This year I rode in my 12th MS 150 Bike Tour in my 4th state, and Heather rode in her very first ever century. We, along with 3000 other riders braved the heat and wind to show our support for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

We set off to drive to Utah early Friday morning and instantly ran into trouble. Both of our bikes were mounted on a trunk rack, and mine popped off of it's mount before we even hit Wyoming. We were baffled, as the rack is designed to hold 3 bikes, and she has carried 2 bikes before. Luckily, my bike didn't fly off of the rack entirely, as the rubber ties on one side remained secure, but the whole rear half of the bike detached and started bobbing in the wind. This happened again and again. We met up with a rider from Arkansas at the gas station in Little America who donated bungee cords to the cause. He was a nice fellow, not yet old enough to be retired, but living a lifestyle of traveling to one location to the next just to ride. The bungee cords made no difference, and we eventually let the wind win and moved my bike into the back seat. Heather's bike stayed secure. Being tucked so much closer into the car, we figured the massive winds couldn't get to it.

Once we got into the Cache forest parts of Utah, we drove by some of the most remarkable mountain lakes we've ever seen. These lakes, which seemed very high considering the miniscule amount of snow left on the mountains, were the most vibrant ocean blue you've ever seen. They looked like what you'd see in a tropical ocean photo after the photographer enhanced the color saturation. We were a little confused when we got to Logan, trying to drive around. All the roads are numbered, so we'd pass 200 n & 400 w and then 200 w & 400 n while looking for 200 e & 400 s, all seemingly on the same stretch of road. Our only response to this oddity was, "it's a Mormon thing." Luckily, we found our camp without too much trouble.

The setup was incredibly convenient, as we were able to find a corner in the shade to pitch our tent and bring the car right up to it. We wondered around while volunteers handed us otter pops from every corner and we picked up some of the most amazing schwag I've ever seen. It's an emotionally conflicting experience. These drug manufacturers out price their medications from anyone who actually needs them. They are priced so exorbitantly no drug formulary would ever include them, but marketed so well every person with MS feels they need them to survive. They are handing out stainless steel water bottles with airtight sippy tops that would cost $25 in the store and woven shoulder bags I'd easily pay $15 for, which further perpetuates this business model. And yet, my eyes go glossy when I see the schwag, I want to goggle it up, then change my hat, go back and get seconds.

We woke up before daybreak Saturday morning and headed out over an hour before ride start time to beat the heat. I fear how long I'd last and worried I wouldn't make 40 miles. Ten miles into it, it seems like the padding on the shorts were doing nothing and my saddle was made of a cement block. By the time we reached the 2nd rest stop, I was starving, having eaten no food because we left so early, and we were still too early for the rest stops to have set up yet. At a critical decision-making point, I decided to push through to the longer route. A few miles later we rolled into an oasis of a rest stop, complete with such novel treats as fruit roll-ups, sunflower seeds and salty nut bars. All it took was a little food and I felt amazing. We kept up a fast pace, cruising along the mellow countryside with scant traffic as far as the eye can see. Then Heather broke off to ride her century loop. Shortly after that, the winds came in. My speed dropped down by 5 mph as I struggled to push against the headwind. Shortly after that, I rolled into the most cleverly-named stop, the "arrest stop". I sensed some serious motivation for rest sop competition, as each one was amply-staffed with volunteers and super-enthusiastic children handing out chapstick, gum, tissues, stamps and tattoos, Each stop was decorated to the max, spread out and well organized. While the riders themselves didn't seem as chatty as I am used to on other rides, the rest stops more than made up for them. These folks aimed to please!

I finished the first day with roar of cheers as I crossed the finish line. A school kid handed me a medal, and "fans' waved signs and rang cowbells. One sign read, "You're the SH*T!" to which I was surprised. But, I guess when "dam" is in the name of your ride, you gotta take it to the next level!

I grabbed a sno-cone, tried to normalize my overly hot self, and watched Heather finish her first century ride ever, just a short while after I came in. We scrambled over to the community water park across the street, slid down some water slides and enjoyed a well-deserved shower. We gobbled up a delicious lasagna dinner provided by the ride, complete with klondike bar dessert. Afterwards we chilled out by the tent and waited for the temperature to cool down enough to go to bed. Our friendly tent neighbor, Scott, was having a birthday, and he and his friends shared some mega-moist chocolate cake with us.

We woke up bright and early the next morning once again, motivated to beat the heat. We ran into a few hiccups as our early start made it a little hard to figure out where the route actually was. After a very helpful call from a sleepy operator on the "MS 150 hotline" we found our way. Hyrum proved to be one incredibly windy town. We heard this valley was always windy, and even has a knack to turn directions, giving riders full on headwind in both directions! We were lucky not to have to deal with that, but the headwinds in one direction were bad enough. We had high expectations riding through BlackSmith Canyon to Hardware Ranch. We heard this was a most beautiful and rewarding trek. While neither Heather or I were blown away with life-shattering views, it was quite scenic, and there did seem to be an awful lot of choice camping in the area. Bad Ass Coffee blew our socks off with their awesome rest stop, though! Sporting a Hawaii-theme, I couldn't pass up the chance to get laid!

After that it was onward to the legendary Hyrum Dam, the namesake of the ride. We got to the dam via Paradise. Passing the entrance to Paradise got a certain David Lee Roth song stuck in my head for the remainder of the ride!

We decided that the Hyrum Dam was not worthy of its name. It was more of a "dern" or a "darn" at best. It was such a small dam, we had to double check to make sure we were there. We decided the real "dams" came from the Cache Valley itself and all its winds!

Heather and I stayed well-paced the entire ride and rolled into the finish together. Fanfare was much subdued the second day. We chilled on the grass for a while, and discovered Heather's car tire had gotten a flat. Ironically, neither of our bikes got flats the entire ride! We got some help with the tire from some work release kids picking up trash, and then we were on our way.

That night, we enjoyed the generous hospitality of Heather's cousins in Draper. The next morning, I flew back to Denver via Salt Lake City, and my adventure was over.

I am so encouraged and motivated by this ride. Not only does it continue to push and challenge me every year to push beyond what I thought possible, it inspires me to foster that nature of giving, to share the experiences, successes and tragedies that brought this ride to mean so much to me. Somehow, by pedaling across the countryside, I feel I am in an easy-to-swallow forum to expose those who don't know what it means to have MS to learning more, and I am in a place to show those out there who live with their daily struggles, MS or no, that I am here to support them. We are all in this together.

Ride Stats Day 1:

distance: 75.44 mi
time: 5 hr. 28 min.
av. speed: 13.8 mph
max speed: 27.9 mph
av. cadence: 70
climb: 1160 ft
max altitude: 4832
av pulse: 150
max pulse: 169
temp 70-94

Ride Stats Day 2:

distance: 74.89 mi
time: 5 hr. 36 min.
av. speed: 13.37 mph
max speed: 39.03 mph
av. cadence: 63
climb: 2056 ft
max altitude: 5502
av pulse: 135
max pulse: 162
temp 62-92

Article on the ride in the Cache Valley Daily