Here is a list of Bike Rides in the DFW area.
MARCH:
March 29TH– Aledo Ride for Heroes www.rideforheroes.com
APRIL:
April 19th– Cruise de Hood www.cruisindehood.org
April 26th– Muenster Germanfest www.germanfest.net
MAY:
May 17th– Cross Timbers Classic
May 24th-Honey Tour de Burleson
JUNE:
June 14th– Collin Classic
June 21st– Tour de Italia
JULY:
July 12th– Peach Pedal
July 19th– Tour de Paris
July 26th– Goatneck
AUGUST:
August 23rd– HH100
Well Ken, here is my raw attempt at the redramatization of last Saturday at the “Hot Rocks” ride.
I awoke with 2 alarms going off at 4:45 in the a.m. Dang early for me I must say. Oh, I ate pizza the night before, so now its sitting like brick at this time. Crapper here I come!!
Packed the bike and 4 bottles in my cages, along with 6 accel gels, 15 endurolyte pills and 1 pickle juice bottle…..mm mmm mmmmm pickle juice, missing one “Wheelbrothers” jersey.
Off to Rockwall, just a hop, skip and a million miles away. 1hr and 10 min later, missed exit and phone call from Ken on a borrowed cell from a complete stranger I made it.
Registered, found Ken, could not miss him, 10ft tall and white guy proudly displaying the “Wheelbrothers” jersey. After a short reunion with the ever colorful Mr. Ken (great to see you again buddy, always a pleasure), application of sunscreen, butt butter slather and my first pit stop at the “oh boys” I was ready.
Started promptly at 8am with a typical “Tour de France” merging of several hundred cyclist around a road separation we were off. Going well, caught up on things a bit….and quickly found the peleton of riders and latched on like leeches after about 5 miles. Ride was going pleasantly until we came to a “T” in the road 15 miles in (no traffic control) with an 18 wheeler moving full steam ahead preparing to plow about 15 cyclist. Ken was near the front of the group as everyone yelled and smoke from the 18 wheelers tires began emerging. I ran off the newly paved road into the old gravel left by our friendly road workers. As I attempted to get back on the road via a 45 degree lip I go down like a rock, feet clipped in still, in front of 10 other passing cyclist. I now have a bruised hand, bleeding knee, and very bruised ass. Maria (my bike) was ok.
We continued on our journey after a short recovery stop to assess the damage. The hills were rolling like the blubber on a fat woman, but we managed. The temp was rising, as was the heat index and we managed on. Our first 30 miles we averaged just over 20mph, with two stops for bottle refills. We pressed on gaining a few comrades along the way, then we lost them.
Here comes mile 50 and I begin to wonder why we do this in this kinda weather and I remember, its because of “FRIENDS”, I would not have it any other way. Mr. Ken request we slow a bit….and I don’t argue at all…I was ready for a bit of a slow down. Then suddenly Ken gets some sort of burst of energy as we go up a hill…..or is it…I lose energy and begin to Bonk!!
I don’t know, but I do know I now have consumed 4 pickle juice bottles, eaten 4 gels, taken 9 endurolyte pills and its still hurting like a Mutha $%^&*#. Ken and I begin to think we only have less than 10 miles to go, but sure seems like 40miles because the rollers keep on coming.
We hit the last rest stop at 58 miles and Ken forgot his name and I could remember just the Ry in my name. Downed one more pickle juice and we were off gutting it out for the last 4 miles.
We see the finish line and in like the good ole Ryan fashion I cramp in my right quad and hammy. Ken pulls away, I yell, but silence…he does not hear me…..I contiplate, a 1 leg finish, but I cant clip out, it hurts to much. I manage in a lot of pain to catch Ken to finish with him and we pull in for the dismount, which by the way took a few minutes due to the cramping.
We ate, shared a beer (thanks Ken), collected 14 pickle juice bottles and headed home.
Great ride for Ken and I, since it was a lot like HH100. Sorry we missed everyone, but we will reunite for the big Bang in Whititi falls.
