I've passed my goal thanks to all of you!

I had a goal of $400 and as of today am at $560 with one more donation pending! THANK YOU so much everyone who donated. This means so much for the MS foundation. I think it's down to 32 days until the ride. I'm going to kick training into that extra gear. I'll be posting right up to and try to during the ride. Make sure to check back even after the race as I'll post about it and any pics/video i take.

Please take some time to leave a comment thanking those who helped me surpass my goal!

Mike B
Chad B and family
Kim and Tony D
Carolyn G
Will and Meradith
Nancy K
Gary, Alison, and Violet M
Mamta P
Rick, Carol, and David R
Toni, Adin, Liam, and new boy

22 miles in 1hr 2min

was a good ride from the house toward alvin, tx. 22 miles mainly on 528. was pretty smooth until getting back onto 518. and there is the headwind. but i was motivated to catch up with someone else that was going the same way. 

another great sat ride

thanks to the SHELL TEAM for hosting a great ride. I only did the 45 mile route. Time of 2 hrs and 56 min. But NO STOPS!!!!!!! that subway after never tasted so good. feet hurt more than anything. guess that's a good sign that I'm adjusting to this riding thing.

50 days and at 63%!

Just got the tally. and with 50 days till the ride I'm officially at 63% of my goal. Of curse I'd love to get over that amount, but I'm oumped that I can raise any amout for the MS cause.

Thank to all that responded to my emails!

Special Thanks To:

Nancy Kiefer: Gold for 1st donation!

Toni, Adin, Liam, Baby Ranos: silver

Gary, Alison, and Violet Malone: with the bronze

Your donations will make a big difference! Thanks again and keep reading as I will keep updating along my training and during the ride.

New Tape

First time re-taping the handlebars. did a good. job. didn't run out of tape or have a lot extra. and yellow looks so good. the hard part was figuring out which way to wrap starting then switching for the top.

Filling in with some pics

My bike. 06 Felt Srd 92. on the cheap trainer and front tire block. Just picked up the 2nd water bottle holder couple weeks ago and mr. awsome Terry hooked me up with 2 nicer water bottles. And then the actual TEAM SHELL jersey. Turned out very good on the gradients.

Shell Ride Saturday 8am

53 days left till the MS ride. I'll be headed back out to Katy for another ride.

"The Team Shell ride will have two route options of 44 and 63 miles on the beautiful country roads in Katy, Fulshear, Simonton and Brookshire."

We'll see how I last. Might push for the 63 if it's nice out. If anyone wants to join all you have to do is register at: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A8KPX2MKB or ask me for more details.

54 Days till the MS-150

This Monday marks even less time to train. but more importantly I need to get going on my fundraising. So if you can help me out, click the logo on the right hand side to go to my donation page. Thanks a lot.

Sunday Ride

Just did a quick ~14 mile ride around the west side of league city. Got a little rained on, but nothing too bad. Was very quiet for a Sunday.

Training Ride #3 - Katy: Puddle for the Ducks

Warmer weather yes!!!! Riding with Terry, the guy who got me to sign up for the MS-150. And yes, riding with the new cycling shoes! So that takes care of the 2 things i learned from the last ride.
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Quite a bit of people here for this ride. All the nice lane closures made for a fun drive to Katy Mills. So with minimal time to get signed in and ready we made a stop at the 1st of 5 rest area. (about 10-12 miles in). Then after a brief sprint out of that stop, we came to the hard right (west) into the wind that eventually lead back north into a greater head wind. The not being around freezing was a nice change. The road with more inclines was quite challenging.
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Onto the 3rd rest stop. Refresh time. Grabbed some snack, fill the water bottle and made the other pit stop. Stretched a bit then back on the road north for a bit, then another right (east) on 90. This was a familiar section. With a tiny headwind and a straight away for quite a few miles, I started to get flashbacks of when I was on this road during ride #2 in the freezing cold. But having the shoes and another person to push you makes a huge difference.

We ended making a left onto the service road along 45 going east towards Katy Mills just like in ride #2. So this made the last bit seam very possible. Terry and I ended the day riding 45.5 miles in 3 hrs 9 min at an average speed of 14.9. Oh yeah did i mention I love the cycling shoes.

CYCLING SHOES!!!!

Knowing that tomorrow will be the longest ride to date, and hoping to keep pace with a friend (Terry) who will be riding with me, I went out an got some cycling shoes. Didn't break the bank on them since it's my first pair, but it also helped that my bike came with duel sided pedals and the clips for the shoes. And the other pair I was considering didn't fit as well.

Training Ride #2 - Katy/Dewberry Farms

And I thought the other ride was cold. I even wore gloves and my hands still were freezing. Blistering winds made this a real fun ride. Started out at 33 degrees, ended at 34-35. I actually rode more than the temperature out. So 36.6 miles - 2 hrs 48 min later at an average speed of 13.2, I arrived back at my car in the lot.
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Had one stop at Dewberry Farms that offered some great snacks. Love peanut M&M's and pretzels. Funny how eve stared at my frozen knees. During the ride the numbing actually helped. But not being able to gain feeling until later in the afternoon was a little weird.
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The 2 main things I learned:
1) Riding with another person/persons helps out so much. even to just have a conversation to pass the time.
2) I reeeaaaly need to get cycling shoes.

Shell Safety Training

Today I participated in the Shell training class that needed to be taken. Learned a bit of new stuff that will be useful. Especially the edicate when on the road. Having already taken the online quiz, I was able to pick up my jersey. Not to get riding to have it fit a little less snugly.

Beginner Ride #1 - Brookshire / Monaville

I completed one of the two beginner rides recommended. This is part of the Conoco Phillips training series leading up to the MS-150. The 1st one was canceled because it was in the 20's out. his was was slightly better. with a bit of moisture an a stellar mid 30's, I started my very first training ride.
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The ride was 22 miles. I made the scheduled half way stop, trying to warm my hands a bit, getting a snack in. The wind left me knees a bright purple by the end. The 1st leg of the ride was 90% headwind, but it made for a sweet fast ride back. I didn't set my odometer for this ride, but made a descent time. And when I got back to the car it was a warm 42 degrees. Not the easiest way to start a new hobby, but it was inspiring to keep pace with people who have all the gear and have done this before.