car UP! car BACK! on your Left!

the 3 phrases i heard &/or repeated quite often thru out the weekend during the MS 150 Bike Ride. I need to write this post of the adventure that was this past weekend before i'm sucked back into reality & forget all that happened. even though my legs & butt probably won't ever let me forget it! this is long..so read at your own free will!

I knew this was all going to be an adventure from the get go when i went to pick up Tasha & couldn't get her bike to fit on my crappy old bike rack ...after many different attempts which included trying to take off the front tire & put it in my hatchback & even that was unsuccessful, we finally made it work! then after getting lost in a neighborhood full of rich houses, we finally found our place to crash for the night at Kristin's in-laws. after a restless night sleep before the big ride we were all awakened by the "Bike Time" song & dance alarm.

I was pretty freaking nervous about this bicycle ride. its no ordinary ride of 10 or 20 miles. No...it was 80.6 miles on Day 1 and then 80.4 miles on Day 2. i couldn't quite wrap my mind around what i had gotten myself into! i don't think any of the 4 of us could. but me, Kristin, Tasha & Ryan...aka Team Awesome, were about to attempt it. once we figured out where all our numbers went on our bikes, ourselves AND our luggage, we made our way to the starting line. as part of the final group to be sent off that first morning, we were on our way to who knows where!! well, we know we were gonna end up in Sedalia but no idea of the roads that were going to get us there!

it was all very exciting in the beginning & the first 30 miles seemed to fly by! we had to learn the biking lingo & get in the groove. very weird to think how fast it went but i think our adrenaline was just pumping so much it made our legs pump even harder! Thanks to Kristin for her constant supply of electrolyte pills every 10 miles! we stopped for lunch at 50 miles...talk about a swarm of people! i had never seen so many bikes in one spot. what a place to people watch too! all the different biking jerseys & just random people in general.

so with a stomach full of food & energy, we headed back out on road only to find ourselves in the worst part of the whole ride...hills, followed by some hills, but then we were lucky enough to have a few more hills after that! i only walked 1 of those hills. needless to say Rest stop # 6 saved my sanity by supplying me with the best frozen lemon ice i have ever craved! by this stage in the ride, the 4 of us knew we couldn't all stay together because we all rode at such different paces so we just made sure we met up at every rest stop to regroup & make sure we were each accounted for.

it was about half way thru Day 1 when i think we realized if any one of us were to get a flat tire, we'd need each of us to change it. I had a tube, Tasha had the CO2 cartridge, Kristin had the device for the CO2 & Ryan had the expertise on how to change a tire...we got lucky & none of us got a flat all weekend!!

as the day wore on, i grew more tired & my butt went numb, but i became more confident that i might actually finish this thing. it was mind over matter the whole weekend. i just kept telling myself..."only 10 more miles to the next rest stop? that just like a quick evening ride down Shoal Creek". or whenever i saw 1 mile to the next rest stop.."that's like riding from my house to Cookingham...no big deal! i got this!"

the big highlight about being the last one in my group to coast in at the end of the first 80.6 miles was that the rest of Team Awesome was there to cheer me on! sure there were tons of strangers i didn't know cheering too but it meant more coming from my friends.

Day 1 ended with free beer & lasagna in the Village, a bus ride to the memorable Sunset Motel run by Russians, shower shoes thanks to Kristin's flippy floppies, idol hands, Spider pig, winter socks, lights out & asleep by 8:30pm!

Day 2 was a whole new ball game. we had to be up by 4:45 (cue "Bike Time" alarm.) slow to rise but we made our way back to the fairgrounds by 5:45...excited that we were going to have pancakes for breakfast only to find out they hadn't even started making them. good thing there were beagles! we found some strangers to help bump up our tires, then got yelled at by the only rude person all weekend since we weren't lined up correctly at the starting line. oh well, we were still able to squeeze our way past the orange cones & start the ride as part of the first wave of bikers to leave at 7am.

Then the moment we all dreaded...sitting back on that tiny bike seat...i feared it greatly but in reality it wasn't as bad as i thought. all 4 of us quickly scattered again...plan was to meet up at RS#3 but i had to stop at RS#2 only because tons of bikers were stopping & blocking the road. then i realized i was outta water & had to use the rest room. plus there were peanut butter & jelly sandwiches while i waited in line. i think our official pictures were being taken at that rest stop & i hope so cuz i tried to make mine fun when i saw the cameras! =)

i was back on the road faced with a few more hills i wasn't too fond of. met back up with the group at RS#3...was told the worst of the hills was almost over. i believed that but none of us had a clue how horrible the wind would be later on. with each rest stop came sweet relief that i was that much closer to home. i was really starting to get worn out by this point. it didn't help that we were going up & down fairly easy hills but with winds up to 25mph coming straight at us, i felt like i was going no where & possibly being pushed backwards!

