Ask Sybren & FAQs

The training series name sends a message that riders participating in the training rides will be ready to roll and well prepared for a safe, fun annual Bike MS events as well as other riding events. Important that participants know the training series is “Ready2Roll Cycling” and not “R2R” or “Ready2Roll” as we don’t want to confuse our activities with any other organizations.

Effective immediately, longstanding Houston-area cycling enthusiast Sybren van der Pol and his wife Kathryn will take over the leadership of Ready2Roll Cycling.  Sybren has extensive cycling experience, having participated and closely observed Ready2Roll Cycling operations for many years, participated in over 18 Texas MS cycling events (Houston, San Antonio, Louisiana), has been active as a Ride Marshal also for 18 years and is a league certified instructor.  Kathryn has a variety of experiences including a former schoolteacher and managing a school newspaper operation.  Both are very experienced at running businesses and were past presidents of the automobile service association of Houston.

Previous leadership included veteran ConocoPhillips team captain Steve Moskowitz (the “Ask Steve”) and co-captain Marshall Cohen (team Phillips 66) will provide essential guidance. Together, these two individuals have more than 65 combined years of Bike MS rides and have helped prepare thousands in their efforts to safely complete the annual event BP MS150 as well as other cycling events. They have a wealth of experience in event management and leadership while never losing sight of the friendship and joys of cycling. Look for Robbie Moskowitz and Jan Cohen (spouses) assisting in vital volunteer roles. Equally important will be the critical role team volunteers and ride marshal’s play in ensuring a great experience for participants.

The extensive training program is quite expensive to manage and is only funded by the participant fees. All participants are required to pay the established fee. The participant fee is essential to defray such costs as rest stop food/water, law enforcement, equipment, community support, signage, porta-lets, and lots more. Without the participant fees, the training program would not exist. Note that riders who are registered with the BP MS150 as Ride Marshals, Bike Medics (for the BP MS150) or are law enforcement employees (police, FBI, etc.) are welcome to participate at no cost. They must still enroll but there is no fee for these riders.

Ready2Roll Cycling Training Series is only open to registered participants. Insurance limitations do not allow non-paid (guests) or drop-in riders.  No exceptions!

Additionally,

A portion of your enrollment fee covers the cost of port-a-let restrooms on the training rides. Please understand that these aren’t anything fancy but when you are in small towns and need to take a rest stop, you will be fine. We will have port-a-lets at the start of our rides and we ask riders to be courteous and line up awaiting their turn. With hundreds of riders at the training rides, riders are encouraged to show up early to the rides and make their rest stop immediate to avoid the long last-minute lines. Also, at various rest stops along the rides we will strategically place portable port-a-lets. Please, men and women…only use the dedicated port-a-cans and NOT behind buildings, in the woods, etc. We must be good ambassadors, practice good etiquette on our rides and request all riders to please concur. By the way, our port-a-can ratio to riders is exceptional and higher than any training ride or the Bike MS event. The waiting time therefore is greatly reduced!

Ready2Roll Cycling fully-supported training series requires a significant amount of advance planning and commitment.  We must reserve venues, secure permits, contract law enforcement, porta-lets, and more far in advance of the actual rides.  As a result, Ready2Roll Cycling has a No Refund Policy.  We will offer a refund only up until December 31st less a $25 administrative fee.  After December 31^st, Ready2Roll Cycling will abide by a No Refund Policy.  In addition, no refunds are issued if ride(s) are cancelled, shortened or altered in any way.  Additionally, enrollment (registration) is non-transferable.

Ready2Roll Cycling believes that getting younger riders involved in cycling at a young age is extremely beneficial.  They learn goal setting, improve fitness, grasp safety concepts, and become diligent role models to their peers. However, the training rides can be quite challenging for adults, let alone younger riders.  Ready2Roll Cycling supports and embraces the same rules established by the BP MS150 regarding youth riders.

In summary, the following are the requirements:

• The minimum age for BP MS 150 is 12 years old. All riders must be at least 12 years of age on or before the first Ready2Roll Cycling ride.
• For youth riders between ages 12 and 17, the requirements are:
  • All riders under the age of 18 prior to the first Ready2Roll Cycling ride, must have a hardcopy signed and notarized waiver provided to the organizers.
  • All riders ages 12 through 17 must review the BP MS150 Safety in Group Cycling brochure with a parent or legal guardian.
  • All youth riders must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult (at least 21 years of age) at all times – NO EXCEPTIONS.  Failure to abide by this policy will result in Ready2Roll Cycling terminating the rider and associated parent’s involvement.
  • One parent/adult may be responsible for no more than three youth riders.
  • Even if the child is on a tandem bicycle, all of the requirements above still apply.
  • No trailers, tagalongs, or child carriers are allowed on the route.

