Kresson Rd. on the first leg has some. Maybe 1.5 miles after you cross Rte. 73 you start a sustained climbing section, but nothing is steep. The 16.5 miles from Kresson to the first rest stop has about 360' of climbing. And, of course, don't forget the two bridges that take you into Ocean City. Saw plenty of people walk over the years.
And there are some hills. Kresson Rd. on the first leg has some. Maybe 1.5 miles after you cross Rte. 73 you start a sustained climbing section, but nothing is steep. The 16.5 miles from Kresson to the first rest stop has about 360' of climbing. And, of course, don't forget the two bridges that take you into Ocean City. Saw plenty of people walk over the years.
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Just a quick thought to be aware of your fatigue factor on the second day. I was riding into Cherry Hill at the very end of the ride on the second day when I had to slow down for a red light. I had thought I was well versed in proper unclipping from the pedals, but I didn't relate how spent I was. I slowed down and starting weaving into the pack of other riders waiting at the light when I realized I couldn't unclip. I slowed to a stop and did a graceful sideways drop, with my front tire hitting the back tire of some 9 yr old riding with her dad. They both looked at me like "what's your problem" and I just said sorry and felt real dumb. Saw the sideways tumbles many times at the various checkpoints, always be on alert for those!
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Great example of one reason I retired from the ride. It's especially annoying when slower riders weave their way to the front of the pack at a light. When the light turns green, the faster riders have to pass them again.
Swarming cars at lights is another example of bad behavior. For years I used vacation days on the Friday before the event to put out most of the safety and other signs you see along the route. Get out of the car, grab a sign from the back seat, place it in the ground, get back in the car, drive a couple of miles, get out of the car, grab another sign, place it in the ground, get back in the car...lather, rinse, repeat for some 50 miles.
Those signs included "Don't Swarm Cars", which are placed at the crossings of major highways where the lights are long. Yet without fail people would swarm cars. Imagine if it were you in your car waiting at a light at, say, U.S. 322 and all of a sudden you have 20 or more cyclists surrounding your vehicle.
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Great example of one reason I retired from the ride. It's especially annoying when slower riders weave their way to the front of the pack at a light. When the light turns green, the faster riders have to pass them again.
Swarming cars at lights is another example of bad behavior. For years I used vacation days on the Friday before the event to put out most of the safety and other signs you see along the route. Get out of the car, grab a sign from the back seat, place it in the ground, get back in the car, drive a couple of miles, get out of the car, grab another sign, place it in the ground, get back in the car...lather, rinse, repeat for some 50 miles.
Those signs included "Don't Swarm Cars", which are placed at the crossings of major highways where the lights are long. Yet without fail people would swarm cars. Imagine if it were you in your car waiting at a light at, say, U.S. 322 and all of a sudden you have 20 or more cyclists surrounding your vehicle.
Swarming cars at lights is another example of bad behavior. For years I used vacation days on the Friday before the event to put out most of the safety and other signs you see along the route. Get out of the car, grab a sign from the back seat, place it in the ground, get back in the car, drive a couple of miles, get out of the car, grab another sign, place it in the ground, get back in the car...lather, rinse, repeat for some 50 miles.
Those signs included "Don't Swarm Cars", which are placed at the crossings of major highways where the lights are long. Yet without fail people would swarm cars. Imagine if it were you in your car waiting at a light at, say, U.S. 322 and all of a sudden you have 20 or more cyclists surrounding your vehicle.
The crowd was something that caught me off guard on my first ride. I trained for weeks before the ride by doing solo rides whenever I could. I never realized I'd be caught between disorganized wandering fools AND well organized pelotons screaming by at top speed. It was fun and terrifying at the same time.
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That's another very big problem. You have too many people who are hell bent on riding the way they want to regardless of the immediate conditions around them. They refuse to slow down for a second for anything. The result is that you see people doing things like riding across the double yellow line, even on blind curves. My last year some guy was so opposed to slowing down while taking a left turn that he tried to pass me on the right when riders to my left were blocking his path. I was so far right already that he ended up brushing against the foliage and riding in gravel to the right of me. He came within about an inch of hitting my bars and nearly wiped out in the gravel, which would have taken me out with him. I can no longer tolerate being terrified by others. I ride from New Hope, PA to Brooklyn every year and feel safer.
#12
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Thread Starter
TKJava, what distance did you sign up for?
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
And do you have a link to your fundraising page?
I've done that ride about 5 times, each time doing the two-day (150-175 mile) version. The support on the ride is incredible. My first time doing the ride, I had the bolt that holds the saddle on the bike break -- the SAG folks had me back on my way inside of ten minutes.
#13
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The crowd was something that caught me off guard on my first ride. I trained for weeks before the ride by doing solo rides whenever I could. I never realized I'd be caught between disorganized wandering fools AND well organized pelotons screaming by at top speed. It was fun and terrifying at the same time.
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That's another very big problem. You have too many people who are hell bent on riding the way they want to regardless of the immediate conditions around them. They refuse to slow down for a second for anything. The result is that you see people doing things like riding across the double yellow line, even on blind curves.
It's a good cause and all that, but I no longer enjoy it, so I no longer ride it. I did work the Subaru-sponsored rest stop in Mays Landing this year, tho - mixed and served a lot of Gatorade. And helped some poor soul find her lost bike.
#17
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Yes, last year I recall shivering for the first 10 minutes out of each rest stop. This year I don't think it could have been nicer. It was about 68 degrees staring out at 7:00 AM and maybe 90 at the end with just enough breeze to keep you comfortable and not so much that you fought it. The course was just a bit shorter this year also.
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anyone doing the ride this year? i'm signed up for the century again. one of these years i want to do both days. my family hall pass usually expires after 24 hours though...
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The second day is remarkably nicer due to the much smaller crowd. As noted above, I retired from the event after 23 consecutive years. My old team keeps trying to get me to come back. Don't know if I ever will. It's late this year due to the way the days fall. I am often out on a week-long, self contained tour when the event rolls around, but that won't be the case this year. The captain of my former team has MS and does a lot of volunteer work for the society. She checks in the volunteers Saturday morning, does work at the finish later in the day and arranges housing and dinner for the team in Ocean City. Then she volunteers at the finish on Sunday. I very well may help her this year since I should be in town.
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I'm participating this year. It will be my first century, and charity ride.
I got into cycling just at the end of last summer, and have been looking forward to this for nearly a year now. Hopefully I'm not biting off more then I can chew.
I got into cycling just at the end of last summer, and have been looking forward to this for nearly a year now. Hopefully I'm not biting off more then I can chew.