Well, folks, it is time to start the whole MS150 process again (8 months and 1 day after my last post!).
You may note a couple changes if you look at the banner to the blog here. To point them out:
- Different Ride - I will be riding the Bike MS: Sam's Club Ride this year in the DFW area instead of Houston to Austin (more below)
- Different Name - The National MS Society has dropped the "MS150" term even though I am still using it for consistency. The rides are now "Bike MS" events. I think that the only real reason is that the "150" part of the name has become irrelevant to most of the rides (not a distance or a required fundraising goal).
A couple other personal changes which I will briefly mention here.
- New Bike - For some reason I decided this fall that I couldn't survive without owning a road bike again. So I bought one. I will post later on the specifics, but it is a Masi (U. S.) bike. Nothing fancy, just a little better for road riding than my mountain frame (lighter, stiffer, more appropriate drive train).
- New Bike Computer - If you saw my training logs from last year, or even read my summary log of last year's MS 150 below, you will note that I had some reliability issues with my bike computer. Hopefully I have solved these issues by getting a new one. We see if it does in fact last the training season!
Allow me to elaborate on the change of venue for the ride. I have a couple of reasons for the change. First and foremost, the registration for the BP MS150 was only open 7 hours and 10 minutes (according to my source), and I didn't even think of looking at the registration site until about 23 hours after registration opened. However, I can't say that I am disappointed by the change. I completed the Sam's Club MS150 two years ago, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The ride is less crowded (3500-4000 riders versus 13,000), and the route is a little more diverse (more hills; rolling terrain; fewer long, flat sections; trees on day one). Also, my sister and her family live in Dallas, so I have a natural connection to the area.
Since my work group does not have a team for the Dallas event, I will be riding with the team with whom I rode two years ago. They are an open team loosely affiliated with one of the hospitals in Dallas. (I think my sister was a patient in the MS clinic there a few years ago, and this is how the connection was made for my brother-in-law.) They have a nice support group, and they were most friendly to me two years ago when I was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger wearing their jersey. My brother-in-law is also registered to ride with them again this year.
Fun fact: The Bike MS Sam's Club Ride utilizes the Texas Motor Speedway for it's over-night venue. It is a natural fit, since there is lots of open space for team tents, lots of parking, permanent bathroom facilities, and easy access to the Interstate. Plus, for the enjoyment of the cyclists, Sunday morning starts with an optional lap of the race-track. Of course, the banking in the turns is so steep that you can't actually get on the track, but even riding a lap of the track apron is pretty cool (at least for a Southern boy like me)!
Well, I won't really start training until the new year, but I thought that I would go ahead an post an update to let everyone know that I am getting started again.
Note that if you would like to support my ride by making a donation to the MS Society, there is a link near the top of the right hand column of the page to do so.
Thanks for your support of the MS Society and of my efforts to support them. I look forward to another year of training and riding, and I will do my best to keep everyone updated on my progress!
God Bless,
JAy.
