Ready2Roll Cycling
- is a comprehensive, 11-week fully-supported cycling training series that helps to prepare riders for the annual Texas MS 150 (Multiple Sclerosis) activities as well as most other cycling events. Enrollment is open to teams as well as individuals riders of all levels.
- is the largest in the greater Houston area encompassing as many as 1,100 riders and is an ideal platform to help riders become better cyclists while improving their fitness level.
- participants enjoy riding with others on beautiful country roads while learning various riding techniques, safety, etiquette, basic bicycle maintenance and tips on fundraising for Bike MS events.
- participants enroll in the series and enjoy organized rides, fully-stocked rest stops, port-a-lets, detailed maps, bike mechanics, SAG support, law enforcement and more.
- begins in January and continues through the end of April, rides occur Saturday’s in a different community west or north of Houston. Weekly rides include between 400 – 600 participants riding either the short or long-distance options, with the incorporation of hills as the series progresses.
- participants “give back” to the training series by personally volunteering or having their designee volunteer on their behalf at one ride. Over the course of the season, in excess of 600 volunteers will provide essential support to the series. Ready2Roll Cycling has learned that volunteering not only helps all riders have a better experience but generates a great feeling of ownership and community in the series.
The Owners
Kathryn and Sybren on the MS-150 ride in 2010. Friendly Spokes was the name of their cycling team.
Leading Ready2Roll Cycling takes enormous commitment by some very special people and Sybren and Kathryn van der Pol are just those people.
Back in May of 2022, the owners of R2RC (Ready2Roll Cycling) placed the comprehensive, fully supported cycling training series up for sale seeking the ideal candidate to take it over. As time passed and without a new owner, it became apparent to Sybren and Kathryn that R2RC was going to shut down. Given the longstanding impressive history and all the good the training series had done for countless thousands in the cycling community, both Sybren and Kathryn agreed that they could not let R2RC go away. In August of 2022, Sybren and Kathryn proudly became the new owners of R2RC.
While they realized that this new commitment was going to be a significant amount of work, they truly love the cycling community, helping others, giving back to the community and were very familiar with working hard and leading by example. After all, they had both just retired from the automotive industry and had settled in Washington, Texas, about an hour outside of Houston and, in a strange way, were looking for a new challenge.
As a longstanding participant of more than 12 years, Sybren was very familiar with R2RC and knew what good it had done, consistently promoting safe and courteous cycling.
Sybren and Kathryn believe cycling has preserved their fitness and given them endless hours of enjoyment. Their vision is that R2RC will provide people not only a wonderful way to train in group rides, but build long-lasting friendships, and inspire all participants to become ambassadors for safe and courteous cycling.
They are extremely charitable and support multiple charities with Multiple Sclerosis being first and foremost. When their daughter was injured after running cross country, the doctor suggested bicycle riding as a means for recovery. So Sybren and daughter Laura took on the challenge of the MS 150 bike ride and successfully completed the MS 150 from Houston to Austin back in 2003. Sybren was then hooked on supporting the MS movement. In fact, as owners of their automobile repair shop, they held an annual fish fry and raised much-needed funds for the MS Society.
Sybren is extremely unselfish and has volunteered his time as a MS Society Ride Marshal since 2005. He has participated in hundreds of charity rides and helped countless cyclists change their flat tires, fix their helmets, and provide encouragement when the going was tough. He is a certified trainer with the League of American Bicyclists. Not to be outdone, Kathryn has also completed the MS 150 multiple times and attributes her success to the R2RC training series.
The couple has been married since 1977 and both have an impressive and dynamic background. Sybren is a first-generation American. His Dutch father was a merchant marine who ended up in the United States unexpectedly during World War II. Assigned to a gasoline tanker that was blown up by a German U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico, Sybren’s father swam below the ship’s ring of fire and spent three days in the Gulf trying to survive. Thankfully, he was rescued by a British frigate. Shortly after the war was over, Sybren was born in New Orleans.
Sybren was always fascinated with anything that moved, took apart and reassembled small machines from boyhood. After graduating with a degree in Business Administration from the University of New Orleans, he moved to Houston in 1976. He worked primarily in the automotive industry and until 2021, he and Kathryn owned and operated one of the longest operating auto repair shops in the area.
Kathryn grew up as the daughter of a naval officer. She traveled extensively including four years in Japan. She studied classics and graduated from Rice University, later teaching high school Latin and history at St. Thomas Episcopal and St. John’s School.
Sybren and Kathryn’s simple philosophy is to always take care of customers, give back to the community and know that the business will take care of itself. This philosophy is exactly what has made Ready2Roll Cycling so successful and they are perfectly positioned for many successful years ahead!
The Founders
Originated in 1989 in Houston, Texas, the training series began as Marshall Cohen (Conoco Bike Club captain) led a small group of cyclists weekly in various towns west and north of Houston to train for the MS 150. The rides of 10-25 people were rather informal and included minimal support.
Steve Moskowitz got involved in 1994 and immediately leveraged his extensive computer skills, operational expertise and drive for inclusiveness. He dramatically expanded the training series adding many other Houston teams as it transitioned into the ConocoPhillips Bike Club training program and soon had hundreds of participants at the training rides. Rides began to include law enforcement, port-a-lets, detailed maps, rest stops and a significant volunteer presence. Steve welcomed and embraced key individuals in essential volunteer leadership roles who help contribute to the exceptional training series experience.
In 2011, as Marshall and Steve were proceeding toward retirement from their positions at Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips, respectively, they, along with their spouses Jan and Robbie created Ready2Roll Cycling. Their vast experience in cycling, safety, event planning leadership, operational expertise, communications, marketing, project management, and attention-to-detail were all leveraged in the establishment of Ready2Roll Cycling.
Beyond planning and managing operations for cycling events, Marshall, Steve and Jan have a wealth of experience as they cumulatively have ridden well over 80 MS events, and countless other cycling events including Ride the Rockies, Cycle Colorado, Bicycle Tour of Colorado and more.
The four founders with their unmatched experience from their extensive professional careers, community involvement leadership, fitness, and drive for creating exceptional, safe participant experiences established a tremendous foundation for Ready2Roll Cycling.