The short answer to this question is “No” but let us explain… Our rides are only open to riders who have enrolled and paid for the entire series. We looked at this when we developed Ready2Roll Cycling and while it could be possible to pay ride-by-ride, it is far more complicated to keep track of who has paid for each ride. This would generate a significant amount of work at every ride. It would be quite challenging to anticipate additional food, drinks, and other resources to accommodate “drop-in” riders.

The bigger and more critical reason is we have also learned that by limiting the series to riders who register and participate in our series and, hopefully, read the safety and etiquette tips in the emails, we develop a group of riders who are much safer and far more courteous that the average rider. Participants in our training series really appreciate the way we “raise the bar” at our rides.  Riders in Ready2Roll Cycling prefer to be with like-minded riders who are committed to ensuring an overall great experience, each and every week.

And finally, we have insurance requirements we must abide by and they do not allow for riders to “drop in” and pay as-you-go. As a result, we request that Ready2Roll Cycling riders absolutely DO NOT INVITE GUESTS TO THE RIDE and DO NOT SHARE WEEKLY EMAILS.  Failure to follow this policy could lead to being removed from the series.

Now keep in mind, on certain established “partner rides” whereby we join an existing charitable, organized ride, you are welcome to invite your guest(s) to the ride and they will pay the events registration fee. These rides are open to the public so anyone can come along, register for the ride, pay the organizers and join in the ride. We usually have 1-2 partner rides each season (and we pay the fee for our enrolled riders).

Does Ready2Roll Cycling have an MS 150 team or are there teams that are open to riders for the MS 150?  Also, are hotel rooms available?

Ready2Roll Cycling only offers an 11-week, fully-supported cycling training series and does not have an organized team for the MS 150.  The decision was made by the Ready2Roll Cycling organizers that they would take a break after the training series and not take on the task of building and managing an MS 150 team.

The question is often raised on what teams might be open to new riders for the MS 150.  Our suggestion is to contact someone at the MS Society such as Cyronica Upshaw (Cyronica.Upshaw@NMSS.org) who does remain current on team openings.

We do know the following teams were accepting additional riders:

Sun&Ski is managed by Jimmy Boyle (JBoyle@sunandski.com)

Trek is managed by Mynette Randall (mynette_randall@trekbikes.com)

Karbach Brewing is managed by Adam LeSage (Adam.Lesage@karbachbrewing.com)

St Arnold’s – no contact known

As always, accommodations in the greater LaGrange area are very tight. At this time, we don’t have knowledge of rooms available.

To be able to deliver an exceptional riding experience each week, it truly takes many incredible volunteers.  Believe it or not, that number typically exceeds 70 amazing people each Saturday.  We do have a core group of a few awesome friends/family that give up their time to help with vital roles each week, but the need for help is far greater.  Without the required volunteers each week, we couldn’t provide this training series, so we thank you in advance for your commitment to helping support the series.  We hope you too will share in the philosophy that if each of us does just a little bit of giving-back by volunteering, we will have ample volunteers and the series will proceed seamlessly.  It is the only way we can have a training series and have so much fun along the way.

There are various volunteer roles that are offered and when you enroll (register) in Ready2Roll Cycling, you are required to select a volunteer role.  Some of these roles enable you to support the ride by volunteering and also allow you to ride.  These specific roles are Water Wizards (carry coolers of water to/from ride), Table Takers (carry tables to/from ride), Parking Pointers (direct traffic into parking lots prior to ride), and more.  Other volunteer roles support the ride and do not provide you the opportunity to ride on the volunteer day such as Rest Stop support, SAG support, etc.  Many of the roles fill up fast with the early enrollees (registrations) so the early bird definitely gets the worm.  Keep in mind, you can have a family member or friend do your volunteer role which therefore enables you to ride.

Again, there is no way we can host a ride for 600+ riders each week without volunteers so we desperately need our volunteers to sign up and show up.  We thank you very much in advance for your support!

