My Ride To ATX

A few weekends ago I rode in the BPMS150 for the first time with my dad. He had done it a few times before with some friends, but that was when he had "younger legs". The ride was absolutely phenomenal and I enjoyed almost every second of it. The biking really wasn't half as bad as I thought it out to be and i finished well lets just say on both days. . . a good hour before my father. (Yes, I left him at the half way mark each day.) On Saturday I arrived at the half way point in La Grange, Texas at around 1:15 being one of the few done out of the Gardere Team, and my dad came in around two-ish and was also only one of the few done considering we had to sit around and wait until about six o'clock for the bus to round up the team and head off to adorable little bed and breakfasts in Fayetteville, Texas. We had started our ride on Saturday from our back door around 6:45 a.m. but were hit with a flat only two miles in. Luckily we came prepared and only had one more hiccup the rest of that day. 

On Sunday we left from a hotel near La Grange around seven and rode into University of Texas at Austin around noon that day. (Yes, I not only beat my dad by an hour but also my mom who drove to meet us!) Therefore, the end was bittersweet with the feeling of accomplishment of finishing so early, yet the feeling of loneliness to have no one greet me at the end. However, it all worked out because in the end my mom showed up and shortly after my dad rode in, and before I knew it we had met up with all our other riding friends and had a relaxing, fabulous time in ATX.

The first picture is just of a rack of bikes I saw laying together at the lunch stop on day two. I found it ironic that I arrived at the "lunch" stop around 9:30 that morning and on the day before we arrived at around 9! The first photo of my dad is while getting ready to leave from the "lunch" stop on day one, and the second photo of him (the one right above) is when we were in La Grange and he was awaiting for his leg massage. . . I just could not resist to snap a few even though I'm sure he will make me pay for it in the long run if he ever reads this blog, ha! (well worth it.) The photo below is what a crowd of people would look like at a typical rest stop, which came about every 8 to 14 miles in which my dad would love to linger about and chat about with whatever breath he had left, while I simply just used the stops as a butt and water break eager to move on to the finish line. The other photo is of my dad riding which was taken by photographers along the road, and somehow (with how UNcomputerized of a person I am) managed to copy them off of the website and delete their logo (which covered half the photo unless they were bought. . . I found that ridiculous but whatever floats their boat) in order to have a half way decent picture to share amongst my readers.

All in all the ride was absolutely amazing. I want to genially thank everyone who supported me, my dad, and our friends and who contributed towards my donations in which I raised over one thousand dollars towards multiple sclerosis. One day the world will be free of MS, and thanks the thousands of bikers who biked a near 190 miles, that dream will one day become reality. Those are the people who got me through this bike ride, for I realized that I could take a few days of pain to help those who have to take a lifetime of agony. My life now feels that much more fulfilled knowing that I am not only here to live through the days, but am living for a purpose. The reality of MS didn't sink in until I passed that finish line and the only picture popped into my head; a church I had passed earlier that morning with three elderly ladies sitting in their lawn chairs with a simple white poster reading, "I have MS, Thank you" . Those words were so simple, yet so powerful they made me beam with happiness that I was able to contribute to those helpless, determined souls.