Blustery Day and a Plea

Blustery day today riding towards Pullman. I was expecting Pooh and Piglet to come flying at me. Only got in a little over 4 miles (to the WalMart turnoff) with the wind blowing almost 25 mph in my face. The ride back home was a lot quicker. Ran into a little bit of what seemed like snow falling out of the sky. It is sure Spring in Moscow by this weather. At some point maybe it will start warming up. Really need to get out and ride more everyday.

Now for a plea to everyone that reads this. I am riding in a ride this August that supports Multiple Sclerosis. It is a two day ride in the McCall area. We cover 60 miles on the first day as we ride to the Burgdorf Y north of McCall. This is a very beautiful and scenic ride that has an ascent of 1590 feet over ten miles. The next day we take a little flatter approach to the ride as we travel south of McCall towards the Tamarack Ski area. This is a 50 mile round trip ride not on the highway.

Day One Map
Day Two Map

All that I am asking is that you consider donating to this cause by supporting me as I ride. This will be my third year doing this and I feel real strong about this cause.

If you want to support me then you can go to my personal page on the MS Society site to donate.

Thank you to those have supported me in the past and thanks to those that will support me this year.

Riding Fun

Got up early today to take the Vandal Bike for a ride. Nice cool morning for a ride so I dressed warmly. Made sure I had my gloves, hat, helmet and helmet light. After the garage door closed I realized that I did not have my glasses. Punch in the number to open the garage door and realize that the battery is dead. Ended up going for a ride in the dark without my glasses. Had a nice 12.5 mile ride and got back home to call the phone in the house for someone to let me in the garage. Good thing I carry my cell phone when I go riding.

The bike is so smooth and I am really going to enjoy the time that I ride it. Can't wait to get my first ride to Troy and back in for the year. Still going to use the Giant for commuting.

Why the MS 150

I am really thinking about this ride and why I do it. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. Helping find new treatments and advances in research by raising money on a bike is how I want to do it. I think that everyone should have a cause that they are passionate about. This is my cause. Please support me as I ride this year to help those that have MS.

Why I Ride: I've registered for the MS Bike Tour because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed - and because I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Why You Should Sponsor Me: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from the MS Bike Tour to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS Bike Tour, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."

I have blogged about the past two years of riding in the MS150.

2008 Ride

• Part 1 (Day 1)
  
• Part 2 (Day 1)
  
• Part 3 (Day 2)
• Part 4 (Day 2)

2009 Ride

• Day 1
• Day 2

Here is a link if you would like to donate any amount to help with this cause. Thank you for your support.

Random

Registered for the Warm Lake 3 Summit Challenge scheduled for the end of July. 60 miles of some very intense elevation changes. Looks like a very good ride to get me prepared for the MS150 that is at the end of August. I am really looking forward to all of the riding that I will be doing.

Finally took the Vandal Bike in to Paradise Creek Bicycles to get it looked at. Everyone in there thought the bike looked really cool. Very nice place to get all of your cycling needs taken care of. I can't wait to be able to get it out on the roads and trails to see what it can do.

MS150 Registration

Registered for the MS150 last night. This will be my third year riding in this event. I have not ridden a bike since sometime in November and I really need to get on one. I have been playing basketball 3-4 times a week to keep up some on the exercise. The past couple of weeks were pretty nice weather wise but I did not get out and ride.

Did get some cool Vandal cycling socks last week.

Bike Stuff

I received a cycling jersey and shorts from the MS150 ride that I did in August. Now I have more then one jersey and shorts to use when riding.

I am currently in the process of getting a Vandal cycling jersey from the University of Idaho cycling team. Have been wanting to get one for several years but it has been one of those things that has been a luxury item. It is now an item that will be well used in my riding of the new bike.

I am really looking forward to getting out and riding again. I might get out on my old Giant in the next couple of weeks depending on the weather. My new bike needs to get the seat adjusted and looked at to make sure it is all ready for many miles of riding this summer.

Christmas Suprise

Wow! I am still reeling from one of the gifts that I got for Christmas. This gift was one that was made by someone. It entailed a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and tire goo on the carpet. It was several months in the making but it turned out to be the most awesome present ever. A new road bike for me to ride. This bike will not be used to haul the trailer with all of my stuff to work. This bike will be used to ride the bike trails.

Thanks Steve for this wonderful bike. Thank you Debbie for putting up with the bike mess as Steve built it.

All I can say is WOW!