-Ryan “Wheelbrother” Tibball
‘Ryan’
phil 4:13 ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
AHH yes the Goatneck,
This was my maiden voyage on the Tour de Goatneck as well as my blood brother Marc’s first cycling event since the 80’s. That being said….here is what the ride was like for me.
Marc and I crashed at the (Not so) Comfort Inn in Cleburne Friday night and took in some good ole Pasta at a little place called Napoli’s. After getting my pre ride shave on I crashed for the night. We got up early enough to take in a bagel, a waffle, and some other miscellaneous breakfast items and, of course much like Ken so eloquently puts, did what we could only do for ourselves! Then we headed off to the HS for the start. As we were getting ready putting our game faces on…out of no where comes the unmistakable voice with an ever so thickly laced German accent piping something about needing to register and better hurry! I glanced around in time to see Jed, Ken, and Dieter.
It was an honor to have bestowed upon me the authentic Wheel Brothers Jersey which Dieter was gracious enough to heave ho my way in the parking lot as the gun shot went off to start the ride! (I can’t stress enough how cool it was to ride with that jersey and to be a part of your group). The 5 of us met up in the chaos of the initial start and after introductions went around for those who didn’t know each other we were ready to ride! As we turned the first corner we past Dieter who was on the phone….as usual when he is on his bike! He was talking and looking for Sean. We decided to ride along at a slower pace so he could catch up…..by the way….I never saw him!
Jed, Ken, and Dieter were feeling it….they were ready to rock the Goatneck at a pace much faster than my brother and headed out. I hung back with Marc so we could pace in together…..it gets lonely on a ride when you don’t know anyone around you! As we approached the first rest stop we saw the Three Wheel Brothers and yes….Dieter was still on the phone! They said they would wait for Sean and catch up.
Somewhere between the fist and the second rest stop I hear behind me….”ON YOUR LEFT” in a rather frantic….I am going way to fast to slow down so get the hell out of my way tone of voice…..as the red streak flew by it was the infamous three Wheel Brothers….The next thing I heard was Dieter’s thick German accent hollering out…”C’mon Fat boy Keep up!” My brother and I got a good kick out if it…right about the time we realized….this ride was nothing but hills!
About midway through the ride as I was trying to take Marc’s mind off of the pain that was no doubt running through his muscles from riding longer than he has ever ridden before, I blurt out, “You know, this is an awesome ride….I think I am going to do this every year from this point forward.” No sooner did I get that sentence out did we round the corner to what would be the biggest climb of the day! As Marc flipped me off we took off up the slope. We gutted it out as if the finish line was on the crest of the hill. Afterwards I was warned that I better not say that again or I would get punched in the nose!
The rest of the hilly ride went well, for my brother Marc this was a huge event for him. Finishing was his goal and finish he did. After 70 miles of drooling hilly terrain we crossed the finish line with heads held high.
It truly was a good day….after all…..we could have been at home mowing the yard or something!! 😀
Sure enough, there at the IHOP at 5:45, having spotted my car with the bike on top was Dieter. We chewed, did things no one could do for us, and talked physics with the early morning assistant manager. Jed called asking which way we would go, and we made a plan to meet. A few folks D knew from a previous ride came in, and soon it was time to go.
Jed was right behind us as we pulled off the hwy, and we all showed up together at Cleburne HS. Surprisingly little mud in the field adjacent to the start, and we picked up our packets (Jed and me) and registered (D). Weather so far, high overcast, but a hint of a red sunrise ? sailor take warning. Ran into Thomas and Mark (Berry), and had plans to get started with them. Due to fumbling around at registration and general disorganization, and inability to locate Sean, Jed Ken and D started about 7:32, having missed the National Anthem and Invocation of the Protection of Our Lord. Auspicious to say the least.
Finally getting started, we held a slower pace for the first 10 or so, calling Sean on the phone, and looking back for him. At the 10-mile 0rest stop, executive decision made to go on ? who knew whether Sean would go full or 40 and we had an itch to get into the hills. So away we went. There was ample babeage.
