MS Pedal the Plains Ride

For the first time, I wasn't excited about the MS Ride for the following reasons:

1. It would be my 3rd weekend in a row away from home for a bike ride.
2. The forecast with the heat and wind sounded horrible.
3. My hometown was having their annual CornStalk festival which I have missed for the past 4 years for the MS ride.
4. It had been a very busy week getting caught up at work, starting orientation with a new group of students, was gone every evening, blah, blah, blah......

But the magical power of the bike took over as soon I was on the bike and on my way down the road with 350 other riders. What a great feeling to be pedaling away on a beautiful morning - and so far the wind wasn't very noticeable!

Ashley and I were riding together and soon we were joined by Cindy and then Holly and then Eric and then Pamela. It seemed to be a nice comfortable pace for us all and the time went by quickly. And it was nice to have others to commiserate with once the winds picked up!

Loved the sign at Melissa and Nick's house "Two LaneHogs live here," along with a decorated bike! Bet they were tempted to just go home when they passed by but with their determination they kept going - whereas if it was me, I would have been very tempted!

We actually made it in to Vermillion earlier than I had anticipated, I think around 1:15 pm. Seemed like it was too early to quit riding for the day so Ashley, Pamela, and I headed out to conquer the Century Loop. I will admit it was painful against the wind and I hadn't remembered that hill pass the Vermillion-Newcastle Bridge to be quite so LONG! But the trip back definitely made it worth it - downhill with a tailwind for several miles.

I'll repeat what others have said, it was great to meet the bloggers! Hopefully we'll all be together again at the Margarita Ride!

The banquet was inspiring as usual. As a proud aunt, I have to say it, I think Mandy does an awesome job (along with Janey and Jennifer) at the MS Society. And her and Nathan have the cutest daughter. Of course, all 57 of my great-nieces and nephews are gosh darn cute! No kidding - my husband and I have 57 great-nieces and nephews!!).

Sunday was HOT. Here is the short version: Had a flat tire outside of Beresford, didn't want to hold the group up as it got hotter, and didn't want to NOT ride all the miles by sagging ahead to meet them at a rest stop. So rode the last 50 mostly by myself after sagging back to the school to get my tire fixed. Did not mind riding alone at all - I usually ride by myself and I'm good at keeping myself company. Thought about the book "The Last Lecture" when he starts out by saying he won the parent lottery. And I thought about how that statement applied to me as well. Basically I was out in the heat reminiscing with myself about what a great childhood I had and how loved I was by my parents and grandparents......yeah, might have been a combination of heat stroke and nostalgia!

Anyway - it was another great MS ride despite the wind and the heat - as Snakebite would say "deal with it," (note I left out the rest of his statement) and I think we all dealt with the conditions well. Our fatigue and aches and pain last a short while. Hopefully we have made a difference in the life of someone dealing with MS who lives with fatigue and aches and pains daily.