Day 10 - La Grange to Austin

The Route

Again the morning came early. We were all up at 4:45am getting ready to go and eating our French toast. Again the support of Team Toyota was excellent and very much appreciated. All of the team will do whatever they can to support the team in the future.

Today's route was also provided by the MS150 organization. The route today will take us through beautiful Beuscher and Bastrop State Parks. These parks are very hilly by Texas standards and provided a bit more of a challenge than the previous rides during the week. Today we are very motivated. Today we catch flights back to home and there isn't anything that will stop us from catching that flight.

The Ride

Starting off today was a bit challenging and required a few rules violations. Again the MS150 organization had the responsibility of trying to stage 11,000 riders onto the roadways without incident. This required the staging of 500 riders at time which is a lengthy process. As a team we were a little nervous about missing flights back to home and decided to sneak out a side exit. As we were getting through the side exit they were calling for reinforcements to keep people from doing that any more. Luckily we made it out and started on the ride.

Again today we had no issues with equipment. This was an amazing ride from an equipment standpoint. We only had three incidents over 600 miles and four bicycles - a rack security problem, a flat tire, and a broken spoke.

The state parks were beautiful and provided for very nice riding. The MS organization had even taken the time to cover up the cattle guards in the roads with plywood to prevent us from having to stop and walk over them. The difference in terrain between Cincinnati and Houston was evident on this portion of the ride. The opportunity to ride up and down hills is difficult to find in Houston and riding styles were evident. I am sure that I had the same riding style when I was riding in the flat farmlands of northwestern Indiana. It was nice to see that I can handle the hills better than I used to.

Finish Line

Again the finish line was a sight for sore eyes. To us it meant a whole lot more than the end of an MS150, but the end of an eight day adventure through south east Texas. A trip that taught us a lot about our physical stamina as well as our mental stamina. There were times we were tired physically and mentally, but we all hung together and made an excellent ride of it. I think we would all do it again in a heartbeat, or at least I would.

It was now time to pack up and head for the airport. We had timed everything almost perfectly. It would have been nice to be able to hang out and eat some more food and drink some more beverages, but I am sure we would have all fallen asleep had we done so. We took a shower on one of the shower trucks (yes, they actually had enclosed showers built in semi-trailers) and got our stuff together to head back to home.

Riding Update

Again we felt as though we were riding on air, even through the hilly sections we were pushing a good pace. I am sure that the knowledge of this being the last provided that extra mental edge to get us through the day.

Miles: 75.60
Average Speed: 18.98 mph
Total Trip: 600.24 Miles
Total Average Speed: 16.22 mph

Weather

Once again the weather was excellent. It was overcast with a slight breeze in the morning to keep it cool. This gave way to sun and partly cloudy skies in the afternoon and some added warmth. We could have asked for better riding weather. Today's high was 85*.

Thank Yous

I am sure I will forget someone, so please email me to add someone to the list:
Ray Addler - for the inspiration to put this together
Betsy Green - for providing me the time to do this
Gail Hurley - for the place to stay and getting us involved with the Team
Charlie & Marla - For getting up with us at o-dark-hundred and getting us to the start of the MS
Team Toyota - for extending the hospitality and allowing us to join the team
Mom & Dad - for watching Willie and helping with the car
Spouses - for allowing Paul, George, and Sean to join in the fun
Paul - for driving all our gear down to Texas
John - for transporting items back to Ohio
Sponsors - for helping us raise over $2,500 for cancer and MS
Mother Nature - for excellent weather during the week
Lance Armstrong Foundation - for putting on an excellent weekend of events
Lone Star MS - for organizing the best MS I have ever been a part of
Caitlin (sp?) - for watching my laptop for me during the MS
Everyone I am forgetting - for being a part of the solution