I've been going nonstop since finishing the MS150 bike tour, which I affectionately refer to as "The Great 172-mile Training Ride." This year I managed to take care of myself pretty well in the week leading up to the tour, tapering my triathlon training so I'd be as rested as possible. I was pretty nervous leading up to the ride because my longest training ride was only 32 miles. This would also be a big test of my recent change to a (mostly) vegan, gluten-free diet. I've been surprised at what a difference the new foods have made, but that's a topic for another post.
I was telling a tap dance buddy of mine that I wondered if I was overdoing it to do the MS ride and train for the Cap Tex triathlon. Then I found out that several of my triathlon teammates were doing the MS ride, too, and thought, OK, I'm not so crazy after all. To which she replied "insanity loves company." So true. There are worse kinds of insanity. This is one I can live with.
The greatest thing about this, my fifth MS150, was that I had asked more people in my family to support me. I had also told many of my friends that I was doing the ride, and was overwhelmed by the well-wishes and moral support that I received. It made for an extraordinary ride. It had been seven years since I had attempted the MS150, and while my circumstances were similar, I was clearly a different person this time around. Stronger, more focused on why I was there, and more present for myself throughout the ride.
We were blessed with ideal cycling conditions - overcast skies, cool breezes, and predominant tailwinds. Really the best conditions I can remember of all the 150s I've done. But what was even more magical was the strength I felt as I rode. Especially the first day. I spent well over six hours in the saddle, pedaling along, and much of the way I felt both propelled and carried along by the support of my family and friends who had told me they'd be thinking of me that weekend. I also felt strongly connected to my Aunt Jan, for whom I was riding. There were so many moments where I felt sheer gratitude well up in my heart. Gratitude for the support I received from others, gratitude for the opportunity to be of service to my aunt, who suffers from MS, and gratitude for the ability to be out there on my bike, riding, riding, and riding. Most of the time it felt like I was flying, hardly working at all. So, to my friends and family who supported me, in more ways than they knew, Thank you. You made this the best MS150 ever.
Other notable happenings on the ride included sightings of scissortail flycatchers, and roadsides teeming with wildflowers, especially the field of bluebonnets where several Jersey cows were resting, clearly making the best use of their time. My favorite town to ride through was Fayetteville, where it seemed like the whole town had come out to line the streets to greet us, blowing bubbles and cheering us on, with signs welcoming us to their town. Heartwarming, too, were the people living with MS who thanked us as we rode by. I smiled a whole lot on this ride, and that was wonderful. Here's a photo from the first day of the ride.