The first item of note is that you DO NOT need to RSVP for the ride.  You do need to arrive at the ride at least 45 minutes to an hour early in order to get ready to ride and to allow for signing in, rest room, etc.

Each week, you will notice a sign-in list at the information table. All enrolled riders are listed in alphabetical order.  The list is separated into 4-8 smaller lists so no one has a long line to sign in. You simply initial in on the “Started” column next to your name before you ride. When you are finished, you come back and initial in on the “Finished” column so we know you are finished. This system helps us know the number of riders as well as the numbers of riders that may remain out on the road near the end of the ride.  It is imperative every rider sign in as well as sign out.  If you forget to sign out when finished with your ride and depart home, don’t be surprised or startled if you get a phone call from Steve at your house at 3:00 a.m.  Yes, 3:00 a.m.! While we realize that you might not be home at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, we are pretty confident that you will be home at 3:00 a.m. and we just want to confirm you are ok and still not out on the road.  Please sign out when you are completed with your ride!

This is a common question. The rides will be on paved roads that are typically frequented by cyclists. Rides are in a different location every week and are in small towns mostly west with the occasional northern routes. We try to keep the travel time from everyone’s home in mind when we select locations but also must carefully manage the balance of safety, traffic, parking access, TxDOT approval, rest stops and beautiful routes. We will always offer a short and a long route, thereby giving experienced riders a longer and more challenging option. Keep in mind that Ready2Roll Cycling will continue to increase mileage from the first training ride to the last and therefore, everyone increases their distance each week. As the series continues, we do introduce the challenge of hills to help prepare our riders for the BP MS150.  The exact ride routes will be communicated and posted on the weekly calendar.  Please pay careful attention to the weekly notes as on occasion, locations for rides may change.

Riding a bicycle from Houston to College Station is no easy task, even for the experienced. It takes preparation, training and of course a bicycle (with gears!). The Ready2Roll Cycling training rides are intended to help you adequately prepare so that you not only will make it to the finish but will have a wonderful experience and likely want to do it again. Sounds crazy, right?

OK, so no need to get all worried. We suggest the following to help you get underway:

Get a bicycle, have it checked out with the bike shop ensuring it fits you well and mechanically is in good condition. You certainly don’t need to experience bike problems or pain in your body on your rides.  Of course you also need a helmet.

Get checked out with your family doctor so they understand what you are going to do and know you are in sound condition.

Begin or proceed with an exercise program so that you are working out aerobically at least a few days a week. This could be biking, spin classes, running, swimming, stair climber, etc. This exercise will help with your conditioning for the weekend rides.

Attend the scheduled weekend Ready2Roll Cycling training rides and listen to the starting announcements. You will be asked to ride your bike with others that ride about the same pace (Miles Per Hour). This is VERY important. Riding with people faster or slower is challenging and quite often, doesn’t result in a very good experience. Also, from a safety standpoint, riding with the “wrong” group does cause people to either pass you, or you to pass them.  It is best to ride with people that ride about the same pace as you.

Many tips will be shared on the training rides from safety, etiquette, bike maintenance, fundraising for MS and more.

Each week the training rides will gradually increase the short and long distance mileage as well as include hills, therefore building your fitness and endurance. By the final week of training series, if you did your homework during the weeks prior, you will be confident and well prepared for an excellent Bike MS ride.

Yes, January through April in Texas can get cold…and windy. Remember, you will be riding your bikes into the wind and that, coupled with the cold weather, can cause you to be colder than the actual outside temperatures. Participants are strongly encouraged to layer their clothes. Having multiple levels allows you to shed layers as you warm up. Consider purchasing a good outer shell jacket like a windbreaker so you can stay protected from the cold wind. Purchase some cycling gloves that can withstand wind as riding in cold temperatures with good gloves can help protect your hands. Many riders buy tights (spandex) that they wear over the bike shorts to protect their lower extremities. Even shoe covers or “booties” are excellent to keep your feet warm and should be considered. For the head and ears, a lightweight head cover that extends over the ears is helpful or for the days it isn’t quite that cold, just an ear band to cover your ears will be sufficient.

One secret tip that we will quietly share is consider hand and feet warmers and place them in your gloves and shoes, respectively. Make sure you have full functionality when using them but they have been known to help some of the more experienced riders.

