What Bike should I ride?

About this time of the process (a week and a half before the event) we usually get asked a few questions about bikes. Hopefully you've already resolved what you'll be riding a week on Sunday, but if not here are a few thoughts on what to ride and how to prepare it.

Mountain/Hybrid/Comfort

• PRO: Comfortable, wide gearing to help on hills, resistant to flats. Best choice for novices, especially on the 30-mile route.


• CON: Slow & heavy, especially inexpensive or downhill-specific bikes. Your bike can easily weigh as much as two road bikes, and you will feel it on the bigger hills on the 60 and 100 mile routes.


• ADVICE: Get narrow tires & tubes designed for road riding. They have noticeably less drag than fat dirt tires. See the earlier blog entry here If you have full suspension and it can be locked out, do so - all that bobbing is wasted energy...

Road/Race

• PRO: Light, fast, aerodynamic. Best choice for the 100-mile route.


• CON: Uncomfortable to uninitiated, more flat tires, more fragile, narrower gearing means more effort to get up hills, but you will go faster.


• ADVICE: Make sure you're used to it before ride day, and bring spare inner tubes. If you're using clipless pedals for the first time, one word: don't

Unicycle/Tandem/Recumbent
If you own one of these, you don't need advice from people like us....

Kawasaki 750/Yamaha R1
errr not a good idea my friend....

To prepare your bike
Make sure it is in good working order before ride day. You don't want to discover on Sunday morning that one pedal is missing and both tires are flat. Check your bike out at least one week in advance so you'll have time to fix any problems. Participating shops will inspect your bike for free and give you a 10% discount on gear.
The day before the ride, pump up your tires to the maximum pressure listed on them. This will give you a free speed boost and greatly reduce your risk of flats.
If you are doing the 60 or 100 mile routes, remove locks, racks, kiddie seats, and other heavy items that will weigh you down on the hills.
Bring a full water bottle (not a glass bottle of Snapple; you will drop it, it will smash on the FDR and the guy behind you will curse you as he gets a flat), a patch kit, tire levers, and a pump are useful but not essential (there will be other kind souls who should help you if you have a problem).

Gearing up for the Ride - Part 1: clothing

This is the 1st in a series of posts over the next few weeks on preparing for the ride. Its not meant to intimidate - just some useful advice on what to get/do/prepare for 10/14; Part 1 is clothing.

Like any outdoor activity the secret to a fun ride on the 14th will be layers. You'll be starting at 7:30 in the morning on the Westside highway (you did know it was early in the morning right?) So its likely to be in the low 50's at the start. We recommend an undershirt (preferably not cotton as sweat not be pulled away from you), a mid layer (like a cycling jersey) and some easy to remove outer layer (fleece, lightweight jacket or sweatshirt if you're not feeling too technical).
As the sun rises (The MS Society assure me that the sun is booked for the 14th) and you start the ride, you'll begin to warm up. Having somewhere to put your outer layer (jersey pocket, knapsack or similar) is much better than wrapping it round your handlebars (not to mention much safer).
You don't have to wear cycling shorts, but if you do you might want to look at getting knee warmers or tights for the 1st hour or so in the saddle. If you have an aversion to lycra, comfortable shorts or pants that are not too baggy should be the order of the day.
If you have cleats & cycling shoes, its unlikely to be cold so overshoes are not likely to be needed. If you have conventional pedals, sneakers are ok, but if you want to ride the 60 or 100, you might want to look to upgrade to s shoe with a more rigid sole (to transfer more of your energy into the drivetrain - here's an example).
If you're looking to upgrade your biking wardrobe, the online cycle stores have good returns policies and great prices - if you order now you'll have plenty of time to exchange items before the ride if there's a problem with sizing or style (contra to what you might have been told, fluorescent colors are not the new black). Nashbar, Colorado Cyclist, Performance Bike and REI amongst others are worth checking out.

Frequently Asked Questions: Joining the team

Answers to some of the oft asked questions about joining Team CS:

(1) You don't need to work at Credit Suisse to join us - frankly you don't even need to know anyone at CS to join us. You'll find that we're a friendly team that welcomes all riders of all abilities.

(2) You don't need to be free the day of the ride (Sunday, October 14th). You can be a "virtual rider" and do the miles on your own or even in the gym. Sign up and just let us know that you plan to do the miles on your own & in your own time.
(3) CS team riders do not have to ride together. You can ride with us, with friends on other teams, or on your own, at any pace you choose. Its a ride and not a race - take you time to checkout the city.

(4) The MS Tour is not just for Lance Armstrong types. Every year we see kids on BMX bikes and people on tandems, old and young participating. Even if your bike isn't the latest and greatest and your legs aren't made of steel you can take part in our team...