MS 150 - Day 1

Okay, Day 1 - January 31, 2009

I decided yesterday that I am going to ride in the MS 150. Laura, my lovely wife, decided to ride with me. We are going to form a team! Laura and I are the first two members and I plan on inviting others to ride with us.

Team name: We are calling ourselves the Dragonslayers. We live in Castle Hills so it made sense, also, MS is depicted as a monster, a Dragon that lives in our bodies. We are vowing to slay the dragon! Dragonslayers!!

BTW: MS 150 - That is riding 150 miles on my bike in two days. That is about 75 miles per day. The ride starts in Frico, TX and ends in Fort Worth somewhere. Since I have Multiple Sclerosis and can ride a bike, this is the perfect cause for me.

Riding for 150 miles, "No problem, how hard could that be anyway?"I realize I should train, the ride is on May 2 & 3, this year. The longest ride I had been on in the last couple of years has been 20 miles.It was 72 degrees today in Dallas and I decided to get on my bike and start riding.

Laura, my maniac physical fitness nut of a wife, decided to go with me. "It will be fun!" she said. I agreed, fun, entertainment, no big thing, just peddle. I remembered riding my bike as a kid all day long. I had a single speed Huffy back then. I was 10 yrs old and stayed out all day riding to the store, to the park, the playground. FUN.

Laura and I got on the bikes, I now have a bike with 12 gears and clips.

BTW: Clips are freaking scary! It is like someone welded your legs to the peddles and if you want to stop, you better plan early otherwise - Smack - you fall and hit the ground because your legs are now an integral part of the bicycle!

We rode about three miles and all was good when I saw we were going to go up hill. No problem. Then wind started blowing in my face - I became a sailboat and was getting pushed backwards. I went from 14.7 mph to 6.5 mph. Legs clipped, gotta peddle or fall!Voices in my head: My heart started talking to me, "Akhil, how about we stop doing this?" My legs were forming a committee with my heart and everyone was complaining. "We just went three miles," I told my body, "suck it up! Quit complaining!"We pushed through the wind and hill and continued.

I started doing some quick math in my head, 33 years have passed since my Huffy days! I don't care if my current bike has 11 more gears. I didn't have a motor on my current bicycle which meant - I had to peddle!I was planning on doing only 10-15 miles for my first ride, but I was with Laura. After 6 miles, she asked, "How are you doing, do you want to keep going? Can you make it further?"

Pause: Are there any men reading this? Which man would tell his wife after riding a measly 25 minutes, 6 miles, "No honey, I am tired, let's go home. Actually, why don't I wait here by the side of the road, and you go get the car!" NOT ONE OF YOU MEN? Hmmmm

My answer to Laura, "Are you kidding me, let's keep going."
My brain said to me, "YOU ARE A STUPID MAN!"

We found ourselves 10 miles from home and now we see the only way to continue is a street called Kelly Blvd. Those last four letters, BLVD, very important! It turns out that BLVD stands for boulevard, translation, BUSY STREET, with cars!

I was already tired, but something wonderful happens to you when you feel like you are going to be killed by a car, your body gets into high gear. My average speed went from 12 mph to 18 mph. In other words, I was sprinting. My heart was racing and I was running for my life!

After that adrenaline rush, we decided to turn back. We made it home and suffered no injuries! Success. Looks like I need to train a LOT MORE. I have roughly 90 days to get my body into shape for this GRUELING ride. 75miles/day for two days, that is BIG DEAL!!!I will keep you posted on my journey to the MS 150.

Wish me luck!

Ride Time: 1:31 mins
Total: 19.6 miles
Average Speed: 12.6 mph