Howdy! It's about that time of year again. The 2024 MS150 is about three weeks away and I'm about, while I'm a bit behind my normal training schedule, I rode 67 miles today which is usually my first hint that I'm going to be OK to complete this thing. This event has become a major event for the cities of Houston, Austin and now College Station as we'll seen between 6000 and 10,000 cyclists participating.
This is my 7th year registering and 5th year to actually ride in this amazing event. 2020 was cancelled for Covid and 2021 for weather. Some things have changed since I started cycling and riding in this event. For example my first year was 2018 and I went in just hoping to finish the shortest combination of Saturday-Sunday options which was 76 and 62 miles respectively and I succeeded in doing so. Going into this year I'll look to complete the longest combination of courses which will be 100 and 80 miles respectively. That's what I did in 2022 so I'm confident I'll finish again.
Another fun change in recent years is the end of the ride. For all of history until recently the event ended in Austin but two years ago it ended in Kyle Field and this year it will end in Aggie Park like it did last year. It's nice to live 15 minutes from the finish line!
Most of you know why I do this ride but for those that don't my mom and sister both have MS so this has become a small way for me to support them in their fight. Seeing how MS has impacted their lives has become a powerful motivator for me over the years. Even as the miles add up during training, even as my legs get tired and even as I find myself sprinting at an inopportune time to outrun someone's dog that's decided to give chase, I know this is helping them in some small way and that makes it worth it.
In years past everyone has been so incredibly supportive of my fundraising efforts and I appreciate it more than I can express. Please do not feel compelled to contribute but it's obviously very much appreciated. If you do want to help out the link in this message will take you to my fundraising site.
https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/385095