2011 MS Rides Recap

Well, Kevin and I did meet up to ride the WV ride, but before we could get on the bikes, he had to return home to assist with a monstrous rainfall. As we were at dinner on Friday night, Kevin got two phone calls and a picture text from Allison about the tremendous rainstorm they were having at home. The power had gone out and there was 4 feet of water on the back patio which was seeping into the house. After dinner we put the bike and the suitcase back in his car and he headed home.

Maybe next year.

The ride was hilly. Who'd have guessed, right? Well, it was.

The ride started in White Sulphur Springs at the Greenbrier and finished at Snowshoe Mountain. They didn't make us ride clear to the top of the mountain, but stopped at a fire station in Cass and then bused us to the top. It was a kind gesture that all of us appreciated. As it was, we climbed almost 2300 feet that day. You know how many times you have to go up and over the overpasses in central IL to get to 2300 feet? I was tired by the time we got to the mountaintop.

Then came my mistake on Sunday. We were told on Saturday night not to miss the bus in the morning. There would be one bus and it would leave at 7:00am. If you weren't on it, you'd have to figure out your own way down the mountain to get your bike. So I exited my hotel building (the one that acted as the headquarters, where we had the meal on Sat. and breakfast on Sun. The complex at the top of Snowshoe Mountain must have 30 hotel-sized buildings, so to keep it simple, I stayed in the one where all the MS activity was going to be.) So now, back to my mistake.

So in the morning after breakfast, I walk out the front of my hotel building and there is a bus waiting to take us down the mountain. So I get on. I'm about the 5th guy on, but soon it fills with other bikers. My clue should have been when the women who has been in charge all weekend came on and said "Everybody got their trail map?" See in addition to the rode ride, there was also a trail ride that rode an old rail-to-trail line. But I didn't think fast enough. BTW, when I got on the bus, I looked for something that might have said what bus this was, but there was nothing.

Soon the bus left the mountaintop. And when it made a right turn at the bottom of the mountain instead of a left turn, I was a little concerned. As the miles went on, my concern was soon confirmed I was on the wrong bus. When we finally arrived at the town where all the trail riders were to get their bikes, I waited to get off the bus so that I could ask the driver if he was going back to the lodge and to Cass. Well, he said he was going back to the lodge, but that I needed to go to Cass and he wasn't going there. (Really? Cause my memory was that Cass was at the bottom of the mountain and would only be about 2 miles out of your way to take be there). He suggested I talk with some of the cars that had followed us that had other riders going on the trail ride (spouses along for the weekend driving their own vehicles). With that advice, he took off. Thanks buddy.

So I asked the first car behind the bus and the very nice women said she'd be happy to drive me to Cass but she was going to need a cup of coffee first. Heck, I told her I would buy her an entire breakfast for driving me back. On the way back to Cass, we took a different route than the bus had taken to get us there. As we drove up WV-28, I started seeing bikes coming at us. Sure enough, this was on the route back. If you ever get a chance to ride WV-28 from Dunmore to Hunrtersville, I would recommend it. The advantage of climbing 2300 feet on Saturday was that we got to come down 2300 feet on Sunday. That 15-16 mile stretch of WV-28 was almost all downhill. It was wonderful.

I made it back to the Greenbrier on Sunday and after I had finished eating a box lunch and taking a shower, I headed for home, arriving about 11:30 Sunday evening.

2011 MS Rides

So clearly I am not a blogger. I can't nor apparently have the desire to keep up with this. That said, let me at least update you on plans for 2011.

Kevin and I will be doing the WV MS Ride "Country Roads Ride" on August 20-21. It will be the first time together since Cape Cod since we couldn't make calendars work last year. I am looking forward to it.

And then on September 17-18 I will be in Tulsa OK riding in the "Mother Road Ride" from Tulsa to OK City. I am excited about this ride because my niece Karen lives/works in Norman and we are going to get to see each other. In fact, I might spend Saturday night at her home if I decide camping is too rough given that the town of Chandler OK only has two hotels and both have been booked for several months.

West Virginia MS Ride
Oklahoma MS Ride

I have returned in June

I haven't been doing a very good job at keeping a blog. It have been over a month since my last posting.

Biking has finally picked up. The weather has begun to cooperate on a regular basis. I have gotten in several before-work rides with Rick, Knute, and Nancy. The Bauers are on vacation this week and last, and so Rick and I have been doing a M-W-F early ride. This week Jeanne is gone to visit her parents, and so I have dog responsibilities in the morning which will put a crimp in the early morning rides. But maybe I'll just go in later to work.

With gas prices jumping over $4.00/gallon (currently back to a mere $3.83) I am riding more places than I might have in the past. Last week after dinner, I rode over to the Watemdicks to help move a large TV into the house. Yesterday I rode to youth group at the Lanesskogs. I am riding to church most weeks, cause Jeanne and Patricia are going in early for choir practice.

I don't have specific numbers, but I am over 350 miles for the season to date. That feels better, but is still way off the pace from last year. At this point last year, I must have had over twice that because the MS ride in KY was the second weekend in June and I had over 500 miles before the ride.

Kevin and I have selected "Ride to the Jack and Back" in October. That will be the TN ride for me. I hope to register for the ND ride, "Ride the Wind 2008" this week. It is the last weekend in July, July 26-27. It is around Fargo. That is the weekend before we leave for vacation, so there will be a little stress at home, I suspect, about me leaving for a bike trip just a week before we leave for vacation. But I have to get another state in this summer, and that looks like my best bet, I think.