I don?t remember much about the first 30 or so, generally good roads, a good bit greener than last year due to the rain, and about the same number of people. Having downed a couple of extra tall Fosters at the Outback in Burleson the night before, I started sweating profusely by 15 miles, and at the rest stop at 20, which is delightfully at the top of a hill, I?m pretty sure I smelled like the Schlitz brewery on a warm day. But with a goo, water and refilled fluid bottles, we were ready again, and set off. It was about this time that Jed got us in behind this dude with sculpted muscles on a carbon rocket, and we tucked in for the first high-speed run of the day. It was mostly down hill, but up a few small ones, and we were flying low for about 10 miles. Then
we hit a REAL hill and this guy dropped us like peanut shells.
Made it up that one, and still game, Jed got us on another guy, some triathlete in blue with a couple of followers. Further back in the line this time, we followed this one and made great time for another 8- 10 miles. This was the deal, well back in the pace line and flying. Of course, blue triathlete eventually took off, leaving all of us wishing we could stay with it.
Beautiful morning still, with little wind, high clouds for shade, and moving fast enough that the humidity didn?t kill us. We rolled along into Glen Rose about 9:30 or 10:00 or so, and started back to Cleburne. It?s a nice ride along there, and we took our turns, picking up and losing some, and even seeing a few friends. We were close enough now to start counting rest stops and miles to the finish. Sometime along in there the sun came out for real, and when you stopped, you realized how hot it was, how sweaty you were, and how much fluid you needed to replace. It was after glen rose that we got to the hill that D an I had to walk up last year. This was when I was glad I had the triple! Up and over and into a few long flats and mid-sized hills that this ride is famous for.
At the 20-mile-out stop, we met up D?s friend Eugene and a few pals, had the traditional pickle juice supplied by Jason Whitten, cooled off and planned our final approach. The hills here are not too bad, and it?s a matter of bringing? it home. Skipped the last rest stop, despite ample talent stopping off there, and went for the finish. 9, 8, 7 miles to go, holding a decent pace into the out-of-season northeast wind. Then we hit the outskirts of Cleburne (wait, Cleburne IS an outskirt!), and rolled on towards the HS. Crossing the line with three red shirts side-by-side, I?m sure it made a sight. (Who ARE these worn- out old men??!!)
Eugene came in a few minutes later, and apparently there was a bad crash when a car got impatient and pulled out in front of somebody, who cracked up pretty bad. The church guys ran out of hot dog buns, there was no pizza, and so we retired to Jed?s truck for the traditional post- ride Shiner. Ken got cramps pulling off his socks, to much amusement, and it was time to go.
All in all, a good Goat neck, though we missed having a larger team. We got a few opportunities to work on changing leaders on pace lines, but were not well organized. We might want to get together a few times for this kind of work, but it?s pretty hard with the schedules we keep. One suggestion is the Red Hot Chili Pepper ride, around Joe Pool Lake coming up August 18. I think registration is by mail ? I wasn?t able to find an on-line registration in a quick review. Anyway, there?s a 40 and a 60 miler, starting in SE Dallas and going down around
Midlothian, etc. Probably about as hilly as Goatneck, but shorter.
Site: http://redhotrally.org/
See you all soon.
Kdw
It was a cool morning with a thick overcast of light gray clouds. The sun was no where to be found yet?..Casey was on his way to Weatherford for the Peach Pedal 100K by 6am. He was meeting a few of the legendary ?Wheelbrothers? bicycle team to join him for this domination. To his surprise, everyone backed out but him! Ryan had to work until 8am. Rainer partied until 8am, and Ken?s wife would not let him up for air. So it was up to one ?Wheelbrother? to wave the battle red flag for his team.
