On September 29, Tim and I will be biking 50 miles in the Berkshires. Sounds fun eh? We won't be alone -- we will be part of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's "Start to Finish MS" ride. We chose to participate in the ride, rather than taking a quiet little vacation and doing the same thing ourselves, because we believe that by getting people together you can make a bigger difference than if you all did the same thing individually. Like drafting while you're riding -- you can get a 20% reduction in wind drag if you're riding in the sweet spot behind another moving object, and you take turns drafting so everybody benefits.
One thing I'm not shy about is asking for money to help a good cause. If you can spare a little cash for MS research, please go to my donation page and drop a little something in the jar. I have to raise $250 just to participate (so does Tim) and we would obviously like to raise more than the minimum!
In addition to the fundraising challenge, this is also a personal challenge. I haven't biked more than 34ish miles in one day, in my life, and I am raising the bar. I'll probably never do a 75- or 100-mile ride in one day, but 50 hilly miles is a reachable target. I've been doing some training rides:
Biked 33 miles on Aug 5 with Tim (Westford loop)
Biked 30 miles on Aug 11 with Tim and Patrick (Westford loop)
Biked 30 miles (8 to work, 22 home) on Aug 14 with Tim and others (Strawberry Hill, 225)
Biked 25 miles on Aug 18 with Tim (Strawberry Hill, 225)
Biked 32 miles on Aug 19 with Tim (Weston, Sudbury blue route)
Biked 32 miles on Aug 25 with Tim and Patrick (Weston, Sudbury blue route)
Biked 29 miles on Sept 1 with Tim and Patrick (cloverleaf centered on Bedford)
Obviously I've gotta get out of the 30-mile comfort zone in the next four weeks! Come on and motivate me! The MS Society will be very grateful and so will I!
Done and done.
Good luck on your ride.
Posted by: Jenn C. | September 11, 2007 at 03:45 PM