National Multiple Sclerosis Society MS 150

The MS150 was a great experience. There were approximately 1400 riders of all ages and a large amount of money was raised for MS research. The beginning of the ride was in the Frito Lay parking lot in Plano, Texas. It was very exciting and our hearts were racing. Our wives were going to follow in a huge RV that Tommy had rented. It was Jeanine's first time to drive something this big and she was going to have to drive in extremely heavy traffic so we were concerned.

With much fanfare the announcer started the event. Tommy Welch and I began the ride in the middle of the huge pack. Down the hill and around the bend we went pedaling with extreme vigor. Then Tommy's cell phone went off. We stopped right then and there thinking the ladies were in trouble with the RV as the huge mob passed us by. Then Tommy heard a sweet little voice on the phone say " just wanted to check to make sure the phone was working". After we got through kicking the ground and throwing our helmets we got back on our bikes and into the race.

Thirty miles into the ride I'm about to pass out from exhaustion when three young ladies pass me by just all relaxed and yakking away. One of them was telling the other two how she had just had a flat a few miles back and had to stop and take her rear wheel off on the side of the road, replace the tube, air up the tire, and put it back together. This really boosted my ego.

I rode 41 miles and the heat began to get to me so I jumped in the RV for a couple of sections of the course and then got back in just before we crossed the Red River and did the last 23 miles. Iron man Tommy Welch made the entire first day's ride of 88.9 miles. We spent the night at a campground on Lake Texoma. The next day we were to ride 66 miles to Ardmore, Oklahoma. A storm system that spawned 83 tornadoes in the central states passed over us, but it kicked up very high winds and made the second day very difficult. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol blocked off the mile long bridge across Lake Texoma for 45 minutes to let the 1400 cyclists across. It was an impressive sight. The course from Lake Texoma was one big hill after another and then throw in the 25 to 30 mile an hour head wind and it was too much to bear. We called it a day 36 miles in at the town of Madill.

We learned a lot, met many kind and interesting people, and hopefully helped in the process of finding a cure for MS. I thank you for your financial support and I thank my wife Jeanine for babying me when I would get off the "bicycle of pain".