Last month, 18 Peter Mayer employees completed Bike MS, each riding 150 miles to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research. We caught up with a few of them before the big weekend and learned just what it takes to accomplish such a feat.
What is your name and what do you at PM?
Gary Alipio: I arrange words to make sentences.
Nicole Parks: Senior Account Executive
Matt Kyte: Senior Developer, Team Captain
Emily Edson: Junior Account Executive
Val McKay: Senior Director, Integrated Production
George Morse: Senior Interactive Designer
Nate Batts: Developer
What kind of bicycle do you have?
GA: Vintage 1990 Mongoose mountain bike, 21-speed
NP: Raleigh Capri 3.0 – http://www.raleighusa.com/archive/2012-road/capri-3-0-12/
MK: It’s a 2009 Salsa Pistola frameset with lots of nice shiny things on it.
EE: Torker InterUrban
VM: Specialized Dolce
GM: Specialized Allez
NB: Cannondale CAAD10
Why did you choose the bicycle you chose?
GA: Santa forgot to bring me the only item on my 10 year-old holiday list that year: Mongoose Bike.
NP: Great ride, fits my short stature well, and the bike is hot.
MK: I’d been looking for a lightweight steel frame for some time. From experience, I knew the geometry of the Salsa was what I was looking for, but they stopped making this frame a couple of years ago so there aren’t many around, especially in my size. After looking for probably a year, one in my size finally popped up on eBay, and I managed to snag it.
EE: Rails to trails, baby.
VM: It’s an affordable first road bike. I’m new to cycling and was looking for a decent bike at a decent price. So far, so good.
GM: It was cheap. I bought it off of a friend for $100.
NB: It was the only bike in New Orleans that would fit my freakishly awkward frame. I’m 6’4″ and have the strength of six men.
Any special mods to your bike?
GA: Rhino bars, lots of grease and a few self-inflicted dents – makes it look mean.
NP: Added an odometer.
MK: I’m a bike dork and would love to write an entire essay about every minute component choice I’ve made on this bike. I guess the short, less boring answer is, everything is special. This thing is pretty close to perfect for me right now.
EE: Possibly some hot pink grips for my handlebars… Oh and Shimano Total Integration (STI) – makes for easy gear shiftin’.
VM: Just clipless pedals so far, but again, I’m new to this.
GM: None.
NB: While not technically part of the bike, I bought some Giro shoes that make a handful of goose down feathers feel heavy. They make me feel fast.
What have you done to train for the ride?
GA: Rides, runs and reunite with an old friend: BENGAY.
NP: Ride three to four times a week, with longer rides on the weekend. The 60 mile Tour de Tangiphoa was a great training ride.
MK: Mostly doing the weekend levee rides that JVP has been organizing but also some mountain biking trips and organized road rides on the Northshore. Longest ride so far this year has been 60 miles at the Tour de’ Tangipahoa.
EE: Levee riding plus cross training
VM: I followed a training plan that charted out weekday rides and then long rides for the weekends. For the weekday rides, I got up at 5:00 a.m. to get my ride in before work. Once I get to work, I never know what time I’m going to get to go home, so early in the morning was the only sure time for me.
GM: I started riding on the weekends back in May. In August, I started riding in the weekly Bike MS training rides on the Northshore.
NB: I commute 5.5 miles (11 round trip) every day for the last 10 weeks. I also try to get another 40-50 miles in on the weekend. I try to average 100 miles every week.
How many miles have you ridden?
GA: Enough I hope, but according to RunKeeper app, 454.9 miles
NP: Over 500.
MK: Not sure really; annually, I probably do somewhere between 2,500 – 3,500 miles, but I don’t log every ride.
EE: Lots.
VM: Over 1,000 miles in preparation, starting roughly in June.
GM: Around 1,500.
NB: My handy-dandy Strava iPhone app tells me I’ve ridden about 1,000 since mid-July.
How often do you ride?
GA: Two to three times a week (many shorties but sweet).
NP: About four times a week for the last three and a half months.
MK: I’m on the bike at least six days a week. I commute to work every day, then try to get at least one weekend ride in.
EE: I don’t own a car – so my bike’s gotta get me far.
VM: Three weekdays and at least one weekend per week.
GM: I try to do a couple long rides on the weekends.
NB: Six days a week.
Any apps you recommend for training?
GA: RunKeeper (in cycle mode), it has a GPS and lets you pause and resume and tune out on your playlist.
NP: I’ve been using the RunKeeper app, which has a cycling tracker.
MK: For iPhone, Cyclemeter is good, but I’ve recently switched to using Strava. I think the social/competitive aspect of it is really great. The biggest shortcoming for me is the battery life on my old iPhone. Planning on getting a Garmin Edge 500 Cycling GPS soon.
EE: Your brain… so wear a helmet.
VM: Strava and Biking Log PRO.
GM: Strava.
NB: There’s only one – Strava.