Having made it there so early, Casey was able to get in the front of the starting line. The first 12 miles was full of quick, but steep hills through the city and the descent?s were no where to be found. Casey managed to stay in the top 20 riders until his chain fell off about mile 15. Fixing it quickly on the side of a highway, Casey was once again on his way. No telling how many riders passed at this point. At least 50 zoomed by. Riding by himself, Casey had enormous amounts of determination. The next 20 miles were through cow pastures and woods and slow rolling hills. Casey was able to keep his avg. speed just above 19 miles per hour to this point.
With full bottles of water and no sun, there was no need for Casey to stop at the first 3 rest stops. The sun finally came out about 10:00am. The temperature got up to 94 degrees by 11:00 am. Casey started having HnH100 flashbacks. The 4th rest stop was at the 75K turn off. Casey finally had to stop, his water bottles were low, and the quadriceps had started to turn to mashed potatoes. To Casey?s surprise, the race volunteers let him know he was in the top 20 to take the 100K route. That?s right boys, the top 20.
?The rookie of the year 2006? award winner was kicking a little ass of his own. As all races are, the last 20 miles are always the hardest. We were getting into farming communities, with lots of live stock and flooded creeks. The hills got longer and steeper. There was a hill that resembled the hill behind Hicks airfield but a little longer. Casey came across another rider on this hill that was walking his bike to the top. At the top, his partner waited, while he was vomiting. Although Casey and hills really don?t get along well, the adrenaline was so high running through Casey?s body he crushed this hill but dipped down to 10 miles per hour. After this hill it stayed pretty flat in an open pasture in what seemed like miles. Up ahead in the distance, was the Interstate 20 over pass. Right before the over pass, another group of riders started spilling onto the highway. I guess this was from one of the shorter routes that started 20 minutes after the 100K.
Once we got to the interstate, we took a sharp right and went up the service road, against the wind and it wouldn?t be right if it wasn?t up hill. With no one to draft with, Casey slowed to 12 miles per hour and continued on. Once the hill was conquered, the route once again changed direction, a sharp left over the highway. Just across the highway was another rest stop at a fire station. This rest stop looked like a restaurant. With canopies and lounge chairs, ice cold gatorade and cute little country girls pouring it. With the desire to finish in the top 20 on his mind, the recently divorced young man felt obligated to go get some dang Gatorade.
After Casey refilled his bottles and spit about all the game he had at this little country girl, who had her shirt tied up and was wearing boots, they exchanged phone numbers and Casey went on to finish the race. The rest was down hill and tree covered until it brought him back to down town. With a nice finish and a 22 year old country girl?s phone number in his pocket, Casey had a great sense of accomplishment. Where he actually finished? The rest of the ?Wheel brothers? may never know. Casey finished the race in 3 hours and 48 minutes with an average speed of 18.6 mph. Casey burned 8120 calories. 63.7 miles. With out a doubt, in the top 100 riders out of a whooping 1,961 riders!
June 16, 2007: It was a dark and cloudy morning in Fort Worth. A few of the legendary ?Wheelbrothers? were already on the highway at 6:15 am. This was going to be the first race of the year with fewer than four of the brothers riding. Among those who had committed to the race; Rainer, Sean, Ryan and Casey, Rainer hadn?t quite recovered from his terrible hangnail the week before so he was excused. The second Wheelbrother, Ryan woke up that morning, got scared of the clouds and went back to bed.
It was up to Sean and Casey (the rookie) to represent the ?Wheelbrothers?. This race was to be the first ?Wheelbrothers? appearance at the Tour De?Italia. Casey was the first to arrive at 7:20 am, there were riders everywhere. Over a thousand riders showed up. The race featured an open start 8am ? 9am. Sean arrived around 8am. After a few stretches, the Two and the Proud were on they?re way.
It was 08:45 am, nice and cool, very cloudy yet no rain. Temperature was 73 degrees: perfect riding weather. Sean and Casey pounded away the first 7 miles averaging just over 18 miles per hour. Letting no one pass, they flew by the competition. As they changed directions for the first time, they were confronted by driving rain. It rained so hard, visibility was limited to 50 yards. The Wheelbrothers? pressed on.
