Tonight I officially registered to participate in the MS 150 bike tour again. I blogged a few times two years ago as I was training, but I never did mention how it all turned out, and since I think late is just a little better than never I might as well mention it now.

So I get up really early on the morning of the tour, gather all my gear and head for the Fairgrounds. I get there early enough to find a parking spot that isn't miles away, which is good because I'm getting kinda close to the cutoff time for check-in. I leave all my stuff in my car and walk to the fairgrounds to get registered. That goes relatively quickly and I walk back to the car to attach my official number to the bike and get ready for the tour.

After I get everything situated I go back into the Fairgrounds looking for the rest of my team. After a few minutes of searching I finally find them. We get our picture taken then we line up behind the biggest mass of bikes and people I've ever seen in my, admittedly sheltered, life.

The tour organizers let the masses out in waves, attempting to give traffic some small chance of getting through all the bikes and, presumably, to keep bike congestion down a bit. I think I made it out in the third wave. It all starts off really slow because it's not a race, and it seems that most people just wanted to fill the entire width of the road to block any cars or bikes from getting by.

The first few miles the tour were definitely the scariest. There were so many bikes in a small area that accidents could very easily happen. I nearly plowed into the people in front of me a few times when they made some sudden unexpected maneuver. By the time we got out to the airport traffic started to thin out a bit as we left the slower people behind and the faster people pulled ahead of us.

I was really surprised when we got to our first rest stop in Amalga. I wasn't even winded because we'd been taking a pretty easy pace up to that point. We stopped anyway and grabbed a bite to eat. None of us really w♦anted to stay long there so we pushed on pretty quickly. Soon we got to the decision point on the 40 mile loop and I was feeling good. Only one of our team opted for the shorter loop. The rest of us pushed on toward the next stop in Richmond.

Now that we were in the open and have passed most of the slower riders from the first couple of waves we were able to pick up the pace. We pushed on pretty quickly into Richmond, stopped again for a snack then pushed on again heading for Franklin. The ride through Richmond and Cove was really scenic, but a little more hilly than the ride up to that point.

By the time we reached Franklin I was starting to get tired. I'm just not used to long rides, and I'd only had two or three rides that were even as long as the ride into Franklin. After our snack in Franklin, two (or was it three) of our team decided they wanted to go for the century loop and headed off into Idaho, while the rest of us turned back toward Utah. Now the pace really started picking up, and where I started to take a little punishment. I was always was the weakest rider in the team and it really started to show. I spent most of my time in the back of the pack just trying to keep up, and eventually I had to fall back because I couldn't keep up the pace.

Our lunch break was in either Newton or Trenton, I don't recall which. I was pretty tired by then, but I felt good about making it that far. I was happy to spend some time sitting on the grass rather than on the hatchet-like saddle. I grabbed a sandwich and a banana and settled in for a pleasant lunch. I also took off my glasses because they were getting uncomfortable while I wasn't riding. Unfortunately I completely forgot to pick them up again after I finished lunch and I never saw them again.

After lunch things got really bad for me. I was already tired and it was even harder for me to keep up. I made the mistake of pushing really hard to keep up with the pack on a hill, and totally wore myself out. I fell behind the team and tried to hook up with a few of the passing packs, but I wasn't able to keep up so I ended up going almost solo until Benson.

The team was waiting for me in Benson, but they'd been there a while and I was pooped. They were kind enough to wait a few minutes while I cooled off, but since it was so hot and getting later we all wanted to get back as soon as possible. We took off heading toward the airport road. I was able to keep up with their brisk pace until we were just getting to the airport, then I totally bonked. I felt as though I had completely run out of steam. It was all I could do to stay on my bike. I got to 10th west and actually stopped on the side of the road for a few minutes, drinking some Cytomax and trying to get enough energy to limp the last few miles back to the Fairgrounds.

I took the rest of the ride really slow, but to me it was anything but easy. Even the slightest grade felt like I was climbing a mountain. The last 2 miles felt more like 10 to me. It was such a relief to finally cross the finish line and collapse on the grass.

As I was laying on the grass I get a call from my wife wondering where I am. She and my parents had come to see me cross the finish line, but I completely spaced it out and forgot to call them when I was getting close. I blame my lack of blood sugar on that particular oversight and I'm sure my wife won't let me get away with that again.

I finally get rested enough to drive home without killing myself or someone else. I take a shower and crash.

So, that's how it happened, and now I'm doing it all over again! I'm excited! Hopefully I'll manage to do better this time.

If any of you are reading this and want to contribute, you can go to the official web site and donate there. I really do believe that this is a good cause. I'm glad I can help in some small way to make life better for all the people who struggle with MS. I hope a day will come when we won't have the MS 150 because a cure has been found. Until that time comes I will keep doing my small part to help.