I Survived!
Hello everyone. I survived the MS150, or in my case the MS75. Hubby did the entire thing and for that I am very proud of him. It wasn't easy.
But it was beautiful. The weather was perfect. We arrived in Memphis Friday night and went to an old BBQ place called Rondevu. Good brisket if you're ever in the area. The next morning we woke up very early and made our way to Graceland. I must say, we were pretty impressive in our Bad Dog jerseys. We registered and got our stuff ready. Last time it seemed we waited forever for the ride to start. This year I didn't even have a chance to stretch! The gun went off and we were on our way. I'd like to say for the first mile I led the pack. Then the really hard-core riders started and I was left in the dust.
The wonderful thing about this ride is the people. Each rest stop is staffed by at least 20 people. They yell, scream, hold up signs, hand out drinks, whatever it takes to keep us going. And it wasn't just the rest stops, either. Along the road people would stand outside of their houses cheering us on or just waving as we rode past. Traffic was incredibly understanding. People would sit at stop signs or stop lights until most of us had passed. After the first 10 miles we left the city and headed into rural Mississippi.
I passed the Jerry Lee Lewis ranch. He has a huge iron gate with a piano on it. I passed horses and their colts playing in the fields. I passed over babbling brooks, calm rivers, and tiny lakes. Most of the time I was alone, other cyclists would pass me periodically, but for the most part I set my own pace and enjoyed myself.
At every rest stop I would see my husband and some of our team. (They were usually leaving.) At the third stop it happened. I clipped out of my right shoe, and when I came to a stop proceeded to fall over on my left. I scratched my elbow and leg up some, but mostly I popped up like a mole and acted like it hadn't happened. Between that stop and lunch (the 40 mile mark) a wind kicked up. A strong one. And it was going the wrong way. I caught a ride with a very nice guy and asked him to drop me off at the last rest stop before our hotel. He managed to get lost...twice...but eventually we got there. The last 9 miles (or so they said, it was actually more like 12) were flat. Easy, right? Wrong! The headwind from hell blew continuously...no matter which direction I rode! How does that happen? Pushing my pedals was like trying to ride underwater. And what in the hell is that smell! The road to the hotel was bordered by cotton. they had sprayed the fields with a chemical that separated the boles from the stalk. It reeked. I finally got to the hotel and with arms and legs like jelly checked-in, took a shower, and sat in the lobby waiting for hubby.
The evening was mostly uneventful. Aside from the dining room being -32 degrees it was a nice time. During the day one of our riders had been hit by a car. He was okay aside from missing a lot of skin. He was in good spirits the last I saw him. Maybe it was the pain meds...
The next morning was not too pretty. Hubby and I were a bit sore. The man who'd been hit wore a T-shirt that read, "I am not a speed bump." We got back on our bikes and started out at 7:30 with everyone else. There was no wind today, so the flats were much more enjoyable. I made it to the first rest stop and decided to catch a ride to the third stop, just after THE WALL. If you've ever seen THE WALL, you know why it's capitalized. It is a monster. Long, steep, and unforgiving, this piece of road separates the boys from the men. I knew I couldn't do it, so I wanted to pick up right afterwards. I caught a ride with a FedEx guy.
Big mistake. An hour later he finally drops me off at my destination. What took so long? He likes to talk. To everyone. For a long time. See, FedEx sponsors the ride and they have a lot of riders. He had to stop and talk to each and every one. Then he had to get gas. Then he had to talk to the locals about the ride. Then he had to stop and talk to one of the MS organizers. All the while I'm sitting in the back of his truck with my knees around my ears. By the time I did get back to the ride my body had an hour to cool off. Picking it up again was hard. I only managed to ride 25 miles before I called it quits and headed to Graceland in a comfy van.
The rest of my afternoon was spent talking to other riders, eating good Memphis BBQ, drinking cold beer, and waiting for my husband. When he showed up I was so happy and proud! He looked and smelled like crap, but he'd done it! We packed our gear, grabbed lunch, and headed home. The drive home was the worst part. We were tired, sore, and still a little stinky. But we finally made it and slept like the dead (after a shower, of 'course).
Another MS under our belts. We had a good time. I don't know if we'll do it again next year, now that hubby has completed the thing I think he's done. We'll see. I still have to do the whole thing, I won't stop until I do.
Now I have to get back to the mountain of work that's waiting for me. Ta, y'all!
But it was beautiful. The weather was perfect. We arrived in Memphis Friday night and went to an old BBQ place called Rondevu. Good brisket if you're ever in the area. The next morning we woke up very early and made our way to Graceland. I must say, we were pretty impressive in our Bad Dog jerseys. We registered and got our stuff ready. Last time it seemed we waited forever for the ride to start. This year I didn't even have a chance to stretch! The gun went off and we were on our way. I'd like to say for the first mile I led the pack. Then the really hard-core riders started and I was left in the dust.
The wonderful thing about this ride is the people. Each rest stop is staffed by at least 20 people. They yell, scream, hold up signs, hand out drinks, whatever it takes to keep us going. And it wasn't just the rest stops, either. Along the road people would stand outside of their houses cheering us on or just waving as we rode past. Traffic was incredibly understanding. People would sit at stop signs or stop lights until most of us had passed. After the first 10 miles we left the city and headed into rural Mississippi.
