September 14, 2009
2009 Bike MS Ride
On September 11-12, I rode in the Bike MS Ride; the second time I’ve ridden in this 2-day, 160 mile event based in Mount Vernon to raise funds for the National MS Society (more on that at the bottom of this post).
Training
During the spring, I had been doing weekly 50 mile rides with my team, and competing in a few mountain bike races. But my training came to an abrupt halt in early June when I crashed during a mountain bike race in Leavenworth, and fractured my right hip and elbow. I was out of commission for several weeks, hobbling around on a cane and popping Vicodin tablets. Having already registered for the Bike MS Ride, it gave me a solid goal to work towards during my rehabilitation. So, once I could get back on the bike in mid-July, I basically had 8 weeks to go from zero up to 160 miles. I reminded myself that there were several route options on the ride, so if anything was causing me pain, I could easily take the short way back.
My daily 14-mile round trip bike commutes came first, then some long but slow rides on the weekends on my own. Eventually I rejoined the Sunday team rides. At first I would get dropped quite easily, but eventually I fought to hang on, and later supplemented the ride with additional mileage. On Labor Day weekend, two weeks before the MS Ride, we went out to our cabin in eastern Washington, and I managed a very comfortable century ride (100 miles) over two mountain passes. This confirmed for me that I was ready to tackle the entire 160-mile route.
Day 1
The first day consisted of a 92-mile route, starting in Mount Vernon, then to La Conner, Anacortes, Deception Pass, a loop around Whidbey Island, then back through Deception Pass, La Conner and back. A baker’s dozen of ByrneInvent riders started out Saturday morning at 8am. The cool autumn air had us all wearing arm and leg warmers, but we also wore sunglasses for what was to be beautiful, clear, sunny skies. With about 2,000 riders in the event, the first few miles was a spandex traffic jam, but by the time we got out of town, we had a nice little 2-abreast team paceline going at warm-up speed (about 20mph), passing just about everyone else out there (mostly recreational riders).
The first part of the route was fairly flat, and being a “conversational” pace, the time passed pretty quickly as we rolled into a rest stop at Anacortes around 9:30a to refuel and visit the Honey Buckets. Taking off again, though, we started dropping some teammates as the course got hilly near Mount Erie and the stronger riders started picking up the pace. By the time we reach the bridge at Deception Pass, we seem to have settled on a core of eight riders, including yours truly.
At the 45 mile mark on Whidbey Island, we had the choice of turning left and taking the quick way back to Mount Vernon on the 70-mile course, or going straight to add a 22-mile loop to that, making a 92-mile course in total. We all looked at each other like “y’know, it would be really great to get back to our hotel early and lounge around in the hot tub”. Although I was feeling great, I began doubting if I could hang on to the group on the long route, and dreaded the thought of getting dropped and having to limp all that way back on my own. But as no one expressed any strong opinions one way or the other, Brian — perhaps our strongest rider — took off on the long route and we all sheepishly followed.
Our band of eight kept a tight paceline throughout Whidbey Island and back to Deception Pass, each taking turns at the helm for a minute or two (my turns tended to be on the shorter side), but always seemingly right at the edge of my endurance level. One bonus of sticking with these guys is that I often got to draft behind team member Detlef Schrempf. Det is a former pro-basketball player, and heads the charitable Detlef Schempf Foundation, which is also a sponsor of our team. At 6’-9” (see the tall guy on the left in the photo), riding behind Det is like riding in the vortex of an 18-wheeler!
At the 80-mile mark we rolled into La Conner, slowing down for traffic, I dropped my chain shifting down to my small chainring on an uphill section. I looked down while I tried to fiddle with the shifters and get it to pop back on, but ran into the end on a concrete curb while I wasn’t watching the road and clumsily fell to the side. Luckily I was only doing about 10mph! My teammates got a good chuckle out of my foibles. I righted my chain and rejoined the group for the long easterly ride into a headwind back to Mount Vernon. We were all a bit beat, so Brian had us do some rapid rotations in the paceline. Each rider would spend only a brief moment at the front, fighting the wind, before falling off the side to let the next rider do the same. We rotated through our 8-man paceline about once every minute, and it was amazing how it enabled us to keep our speed up heading into the wind.
We pulled into Mount Vernon around 1:30p. I was spent at first, but six beers, two full dinners and a hot tub soak later, and I felt like a million bucks and ready for more the next day!
Day 2
The second day brought more of the same perfect weather; this time on a 68-mile loop going north to Bellingham, and returning on scenic Chuckanut drive along the shores of Puget Sound with magnificent panoramic views of the Olympics. And like the first day, our team warmed up during the first 20 miles or so, but eventually was whittled down to seven riders out front (me amongst them once again).
The pace was decidedly faster this day, and I found myself struggling to keep from falling off the back end of the paceline. On a particular gradual but long hill climb, I started to drift back, unable to summon the power from my legs to keep up with the group. Luckily, Brian, who was behind me, noticed the gap that was opening up in front of me, so he came up along side of me, but his hand on my ass, and gave me a good push up hill (while not slowing down himself, mind you). It was just enough to get me over the crest of the hill and keep me with the group. This happened on at least 2 more hills (maybe more?), and each time saved me from a long, lonesome ride back.
At the tail end of the ride, on the long straightaway heading east back to Mount Vernon, I was really dragging. But I’d come this far — 150 miles and counting — keeping up with the strongest riders on the team. So I simply rode through the pain.
The Race Continues
Crossing the finish line on the second day, each rider was handed a medal by a person living with multiple sclerosis. Some of them were in wheelchairs, others using walkers, and others still showed no obvious signs. It was a poignant reminder that my two days of burning lungs, sore quads and aching rear end were temporary, and nothing compared to a lifetime spent living with MS. There is no known cause, and no known cure for this disease, so the best we can do is help people with MS and their families cope with this reality, through the many wonderful programs that the National MS Society offers, and to continue the race to find a cure.
Therefore, I urge you to consider making a donation (HERE), however large or small, to this very worthwhile organization. As of today, they are still $165,000 short of their $1.6M goal this year. How about giving them a little push so they can reach their goal? Don’t be shy; even those $5, $10 and $25 pledges add up very quickly. Donations can be made until October 20th, but the sooner the better.
Thank you!!!