North Florida MS 150 ride

Just in case I forget, I should start off by saying the MS 150 is a great cause for raising money.

There's something exciting about seeing 2000 riders in the pre-dawn hours getting ready to ride 150 miles. Actually there's a certain electricity in the air. Lots of nervous first timers. Lots of anticipation. Lots of "let's get this show on the road."

This was the second time for me to ride the event. Last year we were shortened to a one day event because of hurricane damage. But this year the weather was perfect, the route was much improved and my fund raising effort had paid off.

I rode for the Cody's Challenge team. Last I heard, we had 125 riders and were the largest team. My wife, as she always does, rode for the Bank of America team. Very strong team also.

I started out riding with some of my Hammerhead Racing buddies, but after 15 miles of 25+ mph grinding, realized I needed to save a little energy to finish with. So I rode with Mike and Rex...we maintianed a steady 20 mph pace.

The route was great especially after turning on A1A (beach highway) for about 30 miles. A good bit of the time we could see the ocean. Riding A1A energizies me. Although I didn't see any, I heard there were a few crashes...I don't want any part of that stuff. Being in front of the middle of the pack has a few advantages.

As I posted before...my Hammerhead buddy Jason Langston ran the Saturday leg of the event. Jason...you're a stud. Way to go!!

Mike, Rex and I finished in about 4 1/2 hours. Although we hit all the rest stops, we didn't hang out. After waiting for 2 more hours for Karen, we spent time in the pool catching up with all of friends.

Our fundraising efforts paid off because Karen and I were both at the Top Banana level ($1,000 or more raised). This got us in a special dinner and also allowed me to slip out early so I could catch the Gators/Vols game. Go Gators!!!

As you can see from the pics, there were a lot of riders. While all the rest stops were very well done and all the bike shops did an excellent job of supporting the event, my vote goes to Scott Summey of Open Road Bicycles as the premier support guy. Oh I have forgotten to say that flats were the name of the game this weekend. If there was junk to run over, I found it all. Three flats.

Sunday was a great ride back to St. Augustine. By 140 miles, I was ready to be doing something else....anthing else. But it was so much fun. I rode back with Karen and our friends from the Prosperity Bank team (Shirley, Tony, Diane, Traci, Debbie and Karen). Those post race burgers never tasted so good. Thankfully they didn't have Spam...I'd probably have eaten it.

For Karen and I, riding in honor of her college roomy Anne, who was diagnosed with MS last year, really made the event special. Can't wait for it roll around next year.

steelrider2