Back in the Saddle

Today we rode our tandem for the first time since Frances injured her back. We stayed at a B&B near Round Top for the weekend, and took our tandem with us. We only rode for about an hour, but it felt good to be back on 2rmalina.

A Bump in the Road

We got some bad news this week. Frances, who was in an auto accident last month, was diagnosed as having micro-tears in her back , and was told that she cannot do anything that stretches the back for a couple of months. That definitely includes cycling. That makes training for the BP MS-150 impossible, so that event is out for 2007.

So, we're changing our goal. There is another MS-150 in Texas in October - the Valero MS-150 that goes from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, and is about 160 miles over 2 days. It's a smaller ride, which is good - but we won't have the benefits of all the organized training rides that precede the BP MS-150, and we'll have to train in the summer. We're going to give it a shot.

Big Chill Ride

Today we rode in the Big Chill Ride, one of the official MS-150 training rides. It was cold - about 40 degrees at the start - but it was dry, and our cold weather gear worked fairly well. We rode the short ride (about 22 miles) , since we are still not in great shape, and did not want to push too much in our first training outing on the tandem.

This ride began in Katy, and the short route went to Brookshire and back, so it was very flat. There was some wind, but it was not terrible. We finished in about an hour and a half, and felt good about the ride.

The Big Chill Ride was conducted by the Brazos Valley Subbury School, and we were very impressed by how well organized the ride was. Very clear route marking, efficient packet pickup, and great chili at the finish.

Welcome!

Once again, Frances & I will be training for and riding in the BP MS-150. This event benefits the Multiple Sclerosis Society and is the largest MS-150 ride in the country! It has become a very popular event for Texas cyclists - registration opened in October and reached the maximum 13,000 registrants within a few weeks.

This will be my third MS-150, Frances' second. (Picture at left is from 2006 MS-150.) Once again we will be riding our tandem bicycle, which I have nicknamed 2rmalina, since it is a beautiful tourmaline color. Frances' sister from Santa Fe will be joining us this year (last year she was our driver).

Frances has been regularly using our spinning bike, but I've been a slug in the last couple of months. I started my training last Friday with an hour ride on Heights Blvd. - doing 3 laps. No training over the weekend, since were out of town doing care-taking for Frances' parents. We'll try to keep you up-to-date on our training progress.