I wrote this last Sunday and have intended to finish and post it almost everyday since then.
Well, it is still not finished (much like every MS fundraising ride in Texas this year) but the heart is still there (also like those rides).
And besides, today I officially move on to the next ride.
I’m now signed up for the 2010 BP MS 150 from Houston to Austin. Yeee-Haaaw! Bring on the sunshine!
Okay, on with the story of riding in the rain last weekend….
As I type this I am in a car heading back to San Antonio after the second day of the MS Ride to the River was canceled due to weather.
Thunder is crashing all around us and rain is flooding the roads. The MS Society made the right choice, but I must admit I am bummed. This is the third MS ride in Texas this year and the third that one day had to be canceled due to nasty weather. I was signed up to ride in two of them.
In April, during the MS 150 from Houston to Austin, Day one was canceled and on day two and I didn’t get to far… just 26 miles. You can read more about that experience here. It wasn’t pretty.
The previous year was my first MS 150 experience and it was invigorating yet still exhausting at the same time, and I was looking forward to a similar experience this year.
So, moments after we learned of the day one cancellation back in April, my husband and I signed up for the MS Ride to the River which took place this weekend, in hopes of capturing the same excitement of a two day ride for MS.
And then we waited.
Once school was back in, I began training for the ride, cycling 2-3 times a week after dropping the kids at school. Just two weeks ago I broke through a training plateau and began averaging 16.5- 17-ish miles per hour in my rides. I felt ready for a two-day ride and ready to go.
My cycling time is also part of my prayer time. I love pedaling through country roads, admiring the cattle, windmills, wildflowers and being amazed that God let me have the healthy body He gave me and that He also allows all the other details to fall into place that I need every time I get on my bike.
I love flying by and presenting my requests to Him because, out there, I feel like I can really listen to what God has to share.
Well, today I’m going to have to listen in a different way.
But yesterday, although soggy, was fantastic and God really took care of me.
I had a great ride. At the end I still had energy left in me.
Rolling over the finish line is always an emotional experience for me and yesterday was no exception. As I turned into the finish I started to cry. I had just completed 72 miles and still felt great. Along the route I read statistics about MS which were humbling. And I cycled by many service men and women wearing jerseys saying “Freedom isn’t Free,” some in cycles powered only by their arms because the riders didn’t have use of their legs anymore. Gulp.
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