I passed the Jerry Lee Lewis ranch. He has a huge iron gate with a piano on it. I passed horses and their colts playing in the fields. I passed over babbling brooks, calm rivers, and tiny lakes. Most of the time I was alone, other cyclists would pass me periodically, but for the most part I set my own pace and enjoyed myself.
At every rest stop I would see my husband and some of our team. (They were usually leaving.) At the third stop it happened. I clipped out of my right shoe, and when I came to a stop proceeded to fall over on my left. I scratched my elbow and leg up some, but mostly I popped up like a mole and acted like it hadn't happened. Between that stop and lunch (the 40 mile mark) a wind kicked up. A strong one. And it was going the wrong way. I caught a ride with a very nice guy and asked him to drop me off at the last rest stop before our hotel. He managed to get lost...twice...but eventually we got there. The last 9 miles (or so they said, it was actually more like 12) were flat. Easy, right? Wrong! The headwind from hell blew continuously...no matter which direction I rode! How does that happen? Pushing my pedals was like trying to ride underwater. And what in the hell is that smell! The road to the hotel was bordered by cotton. they had sprayed the fields with a chemical that separated the boles from the stalk. It reeked. I finally got to the hotel and with arms and legs like jelly checked-in, took a shower, and sat in the lobby waiting for hubby.
The evening was mostly uneventful. Aside from the dining room being -32 degrees it was a nice time. During the day one of our riders had been hit by a car. He was okay aside from missing a lot of skin. He was in good spirits the last I saw him. Maybe it was the pain meds...
The next morning was not too pretty. Hubby and I were a bit sore. The man who'd been hit wore a T-shirt that read, "I am not a speed bump." We got back on our bikes and started out at 7:30 with everyone else. There was no wind today, so the flats were much more enjoyable. I made it to the first rest stop and decided to catch a ride to the third stop, just after THE WALL. If you've ever seen THE WALL, you know why it's capitalized. It is a monster. Long, steep, and unforgiving, this piece of road separates the boys from the men. I knew I couldn't do it, so I wanted to pick up right afterwards. I caught a ride with a FedEx guy.
Big mistake. An hour later he finally drops me off at my destination. What took so long? He likes to talk. To everyone. For a long time. See, FedEx sponsors the ride and they have a lot of riders. He had to stop and talk to each and every one. Then he had to get gas. Then he had to talk to the locals about the ride. Then he had to stop and talk to one of the MS organizers. All the while I'm sitting in the back of his truck with my knees around my ears. By the time I did get back to the ride my body had an hour to cool off. Picking it up again was hard. I only managed to ride 25 miles before I called it quits and headed to Graceland in a comfy van.
The rest of my afternoon was spent talking to other riders, eating good Memphis BBQ, drinking cold beer, and waiting for my husband. When he showed up I was so happy and proud! He looked and smelled like crap, but he'd done it! We packed our gear, grabbed lunch, and headed home. The drive home was the worst part. We were tired, sore, and still a little stinky. But we finally made it and slept like the dead (after a shower, of 'course).
Another MS under our belts. We had a good time. I don't know if we'll do it again next year, now that hubby has completed the thing I think he's done. We'll see. I still have to do the whole thing, I won't stop until I do.
Now I have to get back to the mountain of work that's waiting for me. Ta, y'all!
posted by Barbarian02003 | Wednesday, September 19, 2007
3 Comments:
Hey... welcome back and congrats.
Your biking posts always make me long for my own bike. But it's up in the bike room, a common use room in our condo. Our bike room is ridiculously small, especially for the size of our building. There are so many bikes crammed in there it would likely take ten minutes to get mine out... and then I'd have to spend another ten getting Ms. The hun's out.
I haven't seen my ride in... ohhhh, maybe 3 years?... 4 maybe?
Our area sucks for riding anyway. Atlanta drivers are such agressive, inconsiderate moronic turds. Basically, if you aren't in a car, the only right you have is to get run over.
Another reason why I look forward to moving to Oregon... one day...
Sorry to hear it. MO drivers aren't much better, another reason my team rides in Memphis/Mississippi. Those people are great.
I saw a rider with a great T-shirt. It said SHARE THE LOVE. Underneath it was a driver on one side and a biker on the other, each flipping the other off.
Some of the bikers here aren't much better. I know that there are groups that bike en masse to get the spotlight on sharing the road, and I think that's great.
But a few months ago there was a similar group that i wanted to run the hell over. They were pulling out from a smaller road onto the main road where they had the stop sign. As you know, when you are the only one w/ a stop sign, you have to wait for trafic to clear... THEN you can go. Well this huge group of bikers were cruizing through the stop sign and had a guy on roller blades holding up his hand to stop traffic.
And of course we had to stop because they think they are such hot shit that they don't have to follow the rules of the road.
A cop even came by to try and stop them, but there wasn't a whole hell of a lot he could do.
It's such a shame that the whole Sharing the Road with bicycles thing is a real issue that drivers need to be made aware of. But then guys like those bicyclers damage their own arguement and the legitimacy of the cause by pulling shit like this.
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