With the BP MS150 bike ride some 4-5 months away, many riders are already getting in shape to prepare for the big 150 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin (shhh ... it’s really 180 miles.). What some riders hadn’t counted on – but found out recently – is that this year’s preparations also included posing for the perfect photograph for a national magazine.

Magazine photographer shoots team practice ride.

Now, thanks to a recent photo shoot for Bicycling Magazine, some BP MS150 riders can add “model” to their resume. “As an avid cyclist, the possibility of being in Bicycling Magazine is really exciting,” said Todd Hauser, Team BP co-captain. “And to represent BP and the National MS Society ... wow!”

Hauser and eight other Team BP riders recently participated in a group of 40 riders from the BP MS150 in a photo shoot for the National MS Society (NMSS) held at George Bush Park. The photo shoot was being conducted because the NMSS is taking out a four-page advertisement in the March 2010 Bicycling Magazine promoting the 100 NMSS biking events across America.

“The dedication, passion and record-setting participation and fundraising in the BP MS150 made Houston a natural location for the photo shoot that will highlight the excitement of participating in more than 100 National MS Society biking events across the country,” said Debbie Pope, executive vice president, Community Development and Marketing, NMSS Lone Star Chapter.

When the magazine is published, the four-page ad spread will be inside the cover and will fold out – making for an impressive spread. Not many people reading the magazine, though, will ever know how much effort went into making the perfect picture.

“They took two different kinds of shots – a solo shot and a group shot,” Hauser said. “For the solo shot, I rode the same 100 yards up a hill about 20 times. For the group shot, we all rode up the hill about 10 times.”

All told, the cyclists were on location for more than three hours.

Still, Amanda Banduch, Team BP member and leader of the volunteer effort for the 2010 ride, said, “Re-shooting so many times wasn’t too bad, especially since I was able to work my way up to the front of the group so I might be more noticeable in the pictures! However, since I had run a half-marathon two days earlier, I could definitely feel my legs starting to weaken.”

In the end, though, it was all worth it.

“It was a really neat experience to be asked to be part of a national magazine photo shoot, but what makes it even better is knowing that it helps promote such a wonderful cause - fundraising around the nation for Multiple Sclerosis,” Banduch said.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder the NMSS came to Houston for the photo shoot.

“The BP MS150 continues to be the top fundraising event across the country, funding more research, programs and support for 400,000 individuals affected by MS in the United States,” Pope said.