The drenched cell phones and the Mercedes remote keys forced them to stop at the first rest stop at mile 17. They stole a zip lock bag to store the electronics, downed some pickle juice, and once again, were on their way. The rain subsided once again, but there was so much water that creeks had over come their banks and were trickling over the highway. Yet the ?Wheelbrothers? carried on! With a tail wind at their backs the Two and the Proud maintained 24 miles per hour for 9 miles. The clouds were still overhead and there was a cool breeze in the air. The ?Wheelbrothers? were still pushing 21 miles per hour. Mile 26 to 44 was a nice and flat ride.
They cruised through several small towns, Frost, Itasca, and Meltin. They didn?t slow down enough for anyone to read their jerseys. Witnesses recall only seeing a red streak or U.R.O.?s shoot through their town. The ?Wheelbrothers? were starting to run low on fluids, so they decided to stop at 44 miles at the Navasota Mills State Park. There they met several riders that had started at 730 am-745 am. Then it became evident to the ?Wheelbrothers? just how hard they were riding.
The rest stop attendants claimed there was a steep 4 mile climb around the bend. The “Wheelbrothers” ploughed on! However, what the kind attendants didn’t mention, was that there was a 50MPH head wind on this 4 mile climb.
Highway 31 will haunt nightmares of all those who dared to attempt its difficult terrain. Sean and Casey took turns cutting the wind for the other. Almost slowing down to 10 miles per hour they were still passing riders one after the other. Up to this point, no one passed the ?Wheelbrothers?. There were riders puking, standing still, and walking up this hill. The ?Wheelbrothers? carried on!
After the huge climb, the course once again changed directions. One rolling hill after another, but thankfully no head wind. The average speed before HWY 31 was 19.8 miles per hour. Post HWY 31, it plummeted to 16.7 miles per hour! Over the rolling hills and through the cow pastures and cornfields, the two came upon a sign; Italy 12 miles. What a glorious sign it was! It was nice and decent, with average speeds of over 22 miles per hour again. The first hill that the two came upon Casey lost his chain. It was at this point the ?Wheelbrothers” were passed for the first time of the entire race. This was unacceptable. Sean and Casey battled back from a � mile back to catch the 2 riders. They were looking back over and over and clearly could not maintain the speed of 22 miles per hour. Sean and Casey could hear them breathing heavily. The ?Wheelbrothers? strategically rode on their wheels for 100 yards and Casey made the call to Sean ?You ready?? Sean replied ?Do it?. The “Wheelbrothers” shot around them pushing the MPH to 24 miles per hour, like it was nothing. The other riders tried to keep up for about a mile, but they were out of gas. That was clearly their moment of glory, having the ?Wheelbrothers? behind them for about 20 minutes. With only 4 miles left, Sean pulled his hamstring. With Sean having to ride with only his right leg pushing, Casey had to draft his brother quite a bit. But Hey, What are Teams for? Sean and Casey cruised into Italy without another hitch. Finishing the race with an average speed of 17.9 miles per hour. This was clearly Casey?s best performance. Sean powered through it like normal.
All in all guys, this was a great race. This was the first race I successfully completed with my teammate. Everything you guys have tried to teach me came into play here. The power of drafting. I would not have made it up HWY 31 against the wind if it weren?t for Sean drafting me up the first half. We took turns on this hill 3 times. There is no way I could have done this alone. I highly recommend this race to the rest of the ?Wheelbrothers? in 2008. We just need to remember the toughest portion of the race is at the end.
?Directors cuts?
Free showers were available at Italy High School where the race ended. The water was instantly scalding and very high pressure. Just before we got out, one of the riders we passed on HWY 31 came in and burnt himself center chest. As he yelped like a dog, Sean said watch out the water gets hot as hell quick. The unknown rider says thanks for warning me! Casey says ?My bad?! The competition never ends!!!!!
As all of you know on May 5th and 6th I rode in the MS 150 bike ride from Frisco to Fort Worth to aid in fighting the disease called Multiple Sclerosis. All the money that those who graciously donated to this cause not only allowed my to ride in this ride?.however we were all part of a very moving and unique event.
