Written by Scott Steever

Saturday, May 20th, 4 am…Alarm goes off…my god it is early…I cannot believe I’m actually going to ride 170 miles over the next two days…Roll over and check on my wife, but she is already up feeding the baby…give her a kiss…hop out of bed, turn off the alarm…Give my Mom a wake up call at her hotel…She is already up and ready to go, can’t sleep, I guess.  I take a shower, dress and gather my bags…pack the car, two bikes, two helmets, two sets of shoes and two duffel bags…slide into the car still half asleep, but we are on the road by 5am.

Uneventful ride down to Monmouth University…Turnpike south to the Garden State Parkway to exit 105…not much traffic.  Mike P said that we would be wheels rolling for the MS170 by 7am, but when we arrive on site at about 6am, the MS team is still setting up…Turns out we are not getting going until 8am…man I could have used the extra hour of sleep…oh well…the day looks promising…partly cloudy, a bit windy…but otherwise a great day for a ride.

Unpack the car…check out the bikes one last time to make sure everything is in working order…all is well…Team VS starts to arrive…the parking lot begins to fill up…head inside to register…the process this year was quick and painless thanks to “Cycling for Health” counter.  Grab some breakfast, peanut butter and a bagel plus a banana…tastes good…Head back out side for final prep.  Decide to leave the foul weather gear in my duffel…might be a bad decision, but I do not want to jinx the day…Slather my self with Chamois Butter, it is supposed to help with chaffing, god I hope it helps.  Jose, Mike, Scott A and JP all swear by the stuff…we’ll see.  Throw our duffel bags in the box truck and await the start of the ride…Group pictures!  Harrison has been prowling around getting great shots…gather the team together and take several group photos, the entire team first, then just the 170…we have 16 riders ultimately…great group…we gather at the start line around 8:15 am…the MS team has the starting gate set up…we ride through as a team and head off south down the coast…

The team quickly separates in to several groups…the lead group consists of Mike P, Scott A, JP, Bob, Jose, and Matt B …the next group include Tim (Rangers Lead the Way), Jean, Gary (Crash), Shannon and Paula and the last group of My self, My Mom (Karen), Kim, Mario and Cesar.  The groups will mix through out the day and ebb and flow as the day progresses.  Our group is keeping a good pace; about 13.5 miles per hour…not speed demons…but not slow either.

Mile 11, First Rest Stop Belmar…everyone is feeling good…just before the stop, I almost got taken out by a gentleman opening his door, but fortunately I swerved at the last second and avoided disaster…This is always a good rest stop, food, great volunteers, plenty of port-o-potties…Take a short break, stretch my legs…grab some water and off we go…The lead pack takes off soon after we arrive, but we are not too far off the pace.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is a ride, not a race…but some times my competitive side gets the best of me…Gather the troops and start off again…so far my I’m feeling good

Mile 18, First accident, we come upon a multi bike pile up…everyone seems ok, but the EMS were on the scene.  Looks like the worst of it is a bad case of road rash (That rider did finish the ride as I saw her again on day two) We pass slowly and continue south along the coast.  I’m not sure where they got the name “Coast the Coast”, because there is no coasting going on here, it is definitely a misnomer.  We are still keeping a good pace, about 13 miles per hour

Mile 30, As we pull into the rest stop at centennial park, my butt is really starting to hurt…we are not even half way done with the first day and I am uncomfortable…I am constantly shifting in my saddle, first left side, then the right side, then I sit way back, then I shift way forward, then I stand up for a few rotations of my pedals…If you saw me passing by you would think I have AADD…man this is going to be a long ride…at least my feet and hands are not numb…yet!  Grab some water, a banana and a bar…take a short break and we are off again…

Mile 32, soon after we leave the rest stop we are upon our first bridge…the course is generally flat, but the bridges are quite another thing.  Mike and Jose warned me about the bridges, but I thought, “How hard can they be?”  Well the answer is brutal...long…open to the wind…traffic whizzing past…and not a huge shoulder to ride on…We grind our way to the top and have a great ride down the other side…At this point it is just myself and my mom riding together….the lead pack has sped off and the rest of us are now strung out over the course…We see Bruce in the SAG wagon pass several times back and forth checking on us like a mother Hen…Thanks Bruce, you rock!  One rest stop before lunch…almost pass by the school at mile 37, but at the last second turn in…Meet up with Paula and Shannon and ride together the rest of the day…

Mile 45, Lunch, what a welcome break…they have a nice spread, sandwiches, chips, coleslaw, potato salad, bananas, bars, you name it…and best of all…Ben an Jerry’s ice cream…cookie dough, tastes great…we meet up with the lead riders…we all have lunch together and enjoy a short break…JP, Bob and Jean catch a quick cat nap on the lawn…Scott A checks in with the family and adjusts all his techno gear…I swear he is one of the Borg with all the equipment protruding from his helmet…Jose has been experiencing some leg cramps and is generally not feeling well…Mike P is ready to roll…man is he a bicycling animal, there is no stopping him…The lead pack heads out then the rest of us trickle out in groups of two or three

Mile 56, Vo Tech- we reach the rest stop at mile 56 after lunch and are treated to a great surprise, several of our co-workers are manning the station.  Joan, Felicia, Rob, Jodi and her fiancé, Dan, were there offering words of encouragement and handing out snacks.  We rest there a bit, and Jose spends a long time socializing…in the end we leave him behind, but will see him on the road, as he passes us just down the way…it happened all the time!