Just one more comment about riding in the challenging Texas winter months. If the organizers believe that the weather conditions are unsafe or might change and be unsafe, the ride might be cancelled, distance shortened or altered. As a participant, you are required to listen and follow the instructions from the organizers. If the ride is cancelled, do not attempt to complete the route as support will not be provided (police, SAG, rest stops, etc.) and conditions can be unsafe. Ready2Roll Cycling does issue communications during the week prior to the ride as well as post last-minute ride status updates on the Hotline at (281) 907-9007.

Riding in the rain is never fun and can be treacherous. If it is raining at the start time of the training ride, the organizers may delay the start until safer conditions prevail or even cancel the ride. On rare occasions, weather being unpredictable as it is, rain might suddenly begin to occur. The main thing to remember about riding in the rain is to slow down and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Your brakes won’t work as well, and you need to keep an eye out for people being less careful than you. Remember your visibility will be reduced. Drivers may not be identify you until they are much closer than normal.  Also, the road always become extremely slick and the contact surface of your thin bike tires on the road can make turning and steering your bike like riding on ice. Key tip is slow down, allow ample distance around you, do not make any sudden movements or stops and be very careful turning. Also, keep your weight centered over the frame of the bike and don’t make any sharp turns. Avoid the painted lines in the road as once they become wet, they become very slippery and can cause your wheels to slide out from under you without warning.  Also, crossing railroad tracks that are wet can be disastrous!  Finally, after the ride ends, be sure to clean your bike well as water and road grit can cause havoc on the future operations of your bike. More on bike maintenance later.

Good question!  Rides are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., unless otherwise communicated.  Now the tricky question – what time do I need to arrive at the starting location for the ride?  Our ride starting locations are in small communities and as everyone converges into these small towns at the same general time, traffic and congestion are likely.  Also, parking can be very slow.  As if that isn’t enough, you still need time to sign-in for the ride, use the restroom and get your bike in order.  With all that said, we suggest planning on arriving the starting location approximately 50-60 minutes before the 8:00 a.m. start.  Yes, it seems like it may be too early but the difference of arriving 15 or more minutes later will place you in the middle of all the congestion and backlog.  You don’t need that stress ride morning – be smart and arrive early!

The time for each person to complete the ride varies, depending upon on how far you ride and your pace. In the early weeks, the training ride distances are shorter and almost all riders are through by 11:30 a.m. (add 20-40 minutes to travel back home). In the later weeks when the rides are longer and most riders want to get extra miles to build up their endurance, some riders may finish as late as 3:00-3:30 p.m. (plus 30 minutes to an hour for the drive home). Of course these times are general times as start time, pace and distance play a key role as to when you are done.  We highly recommend that riders not spend a lot of time on long breaks at the rest stops as not only will this delay your eventual finish,  but more importantly, it will make it more difficult getting back on the bike following the long rest.

You think 1,000 people riding is a lot…just imagine the parking issue! While we’re on parking, let us mention, we emphasize carpooling as space in these small towns where we ride is extremely limited. Now back to riding…the ride start and routes are very organized. Ready2Roll Cycling riders are requested to show up early, get their bikes ready and line up at the starting line in accordance with the pace they expect to ride. The groups are started in waves, with the fastest riders going first. Each wave is announced to begin following the faster wave in front of them.  Once one wave has sufficiently departed and a large enough gap exists, the next fastest wave will be released to begin riding.

So why the waves? Starting in waves with the faster riders first, followed by the second faster group, etc. reduces the need for quicker riders passing slower riders, therefore, improving the safety for all riders. We strongly stress that you start in the wave pace that is closest to the pace you ride. By the way, the wave paces are identified in miles per hour. Now that you understand the wave start, no reason to  stress that maybe 1,000 fellow riders might show up to ride on Saturday!

First, choosing to park offsite and start on your own obviously doesn’t allow you to hear the pre-ride safety announcements which are targeted for the safety of you and all of our riders.  In addition, when you are anywhere but the start, you don’t hear about any route changes or challenges as well as expectations along the route.  Further, the concern that the announcements take too long is “old news” and no longer a viable argument as we made a proactive effort to reduce the dialogue to just the important information riders need to know prior to the start. When you miss the announcements, you won’t know if we altered the route which can result in you proceeding way off the route.  We ask that you please be a bit patient, sign-in at the start and sign-out when you are finished.  It truly does make the organizers at Ready2Roll Cycling much happier!

