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ConocoPhillips Bike Club
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions


We are going to put all of our good questions/answers on this page in the hopes that you find your answers here. If you don't find the answer here, on the links page, or on the training calendar, email your team captain. If they don't know the answer, ask Steve...




What should I wear for cold weather riding?

Click here to read Steve's revised "What to Wear in the Cold" document. For a comprehensive answer to this question, click here and read response #4 for one NYC rider's opinion. My only additions to his chart are that knee warmers work well for temperatures between 50 - 60 degrees, and I second Steve's opinion of Gore's Windstopper™ shells. My Windstopper™ shell works so well that a sleeveless base layer, short-sleeved jersey, and the shell can handle temps into the low 40's.

How can I learn more about cycling?

Your team captain will be emailng you all sorts of good cycling information during the lead-up to the BP MS150. You will also receive many (long) emails from Steve over the next three months. If you stil need more reading material, there are the Interwebs... A good place to start is Bicycling Magazine's Training Archive. Once you've read everything on that Web site, I'd suggest going to VeloNews. VeloNews is geared more towards racing, but they have advice from expert coaches and bike techs. BikeForums is a good online forum to visit if you want to discuss cycling and get opinions from other cyclists (as with any forum, take any advice with a grain of salt).

What do I need to know about riding in the rain?

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. Click here to read Philip Booth's "How-To: Ten Ways to Mock the Rain" from Road Bike Action Magazine.

What should I expect on the training series rides?

The purpose of this training series is two fold. First, and foremost, we want to ensure that you are in proper condition to complete the 2010 BP MS 150 and complete each training ride safely. Second, we want to ensure that you have a lot of fun before and during the ride to Austin and make a lot of new friends in the process.

The large group means that there should be riders who ride at your pace, no matter what it is. PLEASE introduce yourself to the riders around you - this makes a HUGE difference in how easy and fun it is to get to Austin. Please also remember to talk to the riders in your group to inform them about road hazards, when you are slowing, stopping, etc.

There will be one or more rest stops at designated spots along the route. These will be pointed out at the pre-ride orientation. We will be providing snacks, water, and sports drinks at these stops.

PLEASE remember to initial the rider sheet before you start the ride and, ESPECIALLY, after you return to the finish. This helps us know that you have finished the ride. We may call your phone just to confirm you finished if you haven't checked in at the finish. Steve reserves the right to call at about 2:00 am to make sure you aren't too busy when he's making sure you're ok.

What do I need to bring to each training ride?

  • Carpool - You will hear this many more times over the next several months, but carpooling is very necessary. Mny of the towns we visit do not have the parking space available to handle our group if we all drive. Visit our Classifieds to find other riders near you to share the drive with.

  • Equipment - Bike, helmet (No exceptions - No helmet, No ride!), shoes, water bottles (filled), etc.

  • Spare tube (or tubes) for your size tires. We have Ride Marshal support, but they can't carry enough tubes for everyone.

  • Bottles filled with water/sports drink - We will provide drinks at designated spots on the ride but we don't have the room or ability to provide drinks before the ride.

  • Cell phone (turn it on after the midpoint of the ride).

I enrolled in the training series, but how do I pay?

Please note that if you elected to participate in the optional training series and have not paid yet, you need to mail your payment or send it online via PayPal. The checks are payable to the ConocoPhillips Bike Club and are mailed to the address below. The PayPal payment is sent to the bike club care of Steve's e-mail address - steve.e.moskowitz@conocophillips.com. Click here to go to the PayPal payment page. Please remember to note the full names(s) of the riders covered on the memo line of the check or a Post-it attached or note this in the PayPal notes field. It is sometimes very hard to figure out who the payment is for if you don't tell us.

If you don't know how to pay via PayPal, please read the directions on their web site or ask a techie friend. It's easy but I don't have time to explain it to new PayPal users.

Checks should be mailed to:
ConocoPhillips Bike Club
Attn: Steve Moskowitz
11027 Holworth
Houston, TX 77072

When the weather is bad, can you postpone the ride until Sunday?

Unfortunately, No. The main reasons are that our community approvals, volunteers, law enforcement, porta-lets, etc are all scheduled for Saturday and it is not possible to change these on such short notice. Even if we could change all these logistical details, we also go to great lengths to schedule our rides to not conflict with the MS Recommended Rides as well as the other two fairly large training series - Schlumberger and Chevron/ExxonMobil, etc.

How do I find driving directions for each ride?

Because we have riders coming from all over town, the easiest way to find directions is to read this Driving Directions How-To Guide to learn how to use our Training Calendar's advanced map features. Steve will usually include some basic driving directions in the Wednesday email, but if you follow the How-To Guide, you can have personalized directions from your own driveway.

How do I use the new classifieds/carpool listing?

Last year, we switched to a really ugly, but ad-free classified/carpool forum. This year, we are experimenting with a slightly less ugly, but hopefully very useful classified program for carpools and bike/equipment sales. Since it is free, I can't make the "Noah's Classifieds" title disappear, but this looks like it will work pretty well.

Here's a few quick how-to pointers for Noah's Classifieds: If you want to post a bike or equipment for sale/trade, if you are looking for a bike or equipment, if you have an available spot in your carpool, or if you are looking for a carpool to ride with, you need to register. I 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. You do not have to create an account to look at or reply to classified postings.

Putting up a new listing is pretty simple, and you can go back and make changes if you need to change the price, carpool meet time, etc. 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 left navigation bar. Click register to create a login, or login if you've already done so. Click on bikes, and you will see the sample posting I put there. Click 'Submit ad' to start the process. Enter a title: Great beginner bike, etc. Attach a picture (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 Aaron (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. I 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 like this:

from: aaron@bikebams.org
to: your email address
subject: Reply to your posting

Thank you for using our system!

Following is the response to your 'Dream Bike' listing, posted through our website:

Information about inquiring person:
Name: Person
Email: theirname@email.com
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Nice bike. Can you bring it along to Saturday's beginner ride
so we can see if it will fit my kid?
I'm on Team XYZ, and my cell is (123) 456-7890

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To reply to this message please click on 'Reply' button in your email client.
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How do I use the Google calendar?

For those of you new to the ConocoPhillips Training Series, here is a little review of how the online training calendar works: Bookmark the training series website so that you can easily go to the home page and click the Training Calendar link on the left navigation bar. Do not bookmark the calendar itself, because the link is not permanent. ConocoPhillips Training Rides are marked CoPTS (in red) and National MS Society Recommended Rides are marked in green with a little bicycle icon. To get more information about any ride, click on the event and enjoy the data. The National MS Society BP MS150 Recommended Rides are optional, but very helpful in building your fitness and endurance. The recommended rides are not part of the ConocoPhillips Training Series, are not free, and we are not responsible for the details in the NMSS postings. It is highly suggested to verify details on the organizers' websites (and register early to save money) instead of just showing up the morning of a ride.

The calendar details have not been finished, several of the routes are still being designed, and we do not suggest printing maps at home. It is quite common that changes are made up until the last minute to ensure the safety of our riders, and the maps aren't printed until Thursday or Friday before the ride (the version provided at the ride start has emergency contact info on the back side, but we don't put the contact info on the online version). Steve's 15-page Wednesday email will also include important details about the route (ride single file on the narrow stretch, stop at the stop sign by the big barn, etc.) For most of the routes, our map team will also provide Garmin GPS files.