Mile 56-mile 65 – We are riding through the pine barrens and start experiencing the “Rolling Hills”…In my estimation we spent more time going up than down…We are riding with Paula and Shannon at this point and are making good time…We had a good pace line going and were averaging about 15.5 miles per hour…The scenery is beautiful and the roads at this point were pretty smooth.  The have made it a long way, but there seems to be a long way to go…we must be near an army or air force base as there is a trio of A-10 fighters flying low on the horizon, conducting acrobatics…we also heard gun shots off in the distance as we passed by a shooting range…the ride at this point is great..

Mile 65 – the last rest stop is manned by the Harley Bikers who have helped guide us through the course…grab some water…sit for spell…eat a banana, and then off we go…so close now, just have to get it done.

Mile 75 – the wind begins to pick up a bit and no matter which way we turn, it seems to be right in our face.  Last seven miles are all slightly up hill and the wind is not at our backs… you have to be kidding me…We are all tired and losing steam…we are still riding with Paula and Shannon and we are all in pain.  The mind games start, trying to trick ourselves into believing the end is just around the corner…but it seemed to take forever…finally we see the school and the balloons and we know day one is over!

Mile 82.6 – First day is complete, about 4:30…we had been on our bikes, riding for over 6 hours…we see the VS crew waiting on the corner of the turn off with lawn chairs, a cooler and feet up…the lead pack has been there for a bit and encouraging all the rest of the riders…we proceed inside, check in, park our bikes in the hallway, grab our bags and head out to the corner with the rest of the team.  I am sore, but walking…my mom seems to be doing well, although I know that she is glad the first day is over…meet up with the team…Tim hands me a beer, probably one of the best beers that I have ever tasted, in my life!..man it was good…we cheered in the Super Mario Brothers (Mario and Cesar) soon after we arrived and Kim Y came peddling is soon afterwards…Everyone made it through day one unscathed, and basically no worse for the wear…the team packed up and headed to the Sea Spray Hotel on Long Beach Island in a caravan of cars and the VS Sag wagon.  The trip to LBI was longer that I expected and several folks dozed as we went…we are all starving and look forward to a shower and some grub…Dinner is set for 7:30…try to take a short nap, but get caught up watching the Preakness…shower and dress, out the door to meet up with the team at 7:15pm

Dinner at Buckalew’s – the entire team, and all family members who made the trek to LBI have dinner at Buckalew’s, a local tavern with good food.  Suffice it to say that the tavern has a long and colorful history that I will not bore you with, but if you get to LBI, check it out.  Our waitress was nice, but over whelmed…35 people was too many for one person…drinks were good going down, but I limited myself to one beer as I was afraid I would fall asleep in my food…Appetizers arrived about an hour later, I think the kitchen was backed up…good though, nachos, spring rolls, calamari etc…Dinner arrived soon after…I think the entire table ordered steak, got to get fueled up for the next day…It is almost 10pm, JP ducks out, we all think he is going to walk home, but he actually heads to the van to sleep, that boy can sleep anywhere!  Back at the hotel by 10:15pm, asleep by 10:30

Sunday, May 21st, Morning Day Two – Alarm goes off at 5am…deja vous…what am I crazy…shower quickly…slather on more Chamois Butter, as sore as I am, I think it did help…get dressed, pack and out the door by 5:25 am…bus is supposed to be at the hotel by 5:30…some of the team heads over the start point in the VS sag wagon…the rest of us wait for the bus...5:45a…6:00a…6:15…finally the bus shows up…Arrive at the start point with plenty of time…get some breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, juice, but no pancakes…I was looking forward to some pancakes…but alas…Mike P eats more food in one sitting than I have ever seen him eat before, I think the exact quote was, “Fill my plate as full as you can”…check out our bikes…all seems in order…Some riders are leaving before ride cards are handed out…MS had a pep talk to encourage us and remind us way we are riding…We start as a team, but like yesterday we quickly spread out, the groups have changed

Mile 92 – Motor Cycle accident-  all riders are asked to stop at the rest stop, they have temporarily closed the course due to a motor cycle accident a head…I think they had to medivac the guys out, I hope he is ok…we get a bit of a rest, which is good…the team regroups and rolls when the course is opened

Mile 120 - Gary Crashes, just after the Masonic Temple rest stop at about mile 120. Disaster strikes the VS team, Gary goes down…up until that point we had a few flat tires and a thrown chain or two, but no serious accidents…we can upon the aftermath, but I guess Gary and Jean got tangled up and Gary went down hard…the EMS were on site and Gary checked out ok, but his day was over, a sore hip and shoulder kept him from completing the tour, Great job Gary!  Some how Jean stayed on his wheels…not sure who caused the accident, but they do not call Gary Crash for no reason?  Hmmm….

