2009 MS 150

Ok so here is my recap:

I got to Tully stadium around 6:30AM. To my surprise there was a large number of staff and volunteers out there and police. No riders though. I pull up and am immediately approached by a MS coordinator telling me I am not to ride the route, and not to wear my numbers as to avoid people being "confused" that the ride is officially back on (whatever..). So I ask him where to park if I plan on doing the ride solo, he tells me I can't park there (BS! Public property... refund my registration then!) and I have to leave. Its about this time a Chronicle photographer finds me and asks if he can tail me on my way out of Katy, I say sure. So I go to the only persons house I know in Katy (my hero Jeff) and dump my car in his driveway so it will be safe and hit the road.

The ride was fine til about the FM529 @ FM362 interchange. That was when the sky opened up. I parked for a bit under a taco truck and checked my phone radar. Nothing but black skies the rest of the way. So I scarfed down a taquito and shot off towards Bellville. I ran into some other riders in Bellville at a cafe for lunch. Some even had their own personal SAG support. Must have been nice! There were parts of the route where the rain was so bad I couldnt even open my eyes, despite having glasses.

One of the coolest things was going through those tiny towns like Bellville and Fayetteville where the entire town seemed to turn out for the riders. So as you can imagine, when they are expecting 13000 and only 20 people show up, they cheer extra hard for you. I was offered homemade cookies until I thought they were going to start coming out of my ears.

I think it took me about 7.5 hours all told, between rest stops and rain delays. Which is pretty damn good for someone who only did 2 training rides. My bike was a total mess after the ride, and I tried to clean it as much as I could after getting to my hotel in La Grange, but all day on ride 2 I was throwing my chain and hearing squeaky brakes, not good. I also spent almost the entire night blow drying my clothes (the only stuff I had on me.. since my luggage was in Austin) while watching the Rockets dismantle the Blazers. That made things go by a little quicker! Marcela and Jillian joined me at around midnight I think?

Day 2 was absolutely gorgeous weather. Perfect even. I did the park ride and I'm SO glad I did. Very cool. Much better than highway action. I was astonished at how many people crapped out going up hills, even minor grades, and were complaining about headwind. I felt great the second day and made it in probably 7 hours at most, if not sooner. I took my time to rest and smell the roses though. I met a lot of really cool people and everybody was really nice in offering me supplies and gear since I was shorthanded after day 1.

At the finish line my team treated me like a rock star for being the only one to finish the entire tour. It was pretty gratifying. To have the whole ordeal make it into the Chronicle was the icing on the cake. I have a giant headache today (lack of sleep and water) and my legs are stiff as wood, but I'll live. No regrets.