MS-150/Pedal to the Point - August 14 & 15, 2010

This is much more a trip report in the sense that it primarily concerns the trip to the park, rather than the park itself. However, participation in something like this should be considered by all able-bodied members of this forum, because it was a lot of fun, and because it made a trip to the Point much more meaningful than usual.

For those who don’t know, the MS-150/Pedal to the Point is an annual fundraiser for the Buckeye Chapter of the National MS Society. Participants can choose between a 30-mile bicycle ride from Middleburg Heights to Oberlin, a 75-mile ride from Middleburg Heights to Sandusky, or the 150-mile round-trip over both days of the weekend. I chose the 150-mile ride as a challenge to myself initially, but over the year leading up to this, a colleague of mine was diagnosed with MS in her late-20s, and I had a person that I could connect to the challenge I was undertaking.

As a side note, I would have liked to participate in the GKTW fundraiser, but I had to raise $250 in pledges for this, and I thought that since it would be tough enough raising that money, I didn’t want to go back to the same donors to ask for money to ride a roller coaster all day, even if it was for an equally admirable cause. Later, I would learn that one of my MS-150 teammates would have gladly given me $50 to ride Gemini all day, but that’s another matter.

I woke up at 5:00 AM, grabbed my bike and suitcase, slithered into my jersey and shorts, and met my teammate Scott out in front of my place, as he was giving me a ride to the starting line. Traffic was very light, and the scene at the starting line was sheer pandemonium, as cyclists of all ages were getting ready, the atmosphere heavy with excitement and anxiety. During this summer, I’d been on a couple 40+ mile rides, but 150 miles over a weekend was new territory for me, as I suspect it was for many others. The usual cycling hardcores were there, but I was surprised to see so many families, and people who hadn’t splurged on high-tech biking equipment.

I was on a team of riders (who had collectively raised over $10K for this event), but there were some issues about when we would start, and what pace we would keep. Not wanting to waste the cool morning temperatures, I hopped into the ride at 7:32AM, more or less by myself. I distinctly remember a woman saying “Just think about the fact that Millennium Force is waiting for us, that’s enough motivation!” And we were off.

My usual route to the Point is I-90 to OH-2 to US-6, but obviously that wasn’t ideal for a bike ride. Rather, the organizers of the event charted a course that would take us on lesser-traveled roads, with enough zigs and zags to stretch the distance out to 75 miles. Rest stations with amenities, high energy food, and most importantly, water, were dotted approximately every 10 miles on the route. I skipped the first one, but hit every stop thereafter, essentially making myself ingest a full bottle of water at least once an hour.

The ride went through a pleasant, if not overly exciting, part of the state, and it gave me a great sense of the actual distance between Cleveland and Cedar Point, a perspective that can’t be gleaned from the interstate. I tried to pace myself by spinning high in a lower gear, and later I would calculate that I was maintaining a steady 15 MPH throughout the ride. Classic Iron Maiden was coming through the ipod, and I felt I was galloping as hard as Steve Harris’s fingers across his bass strings.

After lunch, the sun came into its intensity, and the ride was more demanding. I realized that I had now ridden more miles than in any of my previous bike trips of the summer, and if my mind was not responding negatively to this fact, my lower back certainly was. I popped some pain pills, and kept drinking water. By now, I had switched to the playlist I had made for this occasion, a mix of Black Keys, David Bowie, Beastie Boys and vintage Black Sabbath, among others. I hit the only significant hill of the ride around Vermillion, a short but steep climb out of a valley. Many riders walked it, but in low gear and standing on the pedals, I made it through, albeit a little out of breath.

Recognition came to me on the ride as I crossed I-80/90, and then shortly thereafter, OH-2. Sandusky was close. My body wasn’t screaming, but it felt like any machine that’s been running just a shade too long.

The finish line at Sandusky High School took me off guard, and I quickly had to process that it was all over, at least for the day. This was much better than letting it sink in that I was only truly halfway finished. It was now about 1:30 in the afternoon, and excluding stops, I had a total time of 4:59, by my crude calculations. Not a bad ride at all.

The MS-150 crew in Sandusky was very nice, and gave us the option of Cedar Point or Soak City tickets. We had decided as a team to go to Soak City, so I grabbed a voucher for that, even as I have a platinum pass. Scott and a couple other team members had opted for an additional 25 mile loop, so they arrived only shortly after me, proving once again what superior cyclists they are. After a pasta dinner in the high school cafeteria, we set out to check in at our hotel, the Rodeway Inn on 250.

This was my first time at the Rodeway, and suffice it to say, I was not impressed. The whole place had a vibe similar to Bruce Willis’s run-down apartment complex in Pulp Fiction, from which he retrieves the forgotten watch. Some trashy drunks were being loud at the swimming pool, and an air of desperation and despair hung around the place like some highly-localized smog.

Our room wasn’t much better. It was a bizarre 5-bed room, and hilariously had identical framed prints hanging over every bed. There were dead flies stuck to the ceiling of the tiny bathroom, and iron burn marks around a strange vestibule that I can only assume once housed a rear-projection TV. The middle of the room was just wasted open space, which I would assume would only come in handy for setting up a camera crew to shoot cheap pornography. I had the feeling this room was no stranger to that, either. If we weren’t so tired, I might have expressed outrage at the entire scene.

