1) Who here is planning on riding?
2) What route?
3) What do we think the turnout will be like?

I'm riding the Katy route - my first MS150. No experience so nothing to compare it to, but my company's turnout this year is about half of last year.

I'm riding for the first time this year. Riding the MS 150 has been something I have wanted to do for a long time and am excited that this is my first opportunity. I'm riding from the La Grange start point.

It annoys me that the registration fee is the same even though the ride is half of what it normally is. I'm not paying over $100 for a one day ride.

Frok said:

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It annoys me that the registration fee is the same even though the ride is half of what it normally is. I'm not paying over $100 for a one day ride.

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I can understand that feeling. But I don't think that the $100 entry fee totally covered the cost of putting on the ride in the past. With the multiple starts and routes, and all the extra crap they are going to have to do to comply with all the city and county requirements for covid safety at break points and the starts and finish, I can't see the cost of operation going down this year. Also, with the large drop in donations received last year, they probably can't afford to have a shortfall covering the cost of the ride.

the biggest question is, will the ride happen? i hope so, but i'm still not convinced large events will be back on so quickly.

AggieOO said:

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the biggest question is, will the ride happen? i hope so, but i'm still not convinced large events will be back on so quickly.

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Anyone know if they ended up doing the one day ride that was a reschedule of the original ride? Supposedly they were going to have a one day ride last October, but I don't know if that ever happened.

I thought it was virtual

htxag09 said:

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I thought it was virtual

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Could be. I didn't start following the MS website again until this past week or so.

txags92 said:

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Frok said:

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It annoys me that the registration fee is the same even though the ride is half of what it normally is. I'm not paying over $100 for a one day ride.

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I can understand that feeling. But I don't think that the $100 entry fee totally covered the cost of putting on the ride in the past. With the multiple starts and routes, and all the extra crap they are going to have to do to comply with all the city and county requirements for covid safety at break points and the starts and finish, I can't see the cost of operation going down this year. Also, with the large drop in donations received last year, they probably can't afford to have a shortfall covering the cost of the ride.

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Also, events like this will have a lot of fixed costs, doesn't matter how many riders. I imagine they're planning on the number of riders being drastically down this year.

So, to your point, shorter 1 day ride and fewer participants doesn't necessarily mean lower costs. Just means higher cost per rider.

Nitro Power said:

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htxag09 said:

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I thought it was virtual

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Could be. I didn't start following the MS website again until this past week or so.

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That is correct. They cancelled the one day ride last year, because the weekend they selected for it wound up being the one the Vanderbilt game landed on when the SEC revised the schedule.

htxag09 said:

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txags92 said:

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Frok said:

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It annoys me that the registration fee is the same even though the ride is half of what it normally is. I'm not paying over $100 for a one day ride.

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I can understand that feeling. But I don't think that the $100 entry fee totally covered the cost of putting on the ride in the past. With the multiple starts and routes, and all the extra crap they are going to have to do to comply with all the city and county requirements for covid safety at break points and the starts and finish, I can't see the cost of operation going down this year. Also, with the large drop in donations received last year, they probably can't afford to have a shortfall covering the cost of the ride.

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Also, events like this will have a lot of fixed costs, doesn't matter how many riders. I imagine they're planning on the number of riders being drastically down this year.

So, to your point, shorter 1 day ride and fewer participants doesn't necessarily mean lower costs. Just means higher cost per rider.

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Yeah, and the other thing to think about is that the way the MS150 is setup, even as a one day ride, they are offering more than most other 1 day rides offer. Most of those rides are going to have a start, a few break points with snacks, and maybe a post-ride snack...or in a few cases a lunch for the first x number of finishers. The MS 150 is going to provide a full lunch for every rider, probably some sort of post ride meal or snacks, they are going point to point instead of out and back, so they will be coordinating bike transport, bus service, etc. and organizing the setup for team tents. Even as a one day ride this year, it will not be your typical one day charity ride that starts at 7, you ride a loop route, and it is over a little after noon.

To your point, when I road the MS in 2019, a guy a visited with came down from Philly because it was supposedly the biggest of all of them. While it might be scaled, I have no doubt that it will be an exceptional ride. The MS society does a number of rides throughout the country that are only 1 day.

Nitro Power said:

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AggieOO said:

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the biggest question is, will the ride happen? i hope so, but i'm still not convinced large events will be back on so quickly.

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Anyone know if they ended up doing the one day ride that was a reschedule of the original ride? Supposedly they were going to have a one day ride last October, but I don't know if that ever happened.

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Last year was cancelled. They blamed COVID but my $.02 was that the rescheduled date turned out to be the date of the Vanderbilt game and since Kyle Field was the end point I'm thinking A&M had to tell them it couldn't happen.

I'll be riding this year. Hated seeing last year get cancelled. My mom and sister both have MS so this is a small way for me to help them in their struggle.

Not sure yet what distance I'll ride. I'm doing my first Murph Challenge four weeks later so it's going to depend on how much energy I have to ramp up between March 1 and May 1. If I can get close to 100 on my own then I'll do Katy. If not I'll do Todd's Mission. One of my goals for 2021 is my first Century so this seems like the right time to knock that out but we'll see how the next three months of training goes.

