Crushing MS
I wish I had asked his name or gotten a picture. He said he was in his 60's. He has MS. His legs were strapped onto his recumbent bike so he wouldn't fall out when he got tired. His hands did the pedaling. I first noticed this rider because he was going very slowly.
I slowed down to bike beside him and after chatting for a while I asked him what his fundraising secret was because he had a yellow bib. The coveted yellow bib. Yellow bibs are given only to the top 100 fundraisers. He was number 39. He told me he just simply reached out to family and friends and asked for their support. No corporate sponsors. Wow. I thought about the power of a simple donation. Crushing MS one donation at a time. It really adds up.
I realized the importance of each donation again this year because I too got a coveted yellow bib. Yep :-) Did you realize that your donations (just to me) added up to over $1600?
Vote for a color to dye my hair. $25/vote. And you voted. Incredible, eh? Crushing MS one donation at a time! YOU ROCK!! Team Iron Eagles raised over $5000! And only a couple thousand of that was matching funds from Harmons. Not bad.
You guys are amazing!
Slow and steady wins the race and adds up to so much money to help people with MS! Every donation counts!
The ride
OK. Enough about donations. Let's talk ride.
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| Normal picture |
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| Sexy hair swoosh! Lisa felt I needed to show more hair :-) |
This year we were all really worried about the heat. About a week and a half before the ride I walked out onto our deck. It felt like I was walking into an oven. Seriously. And that was in the shade! We were all super grateful to see the rain come a couple days before BikeMS. It poured rain as we drove up to Logan cooling things down a bit. Thank heaven! Saturday was a beautiful day.
It also helped that we got an early start. Our original plan was to do team pictures at 6:30am, eat breakfast at the fairgrounds and be on the road by 7am. We were close. We started at 7:30am. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right. It was great. We easily made it to the first rest stop. Earlier starts are definitely going to become a tradition! The whole day went so much better with the earlier start. That was the first good decision of the day.
The second good decision happened in Newton. -- random side story. A good friend of mine told me she was from Newton. I didn't connect that with BikeMS until this ride. It turns out her childhood home is about a block from the Newton rest stop. How random is that?
Anyhow. Remember that guy I saw on the first leg of the ride? Number 39? I asked him how far he was riding. 14 miles. He was going to go to the first rest stop and back. How cool is that? He inspired us to make our next best decision.
When we got to Newton, the second rest stop, we had gone about 15 miles. I could see that some on our team were showing signs of fatigue. We had a choice, we could keeping going forward and do the 43 mile loop, go forward and do the 73 mile loop (and have lunch on the ride) or just turn around and head back making 30 miles total. Usually we would choose to push on. "We have to make it to the lunch stop," we'd say. Or "We have to do the full route," we'd say. Then I remembered number 39 (really wish I had asked his name!). Watching him slowly but surely make his way on the ride I remembered that it's super important to know our limits and enjoy the ride.
In the end, three members of the team pushed forward to do the 43. Four of us decided we should head back and just do 30. Best decision ever! The miles flew by. We made it back to the fairgrounds around noon. Those of you that follow this blog know that we usually start late, go slow, bite off more than we can chew as we push to ride more miles than we should. By the time we are on the last stretch we are dead! It's hot and we are tired and feeling miserable. (see my essay on why I ride)
This year the last stretch was a breeze! We were passed by a fellow rider who called out "Good morning!" and I realized that it was still in fact morning! We are usually doing the last stretch around 3 or 4 or sometimes 5pm. We rolled passed the finish line and were able to cheer riders coming in for at least an hour or more. It was great! So this is what it feels like to not be last.... I like it! It was a short ride but I guess that's the point. And eating lunch at the fair grounds was not so bad. Harmons provided some really yummy lunches! We were even able to save part for dinner. Win Win. Woohoo! And we were also able to get in some lunch-time yoga stretches :-) It was a good day.
The Finish Line
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| The well-rested 30 milers (Reid did 43) and the support crew photobombing in the back :-) |
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| The speedy Gonzales crew in Newton. They opted for 43 miles |
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| Most of the riders at the finish. This is our attempt at a cool hold-the-bike-triumphantly-overhead shot. I think we need to practice a bit more for next year :-) |
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| Giving up and just doing a normal photo :-) |
Orange Hair
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| BRIGHT orange! |
I have to say that last year I was a little disappointed that orange didn't win in the hair dyeing contest. And then when I dyed my hair purple it wasn't very bright. It was a gorgeous shade of purple that I didn't really hate at all. I was actually totally fine that it took a few weeks to wash out. This year however I wanted to go bright neon orange. Go big or go home, eh? So I set the fundraising bar low and didn't give anybody else a vote :-) I loved the reactions of the family as we sprayed my hair orange. So much shock! It wasn't until later when I saw pictures that I understood. That was some bright hair! I don't know how people could stand to look at me without sunglasses :-) Wow. Originally I was looking forward to going to church the next day with orange hair. So glad that it washed out in one wash! :-) I probably should have went with Staci's suggestion of copper! Maybe next year......
Favorite Photos
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| Our rolling rest stop. We love Sarah's basket! |
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| Support crew cheering on the riders |
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| Support crew and riders |
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| Enjoying the finish line |
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| Well-rested at the finish line :-) |
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| I love this sign so much! |
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| Two hot looking young ladies :-) |
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| So glad that I was warned about this before I went in! PS it's rubber. A very realistic looking rubber snake! |
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| The helmet was originally black :-) |
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| Orange tips blending in with the jerseys :-) |
One Final Thought
There are actually quite a few people who ride at BikeMS who have Multiple Sclerosis. Probably more than we realize. Some are easy to spot, like number 39. They ride recumbents with hand pedals and go very slowly. Some, like Marianne, ride a regular bike and you can't tell right away, if ever, that they have MS. Maybe they have numb hands or numb feet, not so good balance, not so good vision. MS is different for everyone. One thing that is common is that having MS adds a challenge however you ride, if you can. It's pretty amazing when you think about. People struggling with MS riding in BikeMS. But you don't have to have MS to support people who have MS. You each are great examples of that!
I just want to thank each of you again for supporting us each year -- whether by donating or reading this blog or sharing the donation link or simply cheering us on. It really means a lot to our family.
It really is true that each donation makes a difference. Your donations help to purchase things and services that help make life easier for those with MS as well as research to find a cure. And the research that is going on right now is phenomenal! We may not be research scientists but we can help bring hope to so many people struggling with auto-immune diseases like MS.
So..... THANK YOU!
One last shameless plug
Speaking of donations, it's not too late to donate :-) For every $100 you donate by July 5 you get an entry to win a really cool electric bike.
I know what you are thinking. I've had the same thoughts. What is one entry in a sea of potentially millions of entries? It can happen though, right? Think Charlie and the Chocolate factory! It only takes one golden ticket (and a lot of desire .... and some singing and dancing....).
Not to dampen your hopes but I have a lot of desire for this cool bike too and we are donating a couple entries worth too so... May the best donor win! :-) And of course the best donor is YOU! :-)
