Three days ago I completed my third BP MS150 bicycle ride from Houston to
Austin, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of
the ride and supporting such a wonderful cause.
The ride kicked off Saturday morning from Houston with beautiful weather and
13,000 riders headed towards LaGrange. My friends, Chris and Brent, rode with
me this year, and we arrived at lunch around 9:40am, riding our fastest leg of
the ride: 50 miles in only 2.5 hours. Of course at this point we still had 46
more miles to go that day, and another 76 miles the next day. So we kicked
down the pace a little and headed from lunch into LaGrange. We were so happy
that the rain held out until about 9pm that night. As we rolled into LaGrange
around 1:45pm, we were greeted by our team, Saint Arnolds. What a great way to
finish a long 96 mile journey than with some tasty beverages and 400 of your
closest friends. Okay, well 395 random people and a few that you’ve gotten to
know on the ride.
Day two started off around 5:30am with wakeup call, breakfast, and packing up
all the camping gear. By 7am the massive group start began, and we managed to
leave the fairgrounds around 8. Like the years before, I decided to ride the
“challenge route” from LaGrange through Bastrop and Buescher State Park. The
park section is by far the best part of the ride and the most beautiful. Once
again we were fortunate that the rain had passed us by 6am and the rest of the
day was bright and sunny. I also appreciated that the winds held themselves to
about 10mph coming into the hills of Austin. This was a welcome difference
compared to the past two years. Around 2pm we rolled through the finish line
in Austin and were welcomed by the hundreds of people who came out to watch.
We were also greeted by our team and Saint Arnold’s brew master, Brock.Each year I think that it might be my last ride, but by the end of day two, I know that’s not the case. I’m already looking forward to next year and continuing to make a difference in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Thank you for helping to make this possible and to help me exceed my goal by raising $2600 this year, for a three year total of $8990!
To check out the rest of the pictures, see my flickr page HERE.
THANK YOU!!!
4 comments:
Read this from a link on the St. Arnold's facebook page. I enjoyed it - I'm considering riding the MS150 next year for the first time and accounts like these push me in the "do it" direction.
Quick question - is the Saint Arnold team generally full, or is it reasonably possible to get on, provided early sign up?
Hi Aaron!
I'm glad you found this blog. You should ABSOLUTELY to the BP MS150! It's amazing and you will not regret it at all. The Saint Arnolds Team does fill up quickly, but your best bet is to go onto their website and sign up for their biking newsletter. Around October/November they'll send out an email saying they have a few slots open and it's first come first serve. If you check your email a few times a day (I always have mine on my phone) then as soon as you see it, email back and you should be able to get on. It's a wonderful team with wonderful people. Hope to see you next year!
Yay Shelley! Love the glasses, btw!
Awesome - thanks for the info Shelley!
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