MS150 2008
June 9th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized
How horribly wrong things could have gone. As the ride approached, the weather turned ugly on us, and by the time we arrived in Proctor on Friday evening, my mood was as foul as the sky and the rain and the cold gusting winds. We decided to ‘camp’ in the gymnasium of the Proctor High School for Friday night, along with hundreds of others, and I was sure that I was going to be kept up all night by the sounds of snoring and rudeness. I was also sure that the morning would be much like the evening… Rainy and cold with a fierce headwind that would suck any joy out of this adventure in less time than it takes to say “Taxi, please!”
But that’s not what happened. We had a nice spaghetti dinner at the high school on Friday night, followed by a few drinks at the Powerhouse Bar, then off to bed early, where Sharon and I slept like the dead. And in the morning, we were delighted to awake to 55 degrees and blue skies, with only the lightest of breezes. Our ride began a little chilly, but dry and delightful, and continued that way for most of the morning. Saturday afternoon brought actual sunlight and heat, but the riding was so comfortable that we finished 2 hours earlier than last year, with only a slight sunburn. We made Hinckley at 1:30 (after a 6:30 AM start), and while obviously tired, we didn’t feel horrible or miserable at all.
Team Best Buy raised enough money this year to get us a tent stocked with food and beer for Saturday night, and my Mom was kind enough to help us wrangle our way into a hotel room at the Hinckley Grand Casino, so we were in fantastic shape for the rest of the day. Tons of food, beer, and liqour were available in the tent, and Mom left us a bottle of wine in the room, where we were fortunate enough to enjoy hot showers and a comfortable bed.
You would think our luck would run out…
But it didn’t. 
After an early bedtime of about 8:30 PM, we were on the road again at 6:30 AM on Sunday, and once again, the weather could not have been better for our ride. Now, if you were planning a day at the beach, it would have probably been a little disappointing, but for us, it was perfect. Overcast and cool, the day was perfect for the second 75 miles of our adventure, and the pace was FAST. Last year, the heat was so oppressive that it took us all day to finish the ride. This year, we rode from Hinckley to Blaine with 5 stops, and we were finished by 1 PM. That’s 3 1/2 hours better than last year, and we felt fantastic!
For those of you who supported us, and/or donated to the MS society, I cannot thank you enough. Being a part of this has brought many people out of the woodwork who have family members stricken with MS, and the kind words they have for those of us who ride are priceless. We have met SO MANY cool people and new friends on these rides, that it feels like the MS society is doing more for us than we are doing for them.
3200 riders participated this year, raising about 2.7 million dollars. Again, thank you to those who helped out, and as always, I have a bunch of pictures for you! Click here to check them out. Bye for now!!!
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