I'm not riding but I have several friends who are.
Looking forward to seeing all of you ride into Aggieland.

LOYAL AG said:

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Nitro Power said:

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AggieOO said:

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the biggest question is, will the ride happen? i hope so, but i'm still not convinced large events will be back on so quickly.

---

Anyone know if they ended up doing the one day ride that was a reschedule of the original ride? Supposedly they were going to have a one day ride last October, but I don't know if that ever happened.

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Last year was cancelled. They blamed COVID but my $.02 was that the rescheduled date turned out to be the date of the Vanderbilt game and since Kyle Field was the end point I'm thinking A&M had to tell them it couldn't happen.

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I don't think they actually blamed the 2nd cancellation on Covid. Or if they did, maybe I didn't see it. They just basically said we tried to reschedule, but it didn't work out. With as many towns as they go through with the various routes and having to get local buyin and TXDOT approval, and then coordinating all the support and law enforcement personnel, it just isn't something they can do less than a few months ahead of time. So once that date got cancelled by A&M due to the Vandy game and the uncertainty about larger gatherings going forward, it just wasn't going to happen that fall.

Good luck to all those riding this weekend! Be careful and have fun out there.

Going back to the topic of the effort it takes to do this ride a client of mine is coordinating the police presence tomorrow for Brazos, Washington and Grimes counties. 175 officers just for those counties. This is not a small undertaking and those guys are all being paid. I think we'd all like a two day event with overnight in La Grange like years past and next year that is what they are planning, Houston and Austin to La Grange then La Grange to Kyle Field.

Hope to see everyone tomorrow. By the way if you haven't looked yet there's a text service set up for weather info:

Quote:

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WEATHER UPDATE
The Texas MS 150 continues as scheduled this weekend. We know everyone is looking at the weather forecast, and has questions about the plans for the ride. We are continuing to closely monitor the forecast and route conditions for the weekend. Safety is a top priority for all our participants, volunteers, staff and supporters and we want to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone!
TEXT OPT-IN INFORMATION
We encourage you to be prepared for different weather situations. Updates will be provided on this Facebook page, the website, and text message alerts should there be any weather-related updates.
To receive critical weather updates, please text TXMS150 to 833-232-0120. Message and data rates may apply.
All Riders TXMS150
Katy Riders KATY
Waller Riders WALLER
RenFest Riders RENFEST
La Grange Riders LAGRANGE
Team Captains TEAMCAPTAIN

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LOYAL AG said:

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Going back to the topic of the effort it takes to do this ride a client of mine is coordinating the police presence tomorrow for Brazos, Washington and Grimes counties. 175 officers just for those counties. This is not a small undertaking and those guys are all being paid. I think we'd all like a two day event with overnight in La Grange like years past and next year that is what they are planning, Houston and Austin to La Grange then La Grange to Kyle Field.

Hope to see everyone tomorrow. By the way if you haven't looked yet there's a text service set up for weather info:

Quote:

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WEATHER UPDATE
The Texas MS 150 continues as scheduled this weekend. We know everyone is looking at the weather forecast, and has questions about the plans for the ride. We are continuing to closely monitor the forecast and route conditions for the weekend. Safety is a top priority for all our participants, volunteers, staff and supporters and we want to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone!
TEXT OPT-IN INFORMATION
We encourage you to be prepared for different weather situations. Updates will be provided on this Facebook page, the website, and text message alerts should there be any weather-related updates.
To receive critical weather updates, please text TXMS150 to 833-232-0120. Message and data rates may apply.
All Riders TXMS150
Katy Riders KATY
Waller Riders WALLER
RenFest Riders RENFEST
La Grange Riders LAGRANGE
Team Captains TEAMCAPTAIN

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Yeah, weather is looking pretty sketchy for now, but I am hopeful that as long as there is not a forecast for severe weather, they will let us ride if it is just going to keep raining. However, some of the areas we are supposed to ride through up north of Waller have had 6+ inches of rain already, so it is possible some of the lower bridges in the area may be impassible tomorrow. I am also skeptical that they are going to be able to park a bunch of cars and get the riders out of the Renaissance Festival grounds up near Plantersville if they have had 6 inches of rain in 8 hours.

Just got a text that as of now they are proceeding as planned. Hope the conditions hold and the forecast doesn't throw in any wrinkles that cause them to change things. With a 10-15 MPH tail wind, hopefully the 102 miles will go by pretty quickly tomorrow.

txags92 said:

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Just got a text that as of now they are proceeding as planned. Hope the conditions hold and the forecast doesn't throw in any wrinkles that cause them to change things. With a 10-15 MPH tail wind, hopefully the 102 miles will go by pretty quickly tomorrow.

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Website says canceled.

Oof. Anybody keeping track of how many times the ride has successfully rolled over the past 10 years? My guess is they are batting under 500.

You can track their failure rate to when they started moving later and later into april and then may. When it was in the last weekend of march or first two weekends of april i think they had to cancel once in about 22-23 years.