News: Are You Up for the Challenge?

http://www.pointbuzz.com/news.htm?id=907

Have any pointbuzzers actually accomplished this? Im lookin for some tips like will riding my mountain bike kill me on this?

Im going to start training as soon as the Cavs' season is over...just might be another couple of weeks of drinkin in bars every 3rd night...

If I could use one of my horses for this, I'd do it!! ;)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1080 :)
Lifetime Skyhawk flights: 17 :)

That sounds way more painful than a bike ride. I can just imagine the pain from riding a horse 150 miles.

I've done Pedal to the Point twice -- once in 2004 and once in 2005. If you train enough then you should be fine. I usually ride a couple of times a week throughout the summer. Toward the end of the year, I try to get in at least one 50-60 mile ride per weekend.

I've ridden my mountain bike both times -- it is a 1992 GT Outpost, so it is not the newest or fanciest bike out there. However, it makes me one of the slower riders so that it takes me about eight hours to finish. The key to using a mountain bike in a long road tour like Pedal to the Point is to switch out the tires. Get rid of the knobby tires and put on the slicks.

Pedal to the Point is also known as the "MS 150." The ride is a fund raiser for multiple sclerosis research. One of the more difficult parts of this event is raising the minimum $200 in donations in order to participate.

The Ohio Multiple Sclerosis society provides free food and drinks at rest areas every 10-12 miles, so you will not go hungry. There's also breakfast before the ride starts and a lunch about half way through.

There is SAG ("supplies and gear") support along the way, usually from volunteers in vans. Motorcycle riders from a Honda Goldwing club ride along, too, and help out if you break down.

Once you finish the ride, you'll be at Sandusky High School, not Cedar Point. There's a post-meal dinner and you can shower in the school's gym. You can either stay at the school and sleep on the gym floor (which is free), camp outside in a tent (which is also free), or catch a shuttle to a nearby hotel (which you will have to pay for out of your own pocket). Large trucks are available at the Berea Fairgrounds when you register in the morning, so you can use them to load up or tent, luggage, camping gear, etc...

When you finish the ride, you are given a one-day ticket to CP and a shuttle will take you there and pick you up. Believe it or not, a lot of people who ride in Pedal to the Point do not actually go to Cedar Point. In that case, those people are given a bunch of raffle tickets instead of the CP ticket. There's a big raffle in the gym where you can win some pretty neat prizes (among other things last year, you could win an autographed footballs, biking equipment, or a top of the line road bike worth several thousand dollars).

That's about it. The next day is another 75 miles back to Berea for 150 miles in two days. There's another breakfast provided, another lunch, and a dinner back in Berea.

It's a pretty cool experience. I am probably going to do it again this year with my wife and sister-in-law. I am thinking of asking PointBuzz to be my corporate sponsors so that I can ride in a PointBuzz T-shirt. What do you guys say?

Just reading about it leaves me winded.

I need a cigarette.

Thanks JVB, my tires were really what I was wondering about...As for raising the 200 I was thinking about talkin to local bike shops and of course hitting up every single person at my work that I bought girl scout cookies from.

JVB--I've done the Escape to the Lake (Pittsburgh to Conneaut Ohio) 6 times previously and this year will mark my seventh. How is the terrain on the Pedal to the Point--is it all flat? Are there any nasty hills?

The Escape to the Lake, although it is a great event, has horrible hills on the first day. The second day is more enjoyable (pretty much flat once you get into Ohio)

I wouldn't mind trying the Point ride next year for a different perspective.

The terrain is mostly flat, except for a hilly area near the middle of the ride (just after lunch on the way to Sandusky). A lot of people get off and walk it, but I have ridden it with no problem. One of the advantages of a mountain bike is the lower gears to climb steep hills.

In other words, the hills are not a concern — it's the wind. There is usually a headwind that can be pretty bad. The first year I rode it, I went into a headwind that seemed to get stronger as I got closer to Lake Erie. It was pretty grueling going through this one particular stretch — it was a dirt/gravel road and there was nothing to stop the wind because we were in the middle of a corn field. The second year it wasn't too bad, but we got drenched by a thunderstorm just after lunch.

The terrain is a lot of corn fields and soybean fields. It is mostly back roads except the beginning when you're in Berea and the end when you're in Sandusky. A couple of times during the ride you have to cross busy roads, but there are state or local police to direct traffic.

I'm still waiting for a word on the corporate sponsorship and the Point Buzz t-shirt......

You're more than welcome to buy a shirt and wear it. :)

*** Edited 5/18/2006 9:30:01 PM UTC by Walt***