Two bridges – Lunch is close at hand, but off in the distance are two bridges, I’m sure we stop for lunch before we get to them…nope I’m wrong, we do not stop for lunch till after we cross both…we hit the first bridge…drop down in gear…put our heads down and take it one rotation at a time…half way up…keep going…3/4 of the way up…almost there…”Mom keep peddling, you can do it”…Finally at the top…we did it…Awesome view, but I think the wind is picking up?  This could be a problem?   Peddle out hearts out on the way down, I think we hit 24 or 25 miles per hour…awe crap, we have another bridge…Same as before…one rotation at a time…heads down…keep going…this is the MS170 ride not the MS 170 walk/ride…almost there…at the top…lunch will soon be served…man a am I hungry…not far now…

Mile 128 Lunch Every one has been raving about the mini Meat ball subs that are served at lunch on day two…I have to admit they are awesome…I guess one woman hand makes over 1500 meatballs for this event…that takes commitment…she rocks!  Jose got his picture taken with her, but she would not let him hug her…go figure?  Also had a ham sandwich, pasta salad, coleslaw, Gatorade, the works…Throw a banana in the back, grab a bar and get ready to head out…Short break, but we want to get back on the road so we do not stiffen up…Next stretch should not be so bad…flat, straight, we are in the home stretch…

Mile 144 – The Wind, after lunch we headed out with Paula…the wind kicked up and made life miserable…I did not know it at the time but it was 25 mile per hours right into our faces…every mile was a fight…Paula pulled away and we lost contact with her…we started drafting off each other, we are trying any thing to help… it makes for very slow going…10 miles per hour…9 miles per hour…8 miles per hour…I would much rather ride in the rain than ride in the wind…Long straight stretches on the barrier islands with nothing to block the wind…it takes a toll on us all…it’s like traveling up a hill all day…just focus on one pedal stroke at a time…keep going do not stop peddling or you will lose momentum…when is the next rest stop…not for 12 or 15 miles…longest distance between rest stops on the entire ride…my butt hurts, my feet are asleep and my hands are numb…I have the trivecta of pain…when is this ride over…finally get to the rest stop, the lead pack is there, looking weary as well…not long to go now, one more stop and then the finish line…let’s get this thing done…

Mile 157 – American Legion, we arrive at the last rest stop at 3:20.  The wind has been brutal…Some of the guys get a beer…We get the word that if we do not leave the rest stop by 3:30 we will be sagged…no one wants that…we all head out in mass…we are concerned that several of our riders are still on the course and will be sagged…not our crew, Mario, Cesar and Kim all refuse to be sagged…that is awesome…the wind is still right in our face…we loose contact with the lead group again, I can see them, not too far off, but no help with the wind…my mom and I are riding alone again now…we take turns drafting off one another again

Mile 161 – Draw Bridge - The last bridge before we finish the ride, the lead group makes it over the bridge, but as we climb the hill, the lights start flashing and the barriers come down…The bridge goes up and we are stuck with several other riders…the lead group gets further and further away…finally we lose site of them…the bridge finally opens and the group of riders heads out…we draft for a bit…but eventually lose contact with them as well…the wind…the wind …the wind…it just keeps coming…very tired now…every thing hurts, my butt, my Knee (Not sure exactly where or when it started to hurt), my shoulders, my hands, you name it, and it hurt…almost there, I keep telling myself, almost there…

Three Miles out – Cape May- We meet up with the team about 3 miles from the finish line as agreed upon…12 of the original 16 riders, one was lost due to an accident and three were still on the course…the twelve of us stay together and ride the final three miles…I wish I had a camcorder, what a site!

Finish Line – We formed four lines of three riders and crossed the line together…What an awesome feeling…I am so tired, but elated knowing that we accomplished our goal.  We were met by friends and family and a small crowd on MS volunteers…it was great…Get off our bikes…high fives and hugs all around…what a great experience…I‘m glad I could share it with my friends and most importantly with my Mom, she rocks!  Check in, get some grub…wait for our other team members…Mario and Cesar where next in, having refused to get on the Sag wagon, followed shortly after by Kim who also refused to get a ride…I am so proud of everyone on our team!
What will next year bring, I’m not sure, but I know one thing, I will ride this event again.  Thanks to everyone who rode and supported the team, we could not have done it with out your help and assistance.  A special thanks to all the MS volunteers who made this grueling task seem not so bad.  Thanks to the Vitamin Shoppe and Tom for sponsoring such a great event for a very important cause.  And finally, thanks to my Mom for going on a “short “ ride with her son, it seemed like old times, riding in Lantern Hill time trials when I was 11, her always right behind me, encouraging me on.  Thanks.