i've been asked how in the world i kept riding...all i can say is at some point your legs just go on autopilot & the rest of you is just along for the ride. i kept seeing SAG vehicles carrying loads of people onto the next rest stops. people were dropping out of this ride left & right...but here i was: only been riding maybe 3 months & even then only 2 MAYBE 3 times a week for max 10miles at a time. Hell, i've come this far, i'm not giving up now!! plus my dad donated a dollar for each mile i rode...it was only right i make that donation worth it. if i could finish this, i might make a few people proud of me...or even surprised at me or impressed by me! not that any of that mattered what so ever because i was just going to be astounded at myself if i finished this ride in one piece & it would all be for a great cause!

the last 30 miles were probably the hardest. i was out of energy...pb&j sandwiches only last so long! i found myself needing to take a breather every now & then especially after going down a big hill only to be matched with going up another...usually it wouldn't have been too bad except the wind had the audacity to steal all my momentum. i'd take wind out back in an ally & fight it if i could!

the last rest stop of Day 2 was only 5.4 miles from the end. another amazing frozen lemon ice recharged me & i was ready to "kick this bitch in the back!" i said these words but don't recall forming that sentence in my brain. that's when delusion must have kicked in. that was the longest 5.4 miles i have ever ridden but as i made it up that final hill, the rest of my team was waiting. Team Awesome was gonna ride the last 1/4 mile together across that finish line...and we did! Oooohhh YeeeaaahH!! plus we all got medals for our crazy attempt & conquer of a 161 mile bike ride!

this was the first time me, Kristin & Tasha had ridden in the MS 150 & we were surrounded by veteran riders. i quickly got used to being passed..no big deal. i'm always an underdog but i still managed to finish! it was actually encouraging for me to hear a stranger say "you're doing a great job...keep it up...or just keep peddling, just keep peddling!" those words of encouragement usually came at a moment when i was starting to lose confidence & needed it most.

i like to say that with my slow & steady pace, i road anchor for Team Awesome. but after all, we knew this wasn't a race but a ride. there was no need to bust our butts more than we had to in order to finish before anyone else. This was a ride for charity...a chance to do something amazing with an unbelievable group of people. I know i followed that motto mostly because i couldn't really go faster than any one else =) i just hope the rest of my team did the same & didn't lose sight of the purpose of this weekend!

Other weekend recaps (that i can remember right now):
-the Fun Police...the whole group was encouraging thru out the ride. i played leap frog with the same 2 members both days! crazy haired skinny guy & freakish mustache guy. they really were fun!

-Legs...sure many of them on bikes but none more memorable than "Legs" the guy who rode his bike so weird we swore he was bow-legged but we saw him walking around at a rest stop & he was fine...mystery..dude probably just needs a bigger bike!

-getting excited when i could hear someone with a radio strapped to their bike coming up behind me...only to be saddened when they passed me by & took the music with them.

-the most organized event of this capacity i have ever witnessed. and the most friendly staff & participants i've ever encountered.

-a bike built for 2 with the longest chain of life on it...still baffled about how they transported it.

-lady at a cross road really loving her job of waving flags to signal traffic. looked like she was trying to land a plane with them! oh man did she love those flags!

-kid on old school bike with only 1 gear...how he survived, i don't know!

-guy carrying all his luggage attached to his bike...including a backpack strapped to the side of his front tire...how was he not falling over?!

-guy with his legs wrapped up with ace bandages...still unsure of his story but i did pass him again half way thru Day 2 & he was being picked up by a SAG...he no finish.

-the horror that was white chocolate/seizure road...spend some money & improve the 2 1/2 miles of gravel road for crying out loud!!

-feeling the need to thank each & every person volunteering during this event...from the guy who took my luggage in the beginning, to the road side direction pointers, to the lady who gave me my frozen lemon ice, to the kids who retrieved my luggage at the fairgrounds, to our bus driver, to the old lady at RS#5 who pointed me in the right direction of water or Gatorade, to the lady making my pb&j sandwich, to the guy dancing at RS#7 while he cut up oranges, and of course to the girl who handed me my medal as i a crossed the finish line.

-despite the fact that i now have helmet pressure acne on my forehead, soar quads, a numb butt, a pretty sweet helmet strap tan & my right hand is only functional when in the handle bar position (its like my thumb forgot how to be opposable & it makes it hard to even turn the key to start my car!!) this was one hell of an experience & i'm honored to have had the chance to share it with an amazing group of friends. i am proud of all of us...we rock!

MS 150...bing bang boom....donezies!