How I spent my MS Summer...

Last summer I did a total of 3 MS Bike Tours, all for the "Buckeye" region:

• Bike to the Bay (200 miles, 2 days)
• Central Ohio Challenge (95 miles, over 4,000 feet of climbing, 1 day)
• Pedal to the Point (150, or 175 miles if you do the Kent Clapp Extra Lap, 2 days)

I thought it would be interesting to put together some "real world" observations about MS Bike tours for those who haven't done one (or any other charity cycling event) before, or who are looking to push themselves a little further.

• Course markings will vary, as will the helpful presence of the local law enforcement in the communities you pass through.  Pay attention, be polite, don't make any assumptions.
• The roads are not closed for us.  We will have to share space with all manner of traffic.  
• Some of them will recognize that we are doing something good, and charitable, and worthy of some deference.  Some even think it is cool, and may be out there with us next year.  For others, we are just in their way.  It does nothing for you, the mission, or the charity to antagonize the latter group.  This leads to a number of practical rules:
• There will be a great temptation to ride 2 and 3 (or even 4) abreast.  It makes it easier to talk to your fellow riders.  Don't.  If you must ride 2 or more across, adhere stringently to the following:
• "Car Back" is not a courtesy notification, it is an urgent warning to get into a single-file line, as far to the right as is safe, as soon as possible.
• "Clear", "Clear Left", "Clear Right" does not mean you can just sail into the intersection with impunity.  It does mean that, in the opinion of the cyclist ahead of you, any oncoming traffic is not a threat to their safety.  It is informational, but the situation is likely to change by the time you get there.  Assume that it will, and check for yourself.  In the words of Ronald Reagan "Trust, but verify."
•  You will also be riding with other cyclists of varying abilities, from people who literally haven't ever gotten on a bike before the previous week to people who could hold their own in a pro peleton. This also leads to a set of rules:
• "Passing Left" or "Passing on your Left" or just "Passing Left" is, like "Car Back" similarly not a courtesy notification.  A faster (possibly much faster) cyclist is passing you.  Make room, on your side of the yellow line, for him or her to do so.  They will appreciate it.
• DO NOT LOOK LEFT TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE, because you most likely will turn left in doing so, causing you to swerve right into their path.  This may not end well.
• Be patient with the other cyclists.  Many of them are just exploring their interest in cycling, and it is good for all of us if they have a pleasant experience.
• If you're struggling, say so.  Someone will be there to encourage you, lend a hand with a repair, or even make the ride easier for you.
• Eat.  Eat more than you normally do, because you'll be burning more calories than you normally do.  This is not the time to diet.  Trying to ride a longer distance than usual without eating enough can lead to a nasty condition that cyclists call "bonking".  It is not pleasant.
• Your muscles run on a sugar called glycogen.  Your body stores enough glycogen in your muscles to carry you for an hour or two, and can convert fat into glycogen in that time to carry you for maybe another 30-45 minutes.  After that, if you keep pushing, your muscles will start scavenging proteins to burn, which is inefficient, and painful.  Your body can convert food into glycogen faster than it can fat, so give it food.
• Your brain also runs on glycogen, however, there is very little glycogen storage in the brain, so it relies on glycogen in the blood, which your muscles also want to replenish themselves.  Long before your muscles start crying out for lack of glycogen, your brain will be starting to suffer.  
• You may make bad decisions, like not eating enough or trying to stay with faster riders longer than you should.
• You may make dangerous decisions, like continuing to ride when you should stop to eat.  
• Your coordination may get unreliable (sorta like having MS, except everywhere at once, which is a bad thing on a bicycle.)
• Drink.  Drink more than you usually do.  Dehydration is unpleasant and dangerous (even potentially lethal).  Drink before you are thirsty.  When you train for the ride, drink lots.  Experiment with how much you need to drink each hour of a hard ride.  This varies.  Me, I sweat like the proverbial racehorse.  On a hot dry day, I'll finish a ride with ridges of salt on my skin and white salty streaks on my cycling kit.  Ideally, you should drink enough that you need to stop and, well, undrink.
• Make at least some of those drinks a good-quality sports beverage.  All that salt is electrolytes that you need to put back in order to keep muscles and brain functioning properly .
• Did I mention that you should eat?
• If you know how to ride in a "pace line", do so.  It saves more energy than you might imagine (how does 30% energy savings sound?)  However, if you haven't done it before, an MS Tour is not the place to learn.  You have to be able to;
• be comfortable riding with your front wheel close to the rear wheel of the bike in front of you,
• hold a straight line, even when pedaling hard up a hill,
• keep a steady pace,
• do all of the above without getting nervous (or you'll burn all the energy you're saving with being tense about it).
• If you can't hang onto a pace line, there is no shame in drifting off the back. Another pace line will be along in a few minutes.