8/15/2009-8/16/2009:This past weekend I rode in a charity ride called the MS Tour A.K.A. Pedal to the Point. I was part of the HCR Manor Care Team based out of North Olmsted, OH. It was second year for our team at this event. We began the day in morning hitting the road with 1,500 of our best friends making our way west towards Sandusky High School and eventually relaxing at Soak City. The temperature shot up a little higher this past weekend the low-mid 90's. I rode day 1 of the MS Tour with Tom, Steve, Guy, and Tes. Early on, the guys and I started a pace line roughly 3 miles into ride once the sea of cyclists started to spread out for it to be safe. We had all planned to ride a total of 100 miles or a century on Day 1. The normal route is est. 75 miles. There is a 25mi loop a few miles into the ride that wasn't clearly marked which we and several other groups had missed the turn off to ride the extra loop. Once stopping for lunch talking to the volunteers, we confirmed our thoughts that we did in fact miss century loop. Everything else went fairly smoothly except for an idiot watching 4 of us in a paceline and deicded to pull out directly in front of us causing me and another cyclist into sloped grass section. Its just soo much fun at 22-24mi. We finished up well with an average speed of just over 20+mph and with our lunch stop, 2 rest stops. We managed to finish at Sandusky HS at Noon. I spent roughly 4hr 45min between the start and finish. I hate to say it but the finish was just a little depressing. As we rode into the "finish line" of the ride, there was just this lady sitting in a lawn chair on the side of the road. It appeared like we beat everybody in, even the cheering section. Apparantly we were within the first 30 cyclists in for the day. At the end of the day, we all rode for a great cause. One of the teams from the event made a sweet video about the event. Check it out :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDNOI4DonVc. I found this article about a family that rode in honor of another who has MS. Very touching and inspiring...
