2007 MS Bike Tour

2007 MS Bike Tour

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On September 8-9, I rode the Washington edition of the MS Bike Tour, a fundraiser for the National Mutliple Sclerosis Society. It is a two day ride with 50, 75 and 100 mile options on Saturday and 50 and 75 mile options on Sunday. Like last year I rode with Team Copaxone, organized by Maureen “Mo� Manley. Mo is a former elite level cyclist who was selected for the 1992 US Olympic Team before being diagnosed with MS.

The ride is centered in the town of La Conner, a small former fishing village that is now full of artists, galleries and quaintness (there are still a few fisherman, too). It's a wonderful place to hang out and is surrounded by scenic farmland, forests and shoreline.

This year the weather forecast (and the actual weather) couldn't have been more perfect: temps in the high 70s and lots of sunshine. I didn't even pack any warm cycling clothing with me.

I've been so busy on the garage (see "Garage Complete") that I haven't ridden any long rides at all since STP on July 14. I've still been commuting, which is great for aerobic conditioning but doesn't do anything for endurance. So I knew this ride would be a bit of a stretch.

Saturday's route heads from La Conner to Anacortes, then down the shore to Deception Pass and onto Whidbey Island. We did a big loop on the island (we chose the 100-mile route this year) and then headed back to Deception Pass. It's a pretty hilly route with some serious wind in places, so it's fairly demanding. I dropped my chain at mile 76 and bent a link. I could have fixed it, but it would have taken a while and I didn't want to hold up the team. There was a support truck right there, so I threw my bike in and got a ride back to La Conner. I was a little bummed not to get a full century, but I was also tired. I bought a new chain from the mechanic at the rider village and was good to go for Sunday.

Saturday evening they hold a program in a big tent in the rider village. Several people with MS speak and tell their stories and express their gratitude for the riders and the money they raised. It is very moving and inspiring. Last year I raised the minimum of $250, but the program last year inspired me to aim higher this year. My goal was $1000 and I ended up raising almost $1200. Thank you to all my generous friends and family! The ride overall is expected to raise $1.4 million. There were almost 1800 riders.

Sunday the route is quite different. It starts out with about 25 miles through flat farmland, then goes through some rolling terrain and past beautiful Lake Samish. Then it turns onto Chukanut Drive, which is considered one of the prettiest roads in the state. Lunch is at mile 50 in Larrabee State Park about half way down Chukanut Drive. A few more miles along the bluff and the road spills out into farmland again for about 15 miles back to La Conner. The winds can be pretty fierce in the fields.

We had a fast group of about 15 riders for most of the day. For much of the day we were riding in a double paceline. That is my favorite sensation in cycling - riding along in a fast double paceline with a bunch of riders you know and trust. It's feels so smooth and graceful (and did I mention fast?). It's also very social. The scenery was spectacular and the weather was fine. Just a heavenly day.

My lack of miles caught up to me at about mile 68 when we started making occasional turns into the wind. Eventually I dropped off the group about 4 miles from the finish - my legs just couldn't accelerate with the group any more. But I kept up a good steady pace anyway and came into the finish very shortly behind the team.

I'll definitely be back next year. So expect to be hit up for money again.

If you are really into photos of this event, you can find more from Laura, Mo and Dave.