Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving. Didn't go riding again today, but I did run. Thanks for reminding me Sarah.

In Memoriam -- Howard M. Bergtraum

Last week was quite the week for me and my family. On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 13, 2007, my dad received one of the saddest calls he, and we as a family, have ever recceived. The call brought word that Howie Bergtraum had passed away after his breif battle with cancer.


Howie was my dad's best friend since they were 5 years old. My dad introduced himself to Howie as "Butch", and that set the stage for the next 56 years of their relationship in which Howie would pretty much always get a laugh at my father's expense.

When I was two years old, my family moved from our apartment in Forest Hills to our house on Pasture Lane, just down the bock from the Bergtraums. Since then, I could never imagine my life without Howie, Susan, Jordan, Matt and Andrea. Howie, was like my second father, and even, on occasion, yelled at me as if I were another member of the family (growing up on Pasture Lane together, the Roslyns and the Bergtraums always found a way to get into trouble--that's what 4 boys and 2 girls do). Of course, the incident that made me so scared of Howie that I'd run home whenever I saw him, was when he yelled at me and Andrea for sticking our fingers into the spokes of a stationary bike while the other was riding it.

Beyond his intimidating exterior, though, was a brilliant mind, a pillar of ethical and moral behavior and a caring, generous and loyal soul who always put his family and friends first. He was always willing to give of his time and energy to charities and to his community.

Throughout the years, Howie gave so much to my family, and we have shared so many special moments with the Bergtraums that I don't know if I could ever show them how special they all are to me and my family, or ever repay to them what they and Howie have given to us.

This year, I will be riding in memory of Howie. Although, he did not suffer from MS, his generous nature and inspirational character are more than worth being remembered and honored.

We all will miss him greatly.

The 300 Club

I found out recently that I was part of the 300 Club, which, as the MS Scoiety calls it, "is an elite group of the top 300 fundraisers for the MS-150." This year's 300 Club raised nearly $3.3 million in donations, an increase of $598,788.27 from the amount the previous 300 Club raised.

Of the 13,000 plus riders from last year's ride, I was the 294 highest donations earner. This is truly an honor, as well as a tribute to all who donated to this special cause.

Thank you to all of you who donated!!!

Just Starting Out

Ok. So in an effort to share my training, progress, thoughts, feelings, and reactions on the MS-150 Bike Ride and the training season leading up to the Big Ride, I am starting this here little blog. For those of you who don't know what the MS 150 is, it is a 2-day bike ride form Houston to Austin with about 13,000 participant riders. This year will be my third year f participation in the MS 150. Last year I was fortunate enough to ride with my sister-in-law, Sarah Morgan, and friend, Jesse Dickerman. We proved to be a pretty good trio, as we all rode the same pace throughout the rides. This year, my wife, Amanda, is getting involved. I guess she got tired of sleeping in and spending all of those Sunday mornings between January and April alone. Most of you probably remember her from the infamous email as the "swollen pudding cup." Also, our friend and riding aficionado, Chris Tracy, is back from dominating the velodromes in Boston to join us on our rides.

With this blog, you will, hopefully, get to see what happens on those 4-hour long training rides and how we all manage to keep ourselves entertained while ignoring the sometimes cold weather, the rain, the wind and especially that dull pain you feel in your crotch after sitting on a bike for 4 hours.

Of course, the ultimate purpose of this blog and of all of the MS 150 riders is to raise money for and awareness of MS. Here is a link to my donor page for the MS 150:

MS-150 Online Donation Page

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Adventure...