While this seems like such a simple and easy thing to do, it frankly causes us great stress and concern.  Let us explain – when you venture off on your own route with your Ready2Roll Cycling number attached to your helmet, you are assumed to be part of our event and simply off course.  Our critical SAG, Ride Marshal and law enforcement resources can easily be confused and have to locate you to direct you back on the route.  In fact, you could have other riders follow you which would cause a significant challenge to our resources and possibly safety issues.  Once you enter onto a different route than the approved route, we are concerned for your safety.  And of course, should you encounter an incident while off course, how would anyone know nor could ride support be offered.  Please, we request you use only our approved routes and not deviate.  Thank you in advance for your support!

Headphones, ear buds, radios and similar audio devices are not permitted while riding. We feel that cyclists who listen to music through earphones or talk on the phone while cycling are putting themselves at greater risk as well as others around them. Communication is a key factor in cycling safely in a group.

External speakers can also be prohibitive to proper communication, especially if played at a high-volume level. These are allowed, however if a Ride Marshal, Organizer or fellow rider is concerned about the volume level, riders will be asked to discontinue to listen to external speakers.

Ebikes are permitted for use in the Ready2Roll Cycling training series. Participants riding ebikes must be completely familiar with the power-range limitations of their ebike and needs to ensure the bikes have enough power to complete the ride.  Keep in mind that ride distances are always communicated in advance of the ride and the rider must ensure the bike has sufficient charge to complete the desired distance.  Given the unique nature with the mechanical operations and the fact they are significantly heavier bikes than non ebikes, participants understand that SAG support may be limited. All ebikes must be street legal and operators must obey all traffic laws.

Here’s a few quick how-to pointers for our Classified ads: If you want to post a bike or equipment for sale/trade, looking for a bike or equipment, have an available spot in your carpool, or looking for a carpool to ride with, you need to register for the Ready2Roll Cycling Classified account. Register by clicking the “Create an account” link located on the left side of the classified page at the bottom of the User Login form. We highly suggest using the same email you used to register for the training series, because this forum will be monitored and suspicious postings will be removed. It will also serve as your login information in the future when we add further functionality to our website. You do not have to create an account to look at or reply to classified postings.

Putting up a new listing is pretty simple.  You will need to go back and make changes (price, carpool meet time, etc.) as needed. For example, if you have a bike for sale, bookmark the training series website so that you can easily get back to the home page and click the Classifieds link on the top navigation bar. Once you have registered to create an account, then login. Click on “New Ad” located in the sub navigation on the top of the Classified Ads page under the title. Choose a Category to post the ad and fill out the remainder of the form. Enter your Name and Email address. Enter an Ad Title: “Great beginner bike”, etc. Attach a picture or two (picture can’t be too big – approx.. 200k or low-quality cell phone pic). If you can’t figure out how to shrink a bigger picture, contact a friend (or your third grader). Pick the size – some brands go by small/medium/large, some use centimeters. Make/Model or Brand/Style, description, and price need to be entered too. We don’t suggest including phone numbers or home addresses here because this is the Internet. If someone is interested in carpooling or buying a bike, they will click to reply to your posting, which will allow them to forward their name, email, and a comment. If someone replies to your posting, you will receive an email such as this:

from: Enquirer’s Name (Enquirer’s name)
to: Your Email Address
subject: Ad Enquiry: Title of your ad

The content of the enquiry will be in the body of the email. To reply to this message, just click on the ‘Reply’ button in your email client.

Good luck!

At Ready2Roll Cycling, we have a policy that we do not approve individuals to offer products, merchandise or services at our rides as a means to generate funds.  We have had quite a few requests for a wide array of creative ideas, leveraging the ridership.  We decided years ago to not permit this as it can become a bit overwhelming with all we are trying to accomplish pre and post ride, and frankly trying to ensure we don’t overwhelm our riders.  Let’s not forget that serving homemade food to individuals can become problematic.  Of course if a company has provided us their product and is seeking a sampling opportunity, we do permit them to have a table pre and post ride.  We appreciate your understanding.

Jan Cohen started this charitable event in 2013 with the intention of helping our “Newbie” cyclists geared up for riding by offering an opportunity to purchase much needed equipment at a greatly reduced cost and donating all the proceeds to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. She accepted donations year-round, labeling and organizing the items for the sale which was held at R2RC Beginner Rides in January. The event has now grown to offer new apparel donated from our friends at Primal Wear and many partner cycling events around the country. All riders are welcome to take advantage of these great buys.