Frost Bike 50 Too Frosty!

Last Sunday marked the unofficial start to the biking season with the Frost Bike 50. Frosty it was. We were registered for the 45 mile ride--not too short, not too far for the first ride of the season--but when we got to the start, plans quickly changed.

Sarah, suffering from a cold, and the near 30 degree temps pushed us to go easy and only do 17 miles, which was easy enough. Amanda did well for her first ride, although preparing for the cold with appropriate gear and dress--bike gear or just plain old clothes--still seems to be her weakness.

So how leisurely was our 17 mile jaunt? Afterwards, Amanda bemoaned the fact that she probably had not burned off the lean pocket she ate for breakfast, and that was probably true.

But the day was not a total waste. Amanda managed to score a brand new bike out of it courtesy of, well me. Borrowing Jeff Barnes bike for the interim proved to be unworkable, as the big was a tad too long for Amanda's shorter torso. So now she gets to ride a women specific Specialized in yellow and white (her choice of colors).

No rides this coming weekend as well, they are all too far away, and Amanda's father is here to come look at the new house that we are buying. A trip to the Memrioal PArk picnic loop may be in order for Sunday though to learn the proper use of the gears and shifting.

Rides Start in Two Weeks!

I've got to get into the storage shed in the backyard, peel through some cobwebs and hopefully find my bike and a bottle of WD-40. The chain is probably pretty sticky. After wiping off the thick layer of dust and greasing the drivetrain, the bike should be in pretty good shape. I'll be breaking in my new wheelset, which I obtained in part with the gift certificate reward I received last year from the MS Society.

Frost Bike 50 is on January 27! It ought to be fun seeing Amanda's first foray into long distance riding. Hopefully all that gear I got her for Hanukkah will last more than one ride...

My first email should be comign out soon...

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...