Wednesday, January 9, 2008

150 Miles is a Long Way

I have convinced my husband and my son to join me in training and participating in the bp MS150 between Houston and Austin in mid-April. This blog is to report on our training and fund-raising progress and to let you, the reader, join the fun by reading, posting, donating or providing moral support on this, many would say, Mission Impossible.

First, the basics: 150 miles (but they say, the real distance is more like 180 miles) on bicycles - the pedaling kind, not the motoring kind.

I am 52, lumpy and not real active. My husband is 53; he swims, rides his bike to the YMCA and lifts weights somewhat irregularly. My son, John, is 16, trim, taking PE in high school, and walks the dogs almost every night but otherwise is not real active.

Houston to Austin is mostly (but not completely) flat.

MANY people participate in the MS 150. So many that the organizers have have to limit the number of participants to 8000, I think - I'll check and make sure of the exact number. Most finish and live to ride again so it must actually be possible although at the moment it seems more like an Urban Myth