There were approximately 3500 riders that participated in this event. We each had to raise a minimum of $300 before we could ride. Thanks to you I was able to reach my goal and do my part to help fund the MS movement. (you do the math on the 3500 riders that had to raise $300 a piece?that?s a lot of money and it makes me very excited to know that there are enough people in the world to both to the physical part of this event as well as those who just wanted to sponsor monetarily.) Here is a break down of how the money raised is used.
33% goes to research, 29% to direct services, 13% fundraising, 9% MS Education, 4% administration and 3% for Professional Education & Training.
Day 1: The course originated in Frisco at the Dr.Pepper center and after a pretty significant detour through Pilot Point, Sanger, Krum and Justin, we ended at the Texas Motor Speedway!
Day 2: The course originated from the Texas Motor Speedway and again after another detour through Decatur, Boyd, and Eagle Mountain Lake we ended in Sundance Square in the middle of Downtown Fort Worth.
Day 1 ? Frisco Dr. Pepper Center.
We started out pretty nice! All riders gathered around the starting line. I was fortunate enough to get up to the second bike team to be released from the starting gate so I had the majority of the riders behind me starting out. All accept the 200 Sam?s club riders. One of the guys I ride with at the Richardson Bike Mart and I started out as soon as they called our group. We had a nice tailwind and we started gobbling up the riders in front of us. We shortly got separated and I kept on cranking up past other riders?.
The tailwind, motivation, and adrenaline started to kick in and you would have thought I was racing for the yellow Tour De France jersey if you saw how fast I was riding (approx 24mph). I soon passed the rider in the front?it was now ME and the 3499 riders behind me and I was feeling it. I could envision the finish line and me breaking the tape! Thoughts like that made me pedal harder and faster?.just as fast as my legs would allow me. (Against some good advice from a close friend about not starting out killing myself on the first day) after about the first 25 miles I was approached by a vehicle that was flagging me down. I stopped and the driver informed me that I was off course and should have turned about 2.5 miles back. A little in disbelief and now having the day dream of breaking the tape shattered, I turned around and started riding into the wind to get back on course. Either I had reached the second rest stop where we were supposed to turn before they had a chance to get set up, or my tape breaking day dreams didn?t allow me to see that I needed to turn. (I vote for the first scenario?as when I went back and hooked back up the other riders there was someone standing on the side of the road flagging people to turn.) ANYWHOO?.I liked my wounds and kept on riding. I passed as many riders as I could to try and get my spot back.
There was a Lunch stop at mile 50, I pulled over refilled my bottles and enjoyed a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich and pressed on. It was starting to sprinkle a little at this point?.OH YEAH…almost forgot, by this time our route had turned and we were all now facing the wind?IN THE RAIN! I started cranking out the final 30 miles of Day one with one eye opened trying to shield myself from the rain. It seemed that every time I looked back there was someone on my wheel just enjoying my being out front. Eventually a very kind spirited man by the name of Dieter jumped up in front to give me a rest. I was so very thankful for that. Dieter and I ended up taking turns cutting the wind and we paced in together. We finished day one within the top 250 riders clocking a time of 4hours and 22 minutes. (That includes rest stops and lunch by the way).
Day 2 ? The Texas Motor Speedway
The ride started VERY early! LOL…we started out on the infield of the Texas Motor Speedway. Once they let us go, we all got to do a lap around TMS and THAT was amazing! We then bunched up at another starting line where SEVERAL people had already started lining up that didn?t want to ride the speedway. They released us in groups of approximately 500. I hooked back up with Dieter (the rider from Day 1 who helped me out in the rain!) We decided we would just take it easy and pace a little slower today than we did yesterday. We were at the back of the second group. When we hit the street we noticed we, again, were being pushed by a tailwind and it felt good.