We were still waiting for the rest of our team members, most of whom had decided to go no faster than 10 MPH, making for a hot ride in the afternoon sun. When we realized that Soak City closed at the fast-approaching time of 8 PM, we tried to exchange our tickets for Cedar Point vouchers, as the main park was open until 11, but they were all out. After I had ridden 75 miles, the thought of Cedar Point on one of its most crowded Saturdays wasn’t very appealing to me personally, but I suppose I was in the minority.

So, as it turns out, just a handful of us went out to the park. The bus transportation set up by the event was spotty, but we had a mutual friend who lived in Vermillion who drove up to go with us. I gave him my extra Soak City ticket, and we used my pass to get free parking. As we drove around the park, I noticed a nearly full queue for MF, and also saw that the infield queues of Mean Streak were being used. No thanks, man.

This was actually my first trip to Soak City ever, and all I can say is that in its remaining two hours of operation that day, we had enough time to do nearly everything. The five of us hit Zoom Flume first, which was fun, but barely worth the wait. Then we did a few laps on Renegade River, where we splashed each other, went under the waterfalls, etc. The speed slides came next, and we spent our remaining time on that side of Magnum, which incidentally was interesting to view at that angle. Believe me when I say I could feel the burn in my legs while ascending all those steps. The most popular attraction by far was the showers, and it was only then that we could rinse away the toil of the road, the filth of the Rodeway, and the smell of chlorine.

Overall, Soak City was fun, but I could never imagine myself taking a trip to Sandusky just to go there. I miss the stand-alone waterparks that came to prominence in the 1980s, before every amusement park built their own version. I remember having a full day in those parks, but the two hours that we had, which had previously been the subject of much griping and consternation, were more than adequate in hindsight. I agree now with many of those who see Soak City as just an added perk for resort guests. I briefly considered using my pass to get into the park to try to get a quick ride on Shoot the Rapids, just to say that I’d been on it, but the combination of abandoning my friends and the probability of a lengthy line made me think better of it.

The evening was topped off by a full reunion of the team at Buffalo Wild Wings on 250, where all of us indulged in the idea that, after burning 3000 calories on the road, we could eat whatever we wanted. Of course, had we considered the daunting ride that awaited us the next day, we might have been more circumspect about eating massive amounts of hot wings, but sometimes you have to fiddle while Rome burns. Our time at the Rodeway was mercifully cut short be the combination of heavy food and overall exhaustion, and the night passed into oblivion.

Reality intruded in the form of our 5 AM wake up call, and after much grousing, we found ourselves waiting for the bus to take us back to the high school. This time, there was little fanfare or anticipation, just the dull reminder that 75 additional miles separated us and completion of our goal. We had a pancake breakfast, and slowly shuffled out to the starting line.

If the trip out on the first day resembled a military convoy, the trip back on the second day was more like a group of soldiers just trying to get home. We were battle weary, and every slight incline, rough patch of road or strong headwind was an obstacle. This time, I rode in a group of four teammates, and we probably did not exceed a pace of 13 MPH, although, unlike, the first day, nobody really cared to keep track. We stopped at every rest stop, trying to put out of our minds the loads of buffalo chicken that was no being piled upon by protein bars in each of our stomachs. Less than halfway into the ride, my front derailleur went out, leaving me with only my large chain ring.

Luckily, the way back had no significant climbs, and our group just counted down the miles, until we were at the last rest stop, with only 10 miles separating us from the end. We dug down deep, let loose a string of profanity, and rode hard into this last stretch. With my three new comrades, we crossed the finish line together.

An idea briefly went up that we hit Whitewater Kingdom to cool down for the afternoon. However, it quickly dawned on us that a nice afternoon nap was better than any slide, wavepool, coaster, or gluttonous meal. I met up with Scott, who had barely had his hair mussed by the ride back, and he dropped my bike and I off at my apartment. We had suffered through a great challenge and had both bested it, and I owe him for his dogged persistence in not letting me weasel out of this.

This was a very different way to take a trip to an amusement park, and I have to say that the cause for which we were riding, paired with the grueling nature of the journey, made the ultimate destination much more insignificant than the typical trip to Cedar Point. This forum is full of people who have selflessly raised money for others, and I would suggest that you accept this challenge for next year, as will I, because a combination of altruistic intentions, personal perseverance and grit, and one of our favorite destinations result in a feeling of deep satisfaction. I’m sore as I type this, but that pain is easily overcome by the fact that I truly accomplished something this weekend.

If any of you are interested in doing this next year, and would like more information, don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks for reading, and I hope I’ve provided an interesting perspective.

Sounds like a lot of riding, but a lot of fun.

On a side note, I'm glad to see that MS-150 does not mean a 150 lap marathon of Mean Streak. ;)

Thanks for a much better perspective on all the bikes in town this past weekend. Fantastic story, nice to hear something other than the 2 bits the Register threw out. Having friends who have MS, it has become a cause my wife and I try to keep up with, and will definitley have to look into this ride next year.