Rode the big one again this year, this time on a better bike, and had
another great time. I'm still getting used to big groups, tend to drop
back to where I can get some space around me, but I'm better than I was.
Two crashes that I witnessed reminded me to be careful.
Weather was very hot, but I didn't mind it too much thanks to the damp
bandana I wore under my h*t. I was also one of the few riders up there
who had defiled his otherwise svelte steed by putting a rear rack on it,
but that wet towel that I kept bungied there was worth its weight in gold
as the day got hotter.
Deeply moving speech after the ride from the daughter of a man with MS
who got a scholarship from the Society. And my daughter picked up a new
favorite phrase up there: "You don't 'get' MS until you get MS."
Best part of a great experience: at the last report, we had raised
$1,339,000, and the count was not finished. Take that, ya scum-sucking
pig of a disease. (Apologies to Teri Garr.)
I'm already planning for next year.
Bill
__o | When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair
_`\(,_ | for the future of the human race.
(_)/ (_) | -- H. G. Wells