Spokane biking: MS 150

I have decided to ride in the MS 150 ride along the Trail of CDA this summer. Why, you ask? Well, for one, I like to ride my bike. Above is a pic of me riding with my darling wife Julie and my wonderful son, Will (you can' t really see Will but he's in all of the shots with the trailer).

The real reason I am riding is because I was inspired by my friend, Tanya Christie. Tanya has MS and rode in this event last summer. She's unable to ride in it this summer, so I decided to ride in her stead. She has generously offered to help me fund raise for the event and to enjoy the fruits of her VIP status resulting from her fundraising last year. I would love to have a riding parter either for one of my training rides or for the big event, so please let me know if you are interested. I am hoping to keep the torch going so that hopefully next year we'll start to assemble a team of riders. Each week or weekend, I will be trying to get in at least one ride of 10 miles or more, so if you want to join me, let me know! I more "tour" than "race" when I am in the saddle.

Tanya is the primary reason I am riding in this ride, but I am also riding in memory of my uncle, Bob Wright, who was afflicted with this disease until he passed away just recently. I am also riding in honor of my good friend Nancy Greenwood, who also has MS. Nancy got me interested in participating in MS events back in DC, where she heads "The Nancy Jean Team" which always has TONS of people involved in a 5 mile walk and cookout following, both of which are a just a lot of fun (best hot dogs in the world, it's certified!). Could we do something similar with this event? I dunno, but it would be fun and worth a thought.

So, the MS 150 comprises two days of riding 75 miles each. I am now in the process of getting my miles up so that I am ready for the ride in early September. I will likely do a long ride every weekend, if you ever want to tag along. I often bring Will, though I am going to try a 50 mile ride tomorrow, by myself.

Below is a picture from my last long ride, two weekends ago. Will and I rode from Spokane to CDA, ID, which is about 40 miles. Will slept most of the way, I did not. I was riding on my now-broken-in-honey-colored-Brooks B17 Special. Super comfy! I just got a black B17 standard to replace it (to match the bike and because the Special belongs to my Surley), but the new saddle is not broken in. I am worried that my butt is going to be very unhappy tomorrow morning on the stiff new saddle. We'll see!

Ok, I will try to post some more photos tomorrow.