Dieter and I uncontrollably started riding fast letting the tailwind push us along at about 22mph. We started weaving in and out of groups and riders setting our own pace picking up any rider that wanted to fall to the back of our wheels so we could all take turns cutting the wind for the group. Many fell back after a half mile or so, except a guy by the name of Austin. He latched on and the three of us prepared to ride the second day just as hard as we could! We were quickly reminded a tailwind would soon mean a headwind right around the time we realized that our backsides were ALREADY screaming at us for sitting on those cycling seats again. With sore saddles and what seemed like a 50mph head wind. (Gross exaggeration on the MPH of the headwind by the way) we noticed that the streets we were riding on were pretty much rolling hills?. Reluctantly we as a group decided to start rolling them as efficiently as possible by gaining momentum and continuing to pedal while going downhill so that we wouldn?t have to strain so much on the upside of the next hill.
After about 30 miles of this headwind and rolling streets we pulled over for lunch. Again, with the Peanut Butter and Jelly, we rested for about 30 minutes and discussed taking it easy the rest of the way. To this point we were pacing still at approx 20 mph. We got back on our bikes and we both started feeling it again. We realized that lunch had energized us very well and we didn?t want to slow down much. So, we continued on?riding as if we were racing everyone else. It seemed as if the wind was getting stronger and the hills were getting taller as the day progressed. We finally had the big hills behind us, Austin said (Austin rode the MS150 last year and took good note of the big hills on Day 2) all except 1 more big hill. The anticipation was killing me to get this one last hill behind us so that we could combat the wind without fighting gravity and BIG hills! The last hill just about did us all in?.We climbed that hill for over 4 minutes in the absolute highest gear we had?we were standing up throwing the bike from side to side as we cranked as hard as we could. My leg muscles were exhausting so fast that my legs felt like Jell-O. I looked at the speedometer on my bike and it said I was riding about 6 mph?
I think I remember an older gentlemen walking on the side walk with a cane pass me as I struggled up the hill. The rest of the day was relatively flat and we hooked up with a couple of large groups of riders (about 25 to 45 cyclist) and paced with them until Downtown Fort Worth was in sight. Never before had Downtown Fort Worth looked so beautiful, so appealing, so much like the END OF THE PAIN!! LOL.
The three of us, Dieter, Austin, and me, broke out on our own once we saw the brick roads of Downtown. There was one thing that we all saw but didn?t speak of out loud. The path we were on to get to Sundance Square, the finish line, was directly behind a HUGE hill on Main Street. We silently approached it and on our way up we were moaning and groaning with pain?ALL of us were thinking about how NICE of the ride tour makers it was to put a HUGE hill at the END of 150 miles!!! We conquered it though?.and all feelings of pain and exhaustion were replaced by self pride, excitement, and an OVERWHELMING feeling of accomplishment as we could hear the crowd at the finish line cheering and waving hands as the announcer called out our names!!!
It was very emotional and exciting! The most exciting part of it all wasn?t just the accomplishment and me being able to pat my self on the back because I just rode 150 miles?.but the fact that the bandana I rode with was signed by a girl by the name of Amber Morgan from Plano, TX. Amber is a person who lives with MS every day of her life. That is what this weekend was about! I am so glad to have been a part of this event and to donate my time and money (and be a source of the additional money that you all donated) to help Amber and others like her to deal with the challenges of MS and possibly find a cure for MS in the future.
Amber, it was truly an honor to ride in your honor during the MS 150!
Thank you all for your support in this ride. The attached picture is of Day 2 at the finish line. I am on the left, Austin is in the middle and Dieter is on the right.
Thomas Berry
Great Ride everyone,
It was awesome riding with everyone at the event. Personally I found it incredibly motivating to see Sean outlast everyone to the finish line. What a comeback compared to the last race!!!!
Unfortunately, our jersey sponsorship fell through. The UnderArmor rep quit dating Casey’s boss, so when they broke up our Jerseys went “Bye Bye” with her. If anyone has an idea were to find a new sponsor let me know.
Next ride will be “Germanfest” in Muenster on April 29th. Remember the delayed 11AM start.
Anyone interested in riding this weekend?
D