Wow...what a weekend (MS150)

TXBatman · 04-20-2011, 12:12 PM

Well, the culmination of all my hard work this spring has come and gone. My wife and I rode in the BP MS150 from Houston to Austin last weekend. We started from our house instead of one of the official start locations because it allowed us to sleep in until 5:30am instead of having to get up at 4am to pack up, drive to the start, park, setup, and then get in line for the 6:45am start. Instead, we woke up, fed the cats, loaded our bikes up with water bottles, and headed down the driveway. We live about two miles from the route, so it was a short trip to join the other riders passing by.

In all, there were about 12,000 riders starting from three different locations. Depending on where you started, the distance to the day one finish was 98, 80, or 65 miles. From our house, it was about 95 miles. The day started quite cool (for Houston), around 42F with no clouds and no wind. After the sun started rising, the temps climbed into the 70s and the wind became a moderate to strong crosswind from the north northeast. The other big weather factor that would impact the day was the humidity...it was around 10% at the peak of the afternoon heat (super dry from Houston) and it caused quite a few folks to get dehydrated and need medical attention because they didn't realize how much they were sweating.

When we joined the rest of the riders, I gave my wife a quick kiss and then we split up to ride our own rides. I quickly found a good drafting partner riding for the Dow Chemicals cycling team. We rode together for about 45 miles before parting ways at the lunch stop.

It was interesting talking to him about MS once he found out I have it. It was clear from his questions that he was one of many for whom the cycling is the focus of the event, and he didn't have a real close personal connection to MS. I was happy to talk to him about what MS does and how the money being raised was used to help in various ways.

After lunch, the dry air and increasing warmth started to take its toll. I was drinking alot more and stopping more frequently in the shade to try to cool off as the day went on. I was making good time still until I had a spoke on my rear wheel break at about mile 80. I had just left a break point and managed to get a ride back to the bike repair tent at the break point. Unfortunately, they didn't have a spoke to fit my bike. So I had them zip tie it to my other spokes and headed out the 8 miles to the next break point.

At the next break point, I was able to get it fixed, but after waiting for a ride back to the other break point and waiting in line at two repair tents, my legs were starting to tighten and cramp up, and my wife had caught up to me. So we left together and rode the last 9 miles or so to the finish together. I felt really relieved to cross the finish line and managed to avoid getting as emotional as I usually do hearing all the people cheering us on.

The best part of day one was getting to ride through Fayetteville, Texas twice due to the broken spoke. I can't ever really adequately describe what makes Fayetteville so special on this ride except to ask if you can imagine everybody in a really small town turning out for a Fourth of July parade...except the parade is 12,000 cyclists passing through town over the course of 4-5 hours. These people have music playing, bubble machines running, cowbells ringing, people dancing, clapping, cheering, high-fiving riders, etc. for hours and hours and hours all day long.

No matter how far you have ridden, how hard it has been, how hot it is, how bad every part of you hurts, it all goes away for just a few minutes as you pass through Fayetteville. I get choked up trying to even type about it, much less tell people about it. Let's just say that Fayetteville is a special place filled with a special kind of people and I thank them with all my heart for what they do for the riders every year.

Day two was a bit of a letdown for me. I hardly slept at all that night in the team tent. Maybe 1-2 hours tops. I was laying there hungry and I think my stomach worked overtime producing stomach acid, such that when I finally woke up and drank something at 5am, it rebelled and I spent the next 2 hours trying to keep from throwing up while the riders left and our volunteers packed up all our sleeping gear. I got my sister to drop me off at the lunch break 35 miles into the route and waited for my wife to get there. By then I was feeling a little better and I rode the remaining 33 miles to the finish with her.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy could it? Nope...1 mile from the end, I broke another spoke in my rear wheel (and no, for those asking, that is not normal). This time, the spoke that broke left my rear wheel out of alignment and rubbing on my bike frame with each rotation. I just zip tied the spoke to another for safety, gritted my teeth, and rode the last mile, because there was no way I wasn't going to cross the finish line in Austin.

The finish line in Austin is a magical place. Thousands of people stacked 2-3 and sometimes 4 deep along both sides of the road cheering for the riders as they finish their ride in the shadow of the state capital. I am always glad I have a helmet and sunglasses on to hide the tears streaming down my face when I see it.

If you ever have the chance, go see it for yourself. Seeing it for the first time after I had been dxed is probably one of the top 5-7 most moving experiences of my life. Seeing it from the outside is nothing compared to being in the middle of it as a rider passing through and crossing the finish line. My only complaint is that it goes by so fast I always want to take another lap and do it again.

After finishing, we found out that my wife had beaten most of the riders from our team that she started with to the finish line. She has worked SO hard training the last year and rode so well. I am immensely proud of what she has accomplished, both as a cyclist, but also just in the personal dedication to achieving the goals we set out for ourselves. I am rarely prouder than when I cross the finish line with her each year, and I hope we get to do so together for many years to come.

Thanks for reading all of this if you made it this far and thanks for being the wind beneath my wings each year. The Batdanna signed by many of you and by many others with MS who I have met made another ride tied securely to my seatpost with me. I always love the chance to talk to other riders and spectators about MS while I am riding and make sure to tell them about all the people I am riding for. Thanks for being here when I needed you!

TxBatman (Bill)

Kitty · 04-20-2011, 12:52 PM

I am just amazed at the folks that can accomplish this without MS. Even more so at the folks who manage this with MS. Thank you, Bill. And tell your wife thank you, too. I'm eternally grateful to you and all the others who do this challenge.

Hope you got your spoke fixed!

SallyC · 04-20-2011, 01:28 PM

Congratulation on yours and DW's successful ride and finish, this year...WooooHoooo!!!

Yes and thanks so much.

I'd like to ride through Fayetteville myself some day..

Dejibo · 04-20-2011, 02:50 PM

congrats and keep up the great work! you rock!

ewizabeth · 04-20-2011, 11:21 PM

Wow! You and your wife are an inspiration to me! I should sign up for the Illinois ride in June! My work has a matching program for money raised!!

freeinhou · 04-22-2011, 09:07 AM

Hey -

I looked for ya at the Omni last Friday...

Sorry you had some problems.

Congrats!

Tom

TXBatman · 04-22-2011, 12:56 PM

Yeah I never made it to the omni. I took the day off from work and spent it cleaning bikes, packing gear, etc. Sorry I missed you there.

TXBatman · 04-22-2011, 01:00 PM

Wiz, you should definitely try it at least once. It is a great experience and if you don't make it the whole way, there are always sag vans available to pick you up. The fundraising is really the key anyways...the riding is